Australia has its Opal; South Africa has its Diamonds; Labrador has the World's biggest Brook Trout. Last week, a ten inch native Brookie slid out of my hands, back to its deep cool, shaded pool. It was a big, old Trophy for this little brook. A size # 16 Adams tied on a barbless hook totally fooled him and made his release quick and easy. He raced back to the streamside, underwater roots that were his hiding place. It always amazes me , considering all the local development, that any native brookies can still survive here. In many places along the tiny, cold, pristine brook, I can actually jump across to the other bank and usually need cast only my leader to reach a fish. If it were a diamond, it wouldn't be  a carat, but rather more like a chip, but pure  blue white and perfect. At 10 inches, the trout was indeed a trophy sized fish for these waters, as big as it genes and habitat would allow. I took him from a secret Auburn brook that I treasure, and whose location I would as willingly divulge as I would give away the secrets of a best friend. It is a rare little Gem of water, where the last of the area's native Brook Trout stubbornly survive, hidden and protected by the cool, shaded swamp that guards them from fishermen, who by and large, are satisfied to catch bigger stocked fish and prefer easier waters to access, closer to roads and bridges. I fondly thought back to fly-fishing in Labrador, and unforgettable encounters with his Giant cousins.

      For our 28th. Anniversary, I wanted to do something special with my wife and Best Friend, Helen. Luckily, I had married a woman who would choose Fly Fishing for Giant Brook Trout with me, over shopping at Tiffany's with my credit card.  We would honey moon again, this time at Labrador,s legendary Igloo Lake.

       Igloo, well named, considering it is usually the first lake to freeze in Autumn and the last to  be ice free in Spring. At 1,300 feet this gem of Trout water is set high above its surrounding waters. Its elevation has its consequences.

        The care  and friendship of Vince and Dorothy Burton, our hosts at Igloo lake Lodge, the only habitation in this region, warmed our hearts, as did the aromatic evening fire of ancient Juniper, Balsam fir, and Black Spruce. This  Romeo and Juliet couple pioneered together the opening of this remote treasure to the Fly-fishing world. There sharing it with us is now a memory we will never forget.

          Greeting us at the Dock, was a chorus of secretive but very vocal songbirds, most unknown to the other wise experienced fishermen and guides. The lead singers here are The Northern Waterthrush, Rusty Blackbird, Fox Sparrow, Ruby- Crowned Kinglet, Yellow and Myrtle Warblers, Pine Grosbeaks and Gray Jays.

          We knew immediately there were fish here: a low - soaring territorial Bald eagle scoured the waters near the Lodge with its ten-power binocular vision, looking for a trout dinner.We knew we were in the wilderness when a Merlin, a mid sized Falcon, rocket across the Bay, hungrily tracking down a Tree Swallow like a F 16 fighter Pilot.

          During our week in  paradise here, the Birds would add much to our pleasure. Artic Terns would  gather  over the waters where hatches of caddis and mayflies were emerging. We followed them the  very same way striper and Blue Fishermen at Cape Cod follow the Common terns and gulls to find FISH.

          In both instances, the birds are interested in the same bait,in this case insects, that the trout are feeding on. we noticed, too, that Swallows and Rusty Blackbirds cruised the air space over the lake looking for hatches for the same reason. All of these hunting birds were our unwitting friends and allies. where there were hatches, there would be birds flying and Giant Brook Trout rising voraciously to the high protein and fat hor-d' oeuvres.

         It was such a delight to see and hear birds that had flown here, all the way from the jungles of the Caribbean, Central and South America. Swanson's, Gray- Cheeked, and Hermit Thrushes, Blackpoll, Wilson's, and Tennessee Warblers along with Alder Flycatchers that joined North American resident species including Spruce Grouse, Willow Ptarmigan, Boreal Chickadee, Whit- Wing Crossbill, White crowned Lincoln's Tree, and White throated Sparrows, Juncos, Three Toed Woodpeckers, Ravens, Osprey, Sharp- shinned and Goshawks,, Great horned, Boreal and Hawk Owls. In the wetland were Greater Yellow-legs, Snipe, Surf, Black, and White Winged Scoters, Pintails, Black Duck, Canada Goose, Common and Red Breasted Merganser. It was a pleasure to identify them for our Guides, host and fellow guests. We couldn't fish anywhere without hearing the enchanting song of the Northern Waterthrush, emanating from the dense, soggy coniferous understory.

         Some monomaniacal Ahabs come to Labrador only to fish. They miss alot. Besides the Birds, Labrador's wildlife spectacle can include numerous surprises. We watched a Mink hunting the shoreline for Fish. Big and Black, he be a serious predator on nesting songbirds, Trout, Suckers, Pike, Rodents and even Ducklings.. Red squirrels, Kangaroo Mice, Pine Martens(sable), Caribou, Wolves, and Black Bears all act as a though they own this Northern Paradise.

        Hard to believe the following days would provide more thrills. Labrador becomes an addiction.

It beckons the world's most ardent Fly Fisherman. From Lee Wulff to Bobby Knight, they have made their pilgrimage to Igloo Lake to pursue, in the wildest of settings, the world's most Beautiful game fish. When I think of that gorgeous red, blue, olive, black and white, ten-inch Trophy from the little brook in Auburn, I realize both waters are Treasures that deserve Love and Protection forever.

 

 

Taken from an article written by:

                              

Mark Blazis--Grafton, Mass.,USA

Ornithologist and Bird Banding Researcher of

Neotropical migrants, as well as a member of the

New England Outdoors Writers  Association.