“ So it is with rods, and reels and flies:  they

all lead to the river.  And with almost…..every

cast it is possible

to take a fish, if  the fish are

in the mood for fishing. But it is not all of fishing (just) to fish”

George Frederick

Clarke,

“The Song of 

The Reel”

Labrador’s Eagle River is world renowned and ranked in the top five Atlantic-salmon producing rivers in the North American continent. It is known for   its large, wild salmon ( thirty pounders  have been caught and released by anglers   at the Lodge ) , for its bright and shiny  grilse that run throughout the season. In addition to wild salmon and grilse, the Labrador waters are also home to the giant Labrador brook trout, silvery Artic char, sea run trout and Northern pike.

Accessible only by float plane or helicopter, the Lodge’s pristine, remote and totally isolated waters can be fished from the shore, or from our boats - many handmade Gander River style, or by wading. The river ranges from a spectacular thousand-yards-wide, to sections a few hundred feet wide, to places where you can cast from bank to bank.

As a consequence of Newfoundland and Labrador ’s restrictions on commercial salmon fishing in the 1990’s, the annual runs of salmon have increased dramatically. To husband this valuable resource, catch and release is strongly encouraged but anglers may take only one fish during their visit.

All fishing licenses are provided as well as breathable gortex waders and boots in varying sizes. Also on hand is a fine selection of  fishing equipment to save you  the trouble of traveling with yours. Of course, our trained, friendly, uniformed guides will be delighted to share their  tackle boxes and their knowledge of the area with you to ensure your angling experience is world class. You may fish from dusk ‘til dawn as long as you are accompanied by your guide.  

A century ago, salmon hooks were “blind”. They had to be eyed by whipping a small loop of gut –“a silken fibre obtained from the intestines of a silkworm” – into the head of the fly. When the guy became brittle it broke, and the fly became useless and was discarded along the river banks or the bottom of boats. From there, natives of Newfoundland and Labrador would retrieve them and fish them again by tying a double half hitch with their tippet just behind the head of the fly. This hitch made the fly skim at an angle across the surface creating a riffle or wake behind it as it swing downstream.

Thus was born the “riffling hitch “which has endured into the era of eyed hooks and become a Newfoundland and Labrador tradition. It as first observed by Lee Wulff in  Portland Creek, NL, and he introduced it to the angling world. That’s why today, whenever salmon hesitate, you’ll find an angler trying the rifflin’ hitch.

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