Submitted By: Andrea Bassan
It was close on 15 years since
I last fished Northwest Brook in Trepassey and with a long weekend coming up, I
decided to head up to Trepassey, stay a couple of days at the cabin and do some
salmon fishing. My father knows this river well but he was working, so I was on
my own this trip.
There’s a trail that is accessed from the western side of the old bridge and
you’ll find a few parking spots on either side of the bridge. There’s also a
small campground on the eastern side of the river. It’s a basic campground,
isn’t serviced nor even staffed, but you can pitch a tent or park a camper there
no problem.
The trail up the river is decent for the most part – rocky on the lower section
and a steady uphill climb for the first 1/2 km or so. After that you’ll get into
some muddy and boggy sections before going uphill again. The trail is accessible
by ATV but I had no problem walking the trail. The boggy sections can be tricky
to get around after a lot of rain, but it’s not too bad.
All the pools have been marked
since I last fish the Northwest, which is nice for anyone new to the river or
not familiar with the known pools. The first 2 weeks of July is normally a good
time to fish the
Northwest but like most rivers, that can vary with water levels and temperature.
My buddy Mark, who lives close to the Northwest and fishes it a lot, told me
that the run was early this year and the best fishing was the last week of June
and into the first week of July. It didn’t matter to me though, I had a couple
of days off and I was going salmon fishing. Never Miss is the first pool you
come to and is maybe 100m up the trail.
A walk down a short path will
bring you to the river. Look across and you’ll see several runs out in the
middle of the river. Walk up and out in the river and fish down towards the
runs. The water level was a little high and fast after a few days of rain but
the runs were easy to see and fish.
The next pool on the river is
Winters Pool.
I don’t remember ever fishing this pool before so it was all new to me. Without
knowing exactly where
the best runs are, I fished wherever I thought a salmon might hold up. The water
level seemed ideal to me and there were plenty of runs to fish. There’s also a
nice calm water section on the far side that looked promising.
I fished this pool for a couple of hours but didn’t see any salmon. It’s been a
while since I experienced black flies as bad as they were here – like Labrador
bad. I often make fun of Mike for wearing his fly jacket but it wouldn’t have
been a bad idea on this day. Well, maybe. My father often fishes the river
section between Winters and the next pool but I decided to take the trail. The
next pool is the Crooked – a popular spot for anyone familiar with the
Northwest. I met one local coming off the river and after he found out who I
was, Peter’s son, he offered a few pointers on where to fish. The Crooked was
the last pool I remember fishing on the Northwest and one I liked.
The River makes a turn just below the big rocks so I guess that’s why it’s
called the Crooked. When I
approached this pool, I first fished the far left of the river where rocks in
the river create a ripple and possible holding spot for salmon. After that, I
made my way towards the big rocks, moving my fly ahead a foot or 2 with every
cast. You’ll hardly ever see a local stand on the top of the rocks. The salmon
will lie in front of the rocks and most think that the salmon can see you if
you’re up that high.
Standing in the middle of the group of rocks, you’ll see a few places to cast
your line. There’s a spot to the far left, on either side of the big rock
directly in front of you, around the rock that’s just a few inches out of the
water and to the right side of the river. There’s also the main channel that
runs down the middle of the river. All look like good places to cast your fly.
I did rise a fish just in front and to the side of the group of rocks. To fish
this, I more or less held my fly in one spot, moving the fly by moving my rod
back and forth. The water here is fast and I think the rocks create a spot for
the salmon to lie in before going up river. Looking up river from the Crooked,
you’ll see a long section of calm water with plenty of big boulders on the river
bottom that create spots for salmon to lie in.
I fished this entire section of river by standing as far back from the river as
possible. I had one salmon come up for a look at my fly, only to ignore it, and
saw another nice salmon jump on its way up the river. The water levels seemed
good here but the water temperature was a little high and the fish were not
taking the fly well – just like my buddy Mark has told me. From here you can
either walk up the river or take the trail to the next pools – Sandy Pool and
Ladder Falls.
On this trip, I walked the river one day and took the trail the next day. I’m
not sure which is easier. This section of the river is rough with plenty of
slippery and jagged rocks to navigate. The main trail is good but the path down
to Sandy Pool is steep, muddy and slippery. Having felt soles doesn’t help much
on this path. Sandy Pool is a long still water pool. It’s best to fish this pool
from the shore as the salmon like to lie just as the sandy, pebble beach dips
into deep water. Early morning is the best time to fish Sandy Pool and you’ll
most likely have to get there early, as this is a popular spot.
I saw several fish at Sandy and had a couple of fish move and flash their sides
when casting over to the far side of the river but had no takers. The salmon
didn’t seem to be interested in taking the fly and looked like they were just
moving around in the pool. There’s a ledge at the bottom of Sandy that can be
used to cross the river. I didn’t cross the river this day but saw several guys
cross here. Actually, just in front and behind the ledge look like great spots
for fish to lie, so if you do cross, try not to ruin the pool for anyone fishing
the lower section of Sandy pool.
Below Sandy Pool there’s quite a few runs that salmon will hold in on their way
up the river. The salmon would have just come up from the white water rapids
above the Crooked and would be looking for a spot to rest I would imagine. The
water isn’t too deep here but it’s fast. The runs are narrow but long and big
enough for a fish or 2 to lie in.
The only salmon I saw caught on my 2 days on the river was along this section. A
nice grilse caught on what the locals call an Underwater White – a variation of
a muddler.
These runs can be productive when the salmon are running and Gerard, the guy who
tagged the grilse, told me to don’t be afraid to try those runs even if someone
just fished them. When salmon are running, they move through those runs. That
bit of information only came out when he found out who I was – Peter’s son. I
guess it pays to have connections.
The Ladder is a series big boulders, rocks and cliff that the river winds itself
down through. This is another very popular pool to fish. Before fishing Sandy
Pool on my second day, I had only seen the one guy at the Crooked. At Sandy and
up on the Ladder I came across 7 guys fishing in the 1/2 day I spent fishing
that section of the river.
At the top of the Ladder, there’s a section near the falls that you can’t fish.
Past that it’s a nice walk, according to my father, to get to the next pools. I
fished until 4 or 5 o’clock on the second day before heading back to the cabin
for a quick bite to eat, a chat with my father and then heading home. It was
nice to fish the Northwest again. I think I’ll plan another trip back next
summer.
July 12th also marked the one year anniversary of our buddy Paul, Old Man
Bailey, passing away at 87 years old. He was on the Eagle River in Labrador for
one last trip. Spending a couple of days salmon fishing seemed like the best way
to remember the old fella. Here he is with a nice morning catch from 2005 on our
annual trip to the Lomond River. We’ll keep that story for another day.
Cheers, BASSAN
