Minipi Guides Report – August 2017

Over the past few weeks at Anne Marie Lake the evening fishing has been spectacular with rising trout in every cove. With fish up to 8 pounds sipping green drakes until the moon rises and dark settles on the hills around Loverboy, Petches Pond, West Bay and Man O’ War Key. While the wind has reached gusts of 50 to 70 km/h in recent weeks, it calmed off after supper allowing clients to enjoy the sight of rising fish! Evening fishing in stream areas such as The Pantry has also been productive, giving up a fish of 7 pounds caught and released on an orange bomber. Big Harry Outlet has also produced some great action on the orange bomber as well, giving up a 7 pounder and multiple 5+ pound brook trout; surprisingly the area also produced an 8 ½ pound fish thought to be a hybrid arctic char/brook trout. Labrador certainly is the land of opportunity for both angler and fish alike.

Wildlife around Anne Marie Lake has been prevalent with frequent moose sightings, various waterfowl, spruce and ruffed grouse, a black bear or two and even two woodland caribou seen at Little Loon Pond!

The beginning of August sees the end of the green drake hatch, and time for large flies to be tossed to willing trout throughout the Minipi watershed. Large brook trout and char of dark red and orange line the pools, streams and inlets eager to take whatever passes by! Large bombers, wooly buggers, muddlers and even deer hair poppers will trigger a powerful strike that will leave your line tight and a big smile on your face.

Trips to Little Minipi and Minipi have been highly successful with a few fish being caught weighing in at 8 ½ pounds on dry flies! Talk about bucket list experiences! A few arctic char were caught and released by the clients of Minipi Lake Lodge on nymphs such as copper johns and pheasant tails. It surely has been an eventful summer so far with another month of outstanding brook trout and arctic char fishing ahead!

Big Brook Trout Reign : the season so far

Here are some images given to us by guests at Anne Marie and Minipi Lodge, and enjoy a few snippets from our catch log (keeping in mind we only record catch over three pounds!).

The Grey Wulff is clearly a winner!

The Grey Wulff is clearly a winner!

A spectacular couple of days in early July for these anglers!

A spectacular couple of days in early July for these anglers!

Minipi Guides Report – August 2015

With summer on its last legs, you might think the opportunities for fishing at Minipi are over. Think again. Now is the time to see brookies and char in their spawning regalia, and according to Nick Karas author of Brook Trout, brook trout in their spawning colors are the “world’s most beautiful fish.” For those of us who have witnessed this transformation we would have to agree.

Except for the latter part of August, those crazy weather patterns continued from July with wind speeds of more than 50kms or 30 miles per hour and higher. The soaring temperatures as of late caused water temperatures to rise and a subsequent drop in water levels, meaning brook trout became harder to catch as they sought cooler locations and were not as active.

During the first half of August the hatching of green drakes at the Lily Pads, Man-O-War Island, West Bay and Elizabeth Point saw lots of rising fish; the hatching of green drakes lasting longer than usual. Anglers at camp at the time had opportunities to witness several boils or feeding frenzies at these very locations.

Again, fly outs to Little Minipi and Minipi produced results as did treks to Woody’s and Halfway Outlets from Anne Marie. The reliable Orange Bomber has been the fly of choice, but let’s not forget the Fat Albert and the Black Gnat; two of which should be included in your tackle-box, especially for this time of year.

Here’s a collage of some recently spotted wildlife in the area.