Atlantic Salmon and Brook Trout Fishing Trips 
on the Harry's River, Newfoundland, Canada

Salmon weighing in excess of 20 pounds and large brook trout run Harry's River. A main holding lake named George's Lake can be seen in the background.
Home Pool, Harry's River, 2003

Made famous by the Log Cabin Camps of R.P. Whittington during the 1900-1920's and many a sports writer from Europe and the USA through the 1960, 70's, 80s, and 90's - this river was opened to the very adventuresome traveler in the late 1800 when the first railway in Newfoundland followed the river valley.  This is a rather large Newfoundland river but this should be weighed by the diminutive stature of rivers found on the Island of Newfoundland.  When compared to Continental river sizes this might be simply called a stream.  The nearest comparison in size would be the Codroy or Torrent River and somewhat smaller than the Humber River, Gander, or Exploits.

It has many tributaries and drains a large plume shaped area of approximately 4000 km2.  The main stem of Harry's River is crystal clear and has approximately 29.5 km that salmon and trout return to and spawn in.  The main stem of the river flows from George's Lake, but a main tributary can be found 4.8 km down stream from George's Lake called North Brook.  Three main tributaries used by migrating fish are North Brook and on George's Lake at Spruce  Brook, Stag Hill, and Pinchgut Brook.  Still farther up river from Pinchgut Brook is a good sized lake of about 10 km (Pinchgut Lake) and then still 2 more tributaries flowing into this lake which are some main spawning grounds.  The river itself is text book with varied pool and run structures of sand, pebble, free stone of various sizes, stone, and limestone derivative ledges.  The river valley is covered with a mixture of black spruce, balsam fir, birch with some aspen, alder, and willow.  The surrounding grades/hills are about 100 to 800 feet in elevation but the river sits in a relatively flat valley with the water coming close to only a few significant hills.

Access to this river is via the Gallants Road which turns off the TCH (click here to see a map - warning 420kb in size).  This road was constructed to reach the small railway town of about 20 houses.  The river is about a 30 minute drive from the main lodge located in Steady Brook.  Access to the pools can be had by driving down the old rail bed that follows the river and then a 1 to 10 minute walk to the water. access can also be had from various trails and old dirt roads on the SE side of the river.

Fishing Grilse Pool during very low but cool water conditions. 40 to 50 salmon could be seen in the pool. Harry's River, Newfoundland, 2003

Fishing is done from either the river bank or while wading.  Salmon can be taken with dry flies on virtually all pools, however there are some fast runs and lays where a wet fly fishes perfectly.  Generally, we do not fish salmon below Wachanjeech Pool as between Home Pool and Wachanjeech Pool there is so much water we generally do not wander any further unless requested.

Along this section the river is fairly fast moving with long straight pools and the bottom varies from bedrock to smooth stones from 1 inch to 1 foot diameter spotted with a few large boulders.  Once below Cable or Dump Pool the river slows somewhat and meanders with pebble and free stone pools and large 4 inch to 12 inch stone pools.  The pools on the lower section can be a good distance apart so an ATV or vehicle is required if not canoeing.  The river is fairly boulder ridden and shallow in many spots and makes for troublesome canoeing in late July and August.
  While the river is a mere shadow of its former self in terms of salmon production, and we do not retain many salmon from this river, it is still fun to fish and we still manage a decent catch rate as we only fish it under good conditions at appropriate times. Moreover, as very few locals

Gin clear water, classic pools, and a few trophy fish are trademarks of Harry's River. A favorite of many salmon anglers visiting Newfoundland. For a recent article about this river by one of our guests Click Here.
Grilse Pool, Harry's River, September 2003

now fish the river, it can provide a lot of angler free water with numerous fresh fish in the pools.  This river is a text book salmon river with every size and age class of fish available.  The grilse are between 3.5  and 6 pounds but a few double and multi-sea winter salmon (10- 20 pounds) will be seen in all the pools. I am yet to see a fish over 28 pounds landed on this river, but I and many others, have seen very large salmon well over 30 pounds hooked and have seen perhaps 40 pound fish in the river.  The largest salmon that I know of that was landed in 2002 was a 24 to 26 pound fish taken by a Bay St.George guide at Robaires Pool, a similar sized fish was landed from Home Pool in 2003 by a local angler and well over a dozen fish over 20 pounds could be seen in the Home pool in September of 2003.  A number of 30 to 40 pound class fish were seen in 2002 and 2003 but not hooked (that I know of). Very few locals fished this river in 2002 and 2003 so reports were scarce. In 2003 as a result of a local conservation organization (SPAWN) and the co-opertation of government, two counting fences were installed in the lower section of this system. This added to the fence on Pinchgut Brook to give scientists and managers a better idea of the run strength. During the 2003 run of salmon over 2800 entered the river and a few were 48+ inches and approximately 40 pounds! Moreover, these trophy fish use specific pools and lays and usually can be found and fished over.

This river is known for its still very strong run of large sea run brook trout that are frequently 1 to 2 pounds and not uncommonly 2 to 4 pounds.  While using nymphs will catch more fish, trout will also be taken on steamers and dry flies.  These silvery trout start running the river in May and early June when the false run occurs and then again in very late July and early August when the spawning run occurs. Each pool we fish will usually give up a few trout before it will need to be "rested" and the angler must wait or move to another pool.  There are a number of fly hatches throughtout the season and anglers can enjoy dry fly, emergent and nymph fishing during these conditions.  Most salmon pools will also hold brook trout but the outlets of the tributary streams along the lake at Muskrat Brook, Spruce Brook, Pinchgut Brook, Stag Hill Brook, and Meadows Brook and the main trout pools below black duck siding and the Home Pool, North Brook Pool, Trout Pool, and Cable Pool.  Some colored brook trout (non-sea run) will be found in the Home Pools at George's lake and Pinchgut Lake and at the mouths of Spruce Brook, Pinchgut Brook, and Stag Hill Brook during the first few days/weeks of the season.  Mink and moose are plentiful on this river and are seen frequently.  Caribou are not.  River Otter are plentiful on this system but will usually only be seen at night or very late in the evening on a very rare occasion.  This valley abounds with wildlife and the visitor will likely see one or a few of the following: a moose, bald eagles, ospreys, beaver, muskrat, and sometimes a predator such as a fox, lynx, or black bear. Do not leave unattended fish on the beach if you don't want to feed the plentiful mink at Ledge pool, Home Pool or Cable Pool!  Sometimes we will visit a mink den at Ledge Pool that has been used for nearly 20 years.

About 30 to 50 fish were in most pools we checked during the first week in September. Now, if we could just get them to all line up...
Grilse Pool, Harry's River, Newfoundland, Canada, 2003.

Typical guided catch rates are 1 salmon and/or 5+ nice trout per angler per day.  The river is best fished with no more than 2 or 3 anglers at each pool at any given moment.  As a lad in 1980 I can remember catching 5 grilse in a half day of fishing at Cable Pool and watched every other visiting angler land a few fish each over the span of the day.  The pool was teaming with salmon.  Imagine.....netting such a magnificent river.  Thanks to the efforts of local guides, outfitters, conservation organizations, concerned anglers, and government enforcement officers, a number of poachers have been caught lately and returns to this system are increasing; but slowly.  Hopefully this upward trend will continue in 2004 and this river, like most of our other rivers, will see increasing return numbers.

Tides for the Harry's River

This is the area the Harry's River is in (the town of Stephenville or Port Harmon is at the mouth of the river).  2)  In the locality drop down box press the little arrow with your mouse and release the mouse button on  "Port Harmon" such that it remains in the box or click Port Harmon on the map and make sure it then appears in the box.  3)  The time box should automatically change to NST (Newfoundland Standard Time, that's right...we talk so fast that it takes the rest of North America a half hour to catch-up).  Specify the number of days you want the charts for and finally, hit query.  That's it.  A chart for the tides will be shown.
 

Click your mouse on map position/river you  want to enlarge below.  It will open a new  window with a 1:250,000 scale map or  a 1:50,000 scale map of some of the pools. There are over 200 salmon rivers in the Province of Newfoundland  and Labrador. These are only a few (but some of the better ones).  Note that not all salmon and trout rivers in this area are marked.

Click the link below for a description and photos of the river. Salmon Rivers We Fish 1) Sop's Arm River 2) Upper Humber 3) Lower Humber 4) Lomond River 5) Goose Arm River  7) Serpentine River 8) Pinchgut River 9) Harry's River 10) Fox Island River 11) South West River 12) Bottom Brook 13) Little Barachois River 14) Flat Bay River 15) Fishell's Brook Others on occasion Brook Trout  Areas We Fish 2 & 3)Humber (lower and upper) 4) Lomond River 5) Goose Arm River 6) Hughes Brook 7) Serpentine River Deer Lake (and 4 tributaries) Aides Lake Goose Arm Lake Sandy Lake Cloudy Pond Secret Spots Others 30 Day Water Flow Rates, Temperatures (updated daily or hourly) Humber River (at various locations) Main River (at Paradise Pool), and Harry's River (at the bridge).