Atlantic Salmon and Brook Trout Fly Fishing Trips on Hughes
Brook Newfoundland, Canada
Atlantic Salmon and Brook Trout Fly Fishing Trips on Hughes
Brook Newfoundland, Canada
| The headwater lakes of Hughes Brook sit on a plateau 1000 feet above
the river. Now,.... if I can just reach that rising trout...... |
Atlantic Salmon and Brook Trout fly fishing trips on Hughes Brook can be
readily had as this small stream is located 10 minutes from the town of
Corner Brook and 15 minutes from the lodge in Steady Brook (see
map). Access is via the Goose Arm logging road system.
This quaint little idealic trout stream slowly winds through a relatively
flat glacial flood plain composed of sand and gravel. The river bottom
varies from rocks to small stones to sand with a small passable falls running
over a limestone/dolomite bed rock. The river is easily waded and
can be cast across in any location. The river is approximately 15
km or 9 miles long to an impassable waterfalls and is dotted with pools,
eddies, and runs. There are many undercut banks where fish take cover,
but watch out for the drift piles while playing fish! The water
remains very cool until mid to late August when it can get a little warm
in mid afternoon (65 to 70oF). The headwaters rest atop
1000 foot hills but the outflow from the lake is rather shallow. The water
is a little stained with tannin and dirties with any amount of rain.
Virtually all the upper pools (I'd say 90+%) in this stream can be crossed
with waders but a few can not. The structure or location of the
upper pools changes frequently as the river bottom is silt, sand, and pebbles.
The pools on the very lower section are more stable but deeper and will
require you to move to a shallow area or mini rapids to cross.
While the river is a scheduled salmon river, the best fishing to be
 |
Brook Trout like these 15 to 17 inchers make a
nice shore lunch while watching the sunset...
had is for its very strong run of sea run brook trout. Until 2001,
there was a counting fence at the beginning of the river which provided
data. This run usually starts over the lower falls each rainy night
after the end of July, but can be caught in the pools closest to the ocean
in early July.
An occasional small salmon is hooked while fishing for these trout as
they lay together in some pools. Very few mature salmon (8+ pounds)
spawn in this little stream (typically less than 100). We do not
retain any accidentally hooked salmon from this stream. Nymph
fishing for the trout is the most effective method used on this river,
but dry and wet flies will take some fish. Typical catch rates vary
from a few 1/2 to 1 pound trout to a dozen or more over 2 pounds.
The most difficult part of fishing this river is finding a pool holding
a large number of the trout. The trout move in schools from pool
to pool. A pool that was full one day might be nearly empty after a rain
and the angler must forage up river to locate them. Therefore, knowing
which pools the trout hold in is a must for preventing wasted search time.
By mid August through late September the headwaters area known as "Blue
Cliffs" fills with 1 to 5 pound sea run brook trout and average 1 to 3
pounds. We've had some truly glorious trout fishing days during late August
the first week of September. There were commonly hundres of trout
(over 1 pound) counted passing through the counting fence for the season.
 |
The mouth of Hughes Brook as it empties into the
Bay of Islands. This little stream as a very healthy run of sea run brook
trout and some salmon along its 15 km of fishable water.
This river has a healthy Belted King Fisher population which are fun to
watch even though they are terrible salmon parr predators. Mink are
everywhere so please don't leave your trout unattended ! Muskrat
are also regularly seen on this stream but unlike the continental mainland
they are not overly common in Newfoundland (thanks to the mink).
Occasionally a moose, ermine, beaver or fox is seen while fishing and while
otter regularly frequent this stream I have only ever seen a few of these
sometimes very shy animals in 20 years. On other rivers they can
be very bold but not on this stream.
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.
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Click the link below for a description and photos
of the river.
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).
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