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Rod and Guest Reunited, Merciless Heat Continues
Posted 17 July 2023, 11:41 pm NDT
Doug, reunited with his rod of 20 years.
(larger version)
The scorching hot weather continues and it is heat the likes of which we have not seen before. Yes, we get the odd 30c day, but not for days on end. Today was a 'cool' 26c and it felt like a break! The water is way to warm for fishing. We are expecting action by DFO to partially or completely close the river to angling. It is hard to argue when the water has been 24-25c for 4 days straight with no cooling overnight.
The fish are here. We are seeing them in the river and seeing them in large numbers in the estuary. But this heat is taking the toll on them. They are inactive trying to preserve their life. We have an experienced group of anglers here and hookups are very scarce. The group of 10 are hooking a few. They are also only fishing 4-5 hrs a day. As the river volume drops and the temp stays high it becomes a question of ethics to continue fishing. It has become clear that no guests or guides want to kill fish inadvertently due to the temps. One thing is certain. This is history in the making. The Eagle River, or any river in Labrador for that matter, has never been closed due to environmental conditions. We hope things turn around but the forecast is not good for at least the next few days.
Despite the awful conditions, there is a good story to share from the river. Doug lost his rod this week to a very unexpected take, had his rod laid by the side of the boat with about 5 feet of leader and a fly dangling. I'll be darned that in these extremely tough conditions didn't
a salmon grab that fly and go with it, rod and all! It was recovered by another guide the next day in a pool not far down river, all in tact and unharmed!! The ordeal is recounted in Dougs words… or maybe the words of his 20 year companion, the rod:
"Reunited. After 20 years one rainy evening you decided to all of a sudden leave me with a preacher and a strong silver bullet. I thought I would never see you again. The strong salmon decided to leave you and the preacher at the alter only 200 yards from where you left me. You were in the river all night. At least the water was warm. The next day a search party luckily saw you sticking out of the river. They ultimately returned you safely back to me so we can be together again to create more memories!"
The fish are here. We are seeing them in the river and seeing them in large numbers in the estuary. But this heat is taking the toll on them. They are inactive trying to preserve their life. We have an experienced group of anglers here and hookups are very scarce. The group of 10 are hooking a few. They are also only fishing 4-5 hrs a day. As the river volume drops and the temp stays high it becomes a question of ethics to continue fishing. It has become clear that no guests or guides want to kill fish inadvertently due to the temps. One thing is certain. This is history in the making. The Eagle River, or any river in Labrador for that matter, has never been closed due to environmental conditions. We hope things turn around but the forecast is not good for at least the next few days.
Despite the awful conditions, there is a good story to share from the river. Doug lost his rod this week to a very unexpected take, had his rod laid by the side of the boat with about 5 feet of leader and a fly dangling. I'll be darned that in these extremely tough conditions didn't
a salmon grab that fly and go with it, rod and all! It was recovered by another guide the next day in a pool not far down river, all in tact and unharmed!! The ordeal is recounted in Dougs words… or maybe the words of his 20 year companion, the rod:
"Reunited. After 20 years one rainy evening you decided to all of a sudden leave me with a preacher and a strong silver bullet. I thought I would never see you again. The strong salmon decided to leave you and the preacher at the alter only 200 yards from where you left me. You were in the river all night. At least the water was warm. The next day a search party luckily saw you sticking out of the river. They ultimately returned you safely back to me so we can be together again to create more memories!"
