NS bound

[ckewley]

This year marks a special anniversary for me, 30 years as a honorary Blue Noser. It has been some time since my last visit, roughly 4 years but as things tend to do out east, rarely change. I had a simple game plan, drive out with my canoe, visit friends for a few days then for the rest of 2 weeks hit the roads & paddle lakes & rivers for the remainder……..the problem with plans like this is family tends to get in the way . I was told that I have access to a canoe out there so leave mine at home, awesome news however the day before I was to leave a good friend blew his back out & would be heavily medicated for my arrival & it would be 4 days into my stay before I would lay eyes on the boat…but what a boat it was. Hand built cedar strip canoe made by a legend around those parts. It was the last canoe he ever built, made in 1977, he died in 1983 & it has been barely used since, I felt quite honored to be able to paddle it. However until I got the canoe I would make do with shore fishing.

A few lakes around had limited shore spots but SMB were plentiful to keep you busy, nothing of great size but 2lbs were common. I’m beginning to think the Chain Pickerel stories are a myth as I’ve yet to catch one. This one lake is named as ground zero for their invasion (Shortts lake)& the public access point can be busy (boat launch). Every morning I’d head there after my Tims stop to wet a line & talk to the folks. One guy would hit the place before work every day & he looked at me sideways when I said I wanted to catch a Chain Pic as we don’t have them here in Ont, “well you’ve hit the right spot, they’re here in big numbers” ….sure they are, nada sniff. It became a bit of a joke when he would ask each morning if I caught one yet & I would so no then he would say after I left he or someone else would nail a few, myth I tell you! Also part of the plan was to do some ocean fishing with someone a friend knew, another unfortunate set back as this mans wife fell ill a few weeks before my arrival, not a big deal as now I have a boat I can explore areas on my own. However this man feeling bad for not being able to take me out told me of a nice, hardly fished area (because of the trek in)where sea run trout can be caught & a great spot for Brookies of good size (3-5lbs) in what he called “the last great spot for them” that maybe true, maybe not.

This trek would consist of paddling 1 smaller lake, portage 2km (roughly) to another larger lake (still small), take the river off that lake for about 1km & portage around the “wolves den” rapids to where a feeder creek joins that river (about 1 km) ditch the canoe and walk the creek to the first hole. He did ask me if I had a gun as moose, bear are very common but more so for the coyotes which are becoming a huge problem out there. I said no, I’m not licenced he suggested I take one anyway to be safe. Now almost everyone out there has a rifle of some sort so obtaining one would be very easy however not being licenced it would be my luck to get caught so I opted out of the gun thing. My plan was to camp overnight & the gun thing had me slightly worried but to hell with it.

It was a good drive, about 2 hrs to the dirt road in, another 45min on this dirt road to the first lake. I had the person I was staying with come with me to take my car home & pick me up the next day (car theft is quite high in those parts I’m told). Now I’m not going to lie, this is my first solo trek in a canoe & I’ve only owned my canoe for 2 years so not overly experienced but I was talking with Borger in the spring about his solopaddler days & he inspired me to take the leap, very glad he did. I went in very light plus it was only a one night trip so no back tracking for gear, first lake a breeze, first portage a breeze (atv trail) second lake a breeze, the river was easy but there are 3 sets of rapids, the first I wouldn’t call rapids but whatever, the second & third though, these are what is called the wolves den. If you are a experienced kayaker/canoeist you might be able to make short work of these but me….prefer to arrive alive so I had to portage around. The river carved out this valley forever ago but man was it pretty, hard slug around but pretty. I would make 2 trips here because there was supposed to be a portage path but I either missed it or the earth reclaimed it, maybe I was on it but wouldn’t call it a path. Put in on the other side & make my way down to the creek. Very skinny water here leading into the river. It has been a fairly dry season, so water levels are way down, I was beginning to think this big deep pool might be a puddle. Walking the creek for about 10 min I hear a crash in the bushes & I need to change my shorts, damn dear about 100 or so feet from me crashes through, I only catch the ass end. Just beyond the dear is where the pool lays. I happen to be fishing this pool on the last day you are allowed to use live bait & are allowed to keep Brookies if you wished. A few drifts in float drops & the fight was on. Nothing big but it was a start. From there they would become much bigger & more often. I would think the biggest I caught that day would tap out at 3lbs. I originally planned to camp near this creek but that damn coyote thing messed my head up a bit + I can see where if you didn’t have your head about you , you could get yourself into some trouble so I would hike it back to the second lake where I saw what looked like camping spots for the night, may have been hunters or fisherman that made this one spot, fire pit & a falling apart thunder box, slept like a rock that night. Next day I would head back to the creek for a few hours then the long paddle back to be picked up around 4. My pick up had been waiting for awhile for me to show as I bumped into 2 canoeists that were going to be tripping down that river all the way to the coast, very knowledgeable folks as they have done that trek many times . I know it was only one night but there is a sense of accomplishment, will definitely extend the overnights next round.

I would travel around for the next few days testing any river I passed over, with limited success. There is no other river for me to fish than the Margaree. I may be a honorary Blue Noser but my heart is pure Cape Breton! From the Gaelic language to the Acadian French, the gutters of Sydney to the cliffs of Meat Cove I love it all. Like everywhere out there the rules for fishing change on September 1^st (most inland fishing) from any gear/bait to FLY ONLY & all Brook Trout must be released (again most places) I am not a Fly Fisherman by any stretch, I attempt to cast but stick mostly to roll casting with a spot of spey. I have a 5wt rod that I use for stream trout but would be easily overpowered on the Margaree so I brought my float rod this trip. There were 2 Fly guys where I choose fish & as soon as they saw my gear they knew I was from Ontario as float rods/reels aren’t that popular yet, but are gaining traction. I was really hoping for a Atlantic just to check that off the list but that will have to wait till next time. I do own a bunch of fly’s but really I couldn’t tell you the names of any of them outside of a few, so I drift a few with a little success for smaller Brookies. The purists are probably going to give me crap for this but I tie on a Zoo Cougar (one of the few I do know the name for) & chuck it out. A few drifts in the float drops & the fight was on. This thing peeled line faster than I could stop it. 4ft leaps out of the water, I thought it was a Atlantic, bright silvery thing possessed & it was at this moment I found God or at least praying I would land this demon. All said the fight was probably less than 5 min, maybe less than 3 I’m not sure but as I was reeling it in to land this bright silver thing started to look like a Bow, beach it & damn it is a steelie. I was in shock both because of the incredible fight & the fact it was a bow. I know they have stocked lakes with them around but hadn’t really heard of Steelie fishing out there. I received a few history lessons from the fly guy’s on how these fish came to be out there, & they told me there are a few rivers that have them but seem to be rather hush hush among the fisherman. Although my guy was quite small (4lbs max) the fight in it was 3x that of any great lakes fish I’ve caught. I now have to travel to the west coast and try my hand in their natural environment. I wouldn’t need to fish the rest of that day as the high stuck with me. I would round out the rest of my vacation traveling around sightseeing with the odd cast. Round trip I put on 6km shy of 7000km.

Info for anyone interested, my google-fu might be weak but I could barely find any info on Crown land for Nova Scotia until I contacted the government & was provided this link

https://nsgi.novascotia.ca/plv/

This one was easier to find but I’ll add it anyway

http://www.ckns.ca/canoe-routes-ns-handbook

http://www.ckns.ca/ckns-canoe-route-maps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Terry]

Sounds like a great trip

 

I use to carry a flare gun for protection. I mean so I could signal.

[Sinker]

Nice! That bottle looks delicious!

 

S.

[ckewley]

It is quite nice Sinker, highly recommend a tour of that distillery if you're ever out that way. The range has grown leaps & bounds since my last visit, still can only buy 2 of their line & the LCBO. But they have the standard 10 yr & Ice wine cask finish, have added a slightly peated 13yr (I bought a cask strength similar to that 22yr old) a 14yr, 18yr, 19yr, 21yr, 25yr all of different cask finishes & they have 2 casks your bottle gets filled straight from, a 13yr & 22yr (66.7% on the 13yr & 63.5% on the 22yr) not sure if these are rotated to other yrs or stay the same.

[GBW]

Thanks for taking all that time to post and the pic's are great! Cheers!

[leaf4]

Sweet little trip! Nice pics too!

[dave524]

Looks like a great trip and nice pictures, a little surprised to see what looks to be a severe infestation of invasive Japanese Knotweed in that first picture, I had thought it was a localized problem to BC and southern Ontario. It really does choke out any native species

[misfish]

Love the 2nd /3rd pic. Amazing

 

 

There were 2 Fly guys where I choose fish & as soon as they saw my gear they knew I was from Ontario as float rods/reels aren’t that popular yet, but are gaining traction.

 

 

I loved this. You were an outsider, and they still welcomed you with open arms. The way of the east bye, the way of the east.

 

Thanks for taking the great time you had ,and sharing it.

 

I truly enjoyed it.

 

I have not been back in 40 years. Still have all the memories though up stairs of the great times. Mud trout,cod,flounder, scooping up jelly fish with our hands.

 

Might be time to plan something, before it,s too late.

 

Thanks again Ckewley

[pics]

My uncle lives in Clare on a beautiful little lake chock full of small mouth and chain pickeral. They look very much like a Pike to me.. My second favorite place in NS is Meat Cove. Amazing view from the top of the mountain and the chowder is the best. The stories of the locals and the mysterious fires is interesting..

[Chuck Enwinde]

Good stuff Chris. Really nice photos and a sweet looking canoe. Last crack for local brookies next weekend.

[scugpg]

Wow very fun trip indeed. I bet that old GBR cask strength was also a treat!

[ckewley]

Love the 2nd /3rd pic. Amazing

 

 

 

I loved this. You were an outsider, and they still welcomed you with open arms. The way of the east bye, the way of the east.

 

Thanks for taking the great time you had ,and sharing it.

 

I truly enjoyed it.

 

I have not been back in 40 years. Still have all the memories though up stairs of the great times. Mud trout,cod,flounder, scooping up jelly fish with our hands.

 

Might be time to plan something, before it,s too late.

 

Thanks again Ckewley

Thanks Brian & yes everyone works on a different level out there. I will say if you do plan on going back to the rock (driving) keep me in mind I've never been there & plan to change that maybe next year.

 

 

My uncle lives in Clare on a beautiful little lake chock full of small mouth and chain pickeral. They look very much like a Pike to me.. My second favorite place in NS is Meat Cove. Amazing view from the top of the mountain and the chowder is the best. The stories of the locals and the mysterious fires is interesting..

Yes I love the family "vengeance" stories about Meat Cove, not much of a chowder guy but the beer is always cold. Ya chain pic's are small pike and have seen many of them rotting on the banks just never been lucky enough to bag one. If you've never been to Shag Harbour I recommend it for its oddity could swear there was a place similar on PEI but can't recall the name.

 

 

Good stuff Chris. Really nice photos and a sweet looking canoe. Last crack for local brookies next weekend.

Yes sir will text you sometime this weekend

 

 

Wow very fun trip indeed. I bet that old GBR cask strength was also a treat!

 

Indeed it is, I also had

 

which is a cracker as well

 

 

Thanks for the replies guy's I appreciate them. If you've never been do yourself a favour and go, but don't plan on seeing everything in one shot. It maybe a small province but there is so much to see & do,

[AKRISONER]

there is definitely something to be said for venturing into the wilderness/a new lake/ the unknown in order to find fish...and sure enough actually finding said fish.

 

It can be as simple as just heading to an entirely new area of the lake that you normally fish, or as far as portaging into the wilderness to find a brookie hole like this.

 

Very cool story thanks for the write up and great pics!

[gordy28]

Great report thanks for taking the time

Good read w my morning coffee

Love your dedication to the Scotch pics. Those alone could be a great instagram feed

Cheers

Gordy

[Joeytier]

I really enjoyed reading that! Good for you for taking on that portage trip. Would love to explore those big east coast rivers, they sound incredible.