Wow, we are already halfway through the month of September. Where has our season gone? It feels like just yesterday we were feeling the heat of July and now we are feeling fall’s cold front make its way into the Gaspésie. This past week has been a mixture of rain, cool mornings, damp days, some sunshine and fresh evenings. Nothing a nice warm bowl of chilli or stew by the river for lunch and the crackling of the fireplace upon your return to the lodge can’t cure.
Our rivers have finally stabilized and have been performing very well this past week! Their levels are healthy for this time of the season and their temperatures are fresh and cool for our salmon friends. The back to gin-clear Bonaventure River began its week flowing above 100 and is ending at a comfortable 51.29 cubic meters per second. The Petite Cascapedia kept her levels wonderfully and has gifted us with some surprises this week. The Petite began her week with levels of 34.4 cubic meters per second and ended at 31.83. The magnificent Grand Cascapedia had some minor fluctuation this past week when a couple showers hit just the right spot up in the mountains. The Grand began the week flowing at 46.53 cubic meters per second and ended at a level of 36.78.
The flies that caught the attention of the salmon this week were the Red Francis, Alley Shrimp, Black Bear and Watch Out. Any colours that match our mountains at the moment – yellows, oranges and reds or something with black seem to attract the salmon. The sizes were truly dependant on the water levels which varied tremendously this week all depending on the river you fished and the timing in the week. We are now down to two weeks left of welcoming wonderful guests and enjoying our rivers. Let’s not take any of it for granted and take in the beauty of our surroundings.
Here’s to Health, Happiness and Tight lines,
Julia
