Minipi’s Big Brookies

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It doesn’t take an expert to see that from the smile on the face of John Dallas, my good friend and fishing partner, he has had one heck of a fine afternoon.  Two big male Brookies and an 8 pound female, one right after the other!

Our trip to Labrador in 2011 was the best of my four trips.  We caught over 50 “book” trout, making it a spectacular success measured by any yardstick.  This particular day was our last day and it was incredible.  Everyone in our party caught big Brookies… and we caught a lot of them.

I landed my biggest of the trip, a 7 1/4 pound male that was supercharged.  Labrador and Cooper’s Minipi Lodges is the place to be for fishing like this.  The first day of the trip I caught a 5 3/4 pound Brook Trout on the first cast of the trip.  A rise 30 feet from the boat and I placed my Hex fly onto the rings of the rise – luckily placed right in front of the trout’s nose.  That was exciting to say the least.

Nearly every “book”  trout we caught was over 6 pounds, with the largest Brookie of the trip, caught by Dave Brandt, weighing 8 1/2 pounds.  I don’t of any other place where you can do this, and a large percentage of them were caught on dry flies!

Labrador is full of surprises.  From spectacular sunsets and huge trout, to a variety of wildlife and beautiful scenery.  We saw Black Bears, Moose, Loons, Eagles and waterfowl.  Every day was a new adventure.  The guides and staff were among the very best I have ever had.  Meals were prepared by Justin Igloliorti, a classically trained chef.  The guides were all top notch and led by Kelly Groves.  None of them ever let us down.  No wonder Labrador is on my short list of favorite places in the world.

Minipi Guides Report: 2013 vol.1

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The opening week of fishing, which was around the middle of June, saw most fishing here at Anne Marie taking place at Petches. The warm weather and the prolific hatches of mostly small mayflies enabled fishermen to have good landings.

The different patterns of wulffs, drakes, caddis flies and bombers were flies of choice landing brookies ranging in size from 5.25 to 7.25 pounds.

During the second week most fish were caught around Bear Island and West Bay with the caddis fly, the most popular pattern. Landings of 5 to 7 pounds topped the scales.

With the onset of July the weather has been extremely windy and warm, which seems to have caused the hatches to peter-out tremendously, subsequently affecting the fishing. Landings are down from previous weeks, which is natural under such conditions and we will welcome now some rain and a drop in the high winds.

— Ralph

Pike for Variety

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The rare opportunity to catch brook trout of huge proportions lures us all to Minipi. Landlocked Arctic char also belong on every fly fishers life list. However, pike offer a great secondary target and change of pace. They can run up to 20 pounds, and even the smaller fish provide exciting fishing with their vicious, slashing strikes. I always carry a small bag with a few simple rabbit strip leech flies, black or purple, some on weedless hooks, some on plain worm hooks.

Extremely simple to tie (they only require one material), they are equally simple to rig. Use braided tieable or knotable wire. Store-bought wire leaders will work, too. The pike are especially active in early season, in the few weeks after ice-out in many coves of Minipi and Anne Marie. During the summer, weedbeds and lily pads provide cover, where the ‘water wolves’ lie in ambush for their prey. Even a small patch of lily pads will normally hold a few pike. An eight-weight rod and floating line, with a seven or eight-foot leader of 15 or 20 pounds, topped with about eight or ten inches of the wire completes the pike outfit. Cast beyond the weeds or pads and strip your fly medium fast, close to the cover. And be ready for the explosion.

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