The Grand C.. Headwaters of a historic icon

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Thur 07/16 found us rising later than we should have been. By rights we should have been up around 3:00 a.m. had coffee and a bite, leaving by 4:00 as it's 45 minutes [approx] to the fishing. That was just to much even for me.. The travel drive extracts a fee and the interest hadn't been paid yet. On the plus side things had been rainy and overcast so not near the worry as bright sunny days are.



We'd located the pool last eve which made things simple to drive directly to it. Looking very promising, a nice deep chute down the center with rock edges providing additional seams and rest areas. At the tail of the chute there were two huge boulders in the center, quite deep, then transitioning into a smoother pool with a few scattered boulders that I'm sure would hold fish. First thing I went up and was going to cross above the upper rapids and fish from the other bank. Charles loaned me his collapsable staff which really helped but without the Korker soles I was still at a HUGE disadvantage. Again it came to a total commitment of going for broke.. After the soaking on the Bonny yesterday I turned back. Continually I assessed a growing cash value I'd be willing to give for my studded soles placed in hand.. By the end of the Gaspe' stay it was up to 50.00..LOL... Their abscence was a serious oversight on my part. I was very fortunate to escape spills and soakings [broken bones?] during the wading, rock hopping and river crossings I made over the next few days. Dropping back down to Charles I returned his staff. He suggested to try the tailout, well down below the pool proper. I did so and finally made it across, but only just. Fishing was alot different from this bank and covered the water from another angle... with same result. I managed a couple small resident Brookies. When I crossed back there were two guys talking with Charles at the Shelter shack. Incidentally, these are pretty kool welcomed feature [not on all pools] A small screen house with a ladder against the roof allowing a guy an elevated peek at the waters and an option to get out of a down pour or serious insects. Anyway, these guys were familier with the area and fishing of it. According to them the water was low. Not terribly so but still low enough that likely most of the fish had moved up or more likely dropped back to the main branch. Not welcome news but we'd had forewarning from a couple people of this exact scenario. Sorry, no pics, I guess I got caught up in the fishing.

Evening fishing we had two pools. We'd scouted both of them after leaving the a.m. pool. We optioned to split forces and cover both. Once again I was faced with treacherous crossings.. fun / fun. Charles couldn't resist ribbing me about my soaking the day before. Since his water was downstream of mine he told me he'd be ready to help when I came floating down! This was a great looking pool, nothing ever comes close from pictures vs first hand sightings. That spill is actually a 5' plunge drop with a roar so loud you can't hear yourself think. The run formed and extended from the middle to the opposite bank with considerable length. The tail area had a couple big boulders mid stream creating some interesting lies.. I had alot of confidence in this spot. The Grande' C is known for big fish. At the shop they'd already recorded four fish over 40 lbs, biggest 43 and 13 ounce, along with several between 37 and 39 lb. Also one that had been lying, and still was, in the same position for a few days.. several guides swore would easily exceed 55 lbs! Just thinking of that calibre of fish keeps the adrenalin trickling.

07/17 Intimacies of the Salmon Branch

Early a.m. found us driving down through an active gravel pit. It was a good thing we'd scouted this pool in advance because it would have been VERY decieving in the dark. The path in had fresh Moose tracks and wound through the bush a good distance before arriving on the banks of a smaller trib with a completely seperate personality from the Lake Branch. Charles and I had a new plan. Rather than waiting for one of us to get down stream enough for the other to start, he began at the head while I went down to the tail area and began fishing a dry back up. I love a dry, especially on skinny or low flow waters. Charles was a bit skeptical on their effectivness for this system but I believed. The piece of water was fairly lengthy, almost two seperate entities. I'd attained the gut of the lower piece when out of the blue I get picked off.. At first I was unconcerned as there are chubs, resident Brookies and Salmon parr, but this felt a bit better. Turned into a decent little Seatrout which I was elated to see!



Charles started a second pass and I went off to attempt to locate the other two sections of water that were affiliated with this one. It turned into more of a search than I expected, and naturally included crossing, but eventually figured it out. Along the way I ran across this amazing rock that had been obviously hydro-sculpted same both sides. I've never seen anything similar anywhere. It reminded me of an anvil. Very kool. Thats an Altoids candy tin with a few bugs for contrast. The upstream pools were gorgeous but sadly, obviously low. You could just SEE what a shot of water would do for this little gem. The walk through the bush and flood plain was well worth the effort for us. Quite evident this area sees very little attention. At the first stop was an old weathered post but any sign was long gone. There was a game trail leading upstream with a couple ancient looking blazes on Spruce trees. Bear, Wolf, and Moose tracks were all noted.

On the drive back down to the camp I noticed a guy playing a fish on the mainstem so Charles wheeled the vehicle around. He was obviously tired but had the fish up on a short line. A few more short runs and the guide had it netted and promptly whacked it on the bank. I waited for a pic but no opp was offered so we left. As we drove back by the guide was carrying it towards the Canoe, I'd guess 15 - 16 lbs.

That eve we had a productive looking long depthy soft water pool. I had high hopes here but only Trout and Parr came to the fly. The head area was a spill from some serious rock and there was significant depth with two big boulders submerged. We both worked it over hard.

Morning- 07/18 Back on the Lake Branch.

The water was very promising and dropped through some boulders / rapids forming another nice pool below. Normally these secondary pools didn't carry depth but this one was an exception. The head of the primary was once again a serious plunge from rock / rapids, but expanded quite wide with length. We'd both taken a decent resident Brookie earlier when I saw one deep, belly up on the rocks. Concerned but couldn't imagine it was the one I'd just released I nudged it up shallow for a look. It was bigger than mine or Charles [12"] so some relief. Indicated there must be a decent amount of residents nearby. Not much later down in the gut a nice Salmon showed. I was up at the head fishing from a rock so Charles got into position and fished over him. I came down through from the head and covered the water also but no luck. Turned out to be the only Salmon sighted over our 3 days on the branches.

Evening had showers in the air. We were walking in sealed up and very glad that this site offered one of the screenhouse / shelters. A few minutes spent rigging and sitting inside, the rain subsided to heavy mist. This pool was pretty spectacular.. the kind that make me breathe heavy.. Long with perfect even flow containing submerged rock along her course. I firmly believe if a guy was hele dropped here in the dark he would be hard pressed to tell he wasn't on a coastal Oregon trib. These trees have the same type moss I've seen out west. Heard something here that could have been a fish rolling but with the hood up couldn't say 100%. If I ever make it back up this pool will be on the roster for sure!



In summary, we both really enjoyed the explorations and freedom of fishing without a required guide. The people were great.. I'd loved to have had basic command of the French launguage. Very impressed with Evan and Reynold Sexton. Great down to earth people who went out of their way [multiple times] to help. Reynold also manages Middle Camp on the main stem and advised to contact him for anything from a extended stay to a simple single day on the water. A great option to keep in mind as fishing the Grand Cascapedia shapes up to be something best done on the main stem if you want to increase your chances for a fish or two. The Branches, although breath taking, appear to be extremely water dependant.

Head of famed Forks Pool: