by John Cleveland

Mike and I were relaxing on the deck ofour cabin at Elk Island Lodge in the coolevening breeze after our first day on theriver. We were contemplating the fact thatwe had just caught two-dozen brook trout,and every one of them was bigger than anywe had caught in our lifetimes.

The fiery globe of the evening sun satsuspended on the horizon, its light like abeacon slicing across the flat calm watersof the lake. The prehistoric cackle of asquadron of sandhill cranes flying high information through the evening sky added tothe feeling of adventure, and the

remoteness of Gods Lake. This morning,Gods River had given us our first delicioustaste of trophy-brook trout fishing.

The following is a journal entry I madeafter our first day on Gods River innorthern Manitoba, Canada:

Brook trout were my “gateway” fish to alifelong addiction to trout and to themagical adventures I’ve found whilechasing them. My fondness for them beganin my youth while fishing with my bestfriend Robin Lacy in northern Michigan.We would fill our pockets full ofnightcrawlers and sneak into a little creekcalled Roaring Brook near a small town

called Harbor Springs. Several sections ofthe creek may or may not have been locatedmarginally close to private property as Irecall. This thin ribbon of icy water was fullof handsome brook trout from 7 to 10inches, which negated any perceived risk orfeelings of guilt we may have experiencedwhile violating local ordinances at ouryoung age. We soaked worms in deep darkpools and undercuts with the result beingthat these beautiful little creatures wouldemerge like colorful jewels from a pirate’streasure chest. These magical creatures andthe wonderfully wild places they livebecame a passion.

I had the good fortune of meeting GregDick, owner of Elk Island Lodge located300 miles northeast of Winnipeg. This wasseveral years ago while attending a fishingshow as marketing director for Eppinger.Last year at the All Canada show inChicago I took note of the 25-inchgorgeous trophy brook trout replica ondisplay in Greg’s booth. He explained it wascaught on a fly out to Gods River innorthern Manitoba by one of his guests. Itdidn’t take any arm-twisting for my friendand fellow Trout Unlimited member, MikeMouradian, to book a four-day trip withGreg. This would be Mike’s first trip to aCanadian fly-out lodge and I was lookingforward to introducing him to the uniquekind of adventure only a wilderness lodgecan offer.

Gods Lake is a pristine 1,300-square-mile fish factory that holds prolificquantities of trophy lake trout, pike andwalleyes. Every trip develops its ownspecial character as it unfolds, and this onewould be an awesome blend of classic big-water pike on wide scalloped bays andworld-class brook trout on Gods River.

Upon our arrival, we were given acomprehensive orientation to the fishingprogram and introduction to the staff at thelodge, and then we’re shown to our cabins.As soon as Mike and I had unpacked ourgear, we headed down to the dock to spendthe afternoon pike fishing. Our guideByron knew the lake well, and aftersearching several shallow bays, he told usthey have most likely moved to deeperwater due to the unseasonably warmtemperatures and early ice-out this season.That’s exactly where we found them. Wenavigated through a short, rocky channel toa secluded flat basin of dark marbled waterthat was 5 to 8 feet deep with a sparseimmerging weed bed typical of earlysummer. I tossed my favorite hammeredcopper Dardevle with the chartreuse stripetoward the shoreline. A feisty 10-poundpike immediately attacked it. Mike is anexpert fly fisherman with most of hisexperience in rivers catching trout withfeatherweight fly rods. He was nowlaunching big flies at pike with a heavy 8-weight fly rod and the pike wereenthusiastically crushing his streamers onjust about every cast. The huge smile on hisface needed no interpretation; he washaving lots of fun. We caught over 30 pikein this classic pike bay and called it a daybefore heading back to the lodge for adelicious dinner.

Gods RiverThere are only a handful of “holy

waters,” where native brook trout aremeasured in pounds, not inches. Gods Riveris one of those, holding approximately 90percent of the Brook Trout Master Anglerrecords every year in Manitoba. Thisremote water runs 250 miles from GodsLake to Hudson Bay, resulting in anunpressured, exceptionally healthy aquaticecosystem that contains a plethora of

insects, baitfish and sculpins that fortifythis exceptional genepool of fish. ElkIsland Lodge has proprietary access to aremote section of the best brook trout wateron Gods River, via daily fly-outs in theirfloatplane. The average trout is 16 to 18inches with 20 to 22 being common. A few24-inch or larger fish are usually caughteach season. The record on Gods River is 91/2 pounds.

Jurassic troutThe venerable pumpkin orange 1953

DE Havilland Beaver floatplane soared overthe breathtakingly beautiful panorama oftundra interspersed with small potholelakes, glacial rock and skinny clumps ofblack spruce, while its 450-hp Radialengine kept its cadence to the passinglandscape like a movie score.

In about 35 minutes, the crisp bluewaters of Gods River stretched across thevast tundra landscape that came into view.The floatplane came to rest on a broad flatstretch of the river and taxied to shore.

Elk Island keeps two boats on the shoreof this remote section of river, and wewasted no time getting out into the river asByron took us to the best runs and pools forbig trout. We headed downstream to thefirst rapids to begin. Byron knows the riverlike the back of his hand and his coachingand boat-handling skills were invaluable. Ihad tried several different colors and sizesof Dardevle spoons without getting a strikewhen Byron told me to give him my spoonbox. He selected a 1/2-ounce hammeredCopper Devle Dog Spoon with an orangestripe confidently telling me, “This willcatch a big brook trout.” I cast it upstreamand wobbled it through a deep troughflowing between two large boulders. I felt aheavy thump and set the hook on a slab-sided 22-inch trophy brook trout with a tailthat looked like a canoe paddle. It put up anawesome fight.

A few moments later, Mike stripped alarge streamer fly through a deep run at theedge of a rocky shelf and connected with agorgeous 19 1/2-inch brook trouthandsomely splashed with a mossy green-marbled back, brilliant red belly and deepemerald blue and neon red spots thatradiated like jewels in the rays of themorning sunshine—a beautiful creature.With Byron’s guidance, we continued tohave a truly spectacular day of trophy-brook trout fishing. By the end of the day,we had landed over 20 brook trout between16 and 22 inches with two fish at 21 and 22inches qualifying for Manitoba MasterAngler awards. We had both set personalbests for brook trout and could not imagineit getting any better, but it did. It was as ifwe were fishing in a Jurassic Park-like areaas we were catching world-class brook troutmeasured in pounds.

The next day we headed out to go pikefishing on the lake. It took Byron a while tolocate good quantities of pike by runningand gunning until we found a submergedweed bed in 8 to 10 feet that was full of

January 2017Page 76 MidWest Outdoors “Helping you enjoy the outdoors”

It maynot look like the original Eppinger Dardevle®,but our Red Eye® Wiggleris every bit a Devle when itcomes to consistently catchingfish. To see more of the 17,000different lures made by Eppinger,contact us for a free catalog or log onto our web site at www.eppinger.net.Dardevle and Red Eye are available at yourlocal retailer.

Eppinger Mfg. Co.6340 Schaefer Dearborn MI 48126 Phone: 313/582-3205Email: dardevle1@aol.comwww.dardevle.com • www.eppinger.net

Dream Big: Bucket-list Brook Trout on Gods River in Manitoba

John Cleveland casts a Devle Dog Spoon into a deep pool filled with brook trout.

Elk Island Lodge is perched high on a rocky bluff overlooking Gods Lake.

Byron’s first brook trout.

pike that averaged 8 to 14 pounds. We spentseveral hours drifting along the perimeter ofthe bed and absolutely hammered themwith spoons and flies all afternoon. Bychanging spoons frequently, I was able todecipher that they were looking for brightshiny offerings retrieved at a slow andsteady cadence with a few flicks of the rodtip to trigger the strike. Mike put that samemantra to work with his fly rod and a longsilver streamer he had tied with lots ofsilver flash. He proceeded to have awonderful day hooking pike on the fly.

At midday we took a break for shorelunch on a scalloped rocky outcropping thatoffered a cool breeze and panoramic view ofthe lake. This would be Mike’s firstexperience dining on fresh sizzled pikefillets served in Mother Nature’s kitchen.Byron promptly filleted the pike on a nearbyslab of Precambrian granite while wegathered tinder and wood for the fire. Inshort order Byron heated a couple of cans ofbeans and corn on the edge of the cookingfire while he flash-fried the fresh fillets,sliced potatoes and onions for the shorelunch. There is nothing on earth like the tasteof fresh sizzled pike fillets seasoned withfresh air and a bit of wood smoke whilerelaxing on a remote lakeshore in thewilderness to enhance the feeling ofparticipation and empowerment in the food

chain. Byron had us back-chasing pike andfed in less than an hour.

Day two on the riverWe explored the upper regions of the

Gods River on the second day. Two baldeagles were soaring above the spruce-linedbanks of the river, keeping an eye on ourprogress as Byron deftly maneuvered theboat through tumbling wild water. Thedamp, chilly wind cutting across the surfaceof the river made us appreciate the GOR-TEX coats we were wrapped in as weprogressed upriver to the first runs wewould fish. Mike and I both landed two orthree thick-bodied trout, ranging 17 to 19inches. We were pretty happy with theaction as fished our way up stream.

About two miles upriver, Byronpositioned the boat so we could cast into adeep pool below a shallow-rock dam. Itossed my Copper Devle Dog with theorange stripe to the far side of the pool anda huge brook trout immediately hit it like apiece of red meat, and just took off running.We played tug-of-war for several minutesbefore I was able to bring him into the boat.I had just landed a 24-inch, colorfullyadorned monster trout, weighing in at 8pounds. Byron excitedly informed me thatin addition to being a Master Angler Awardfish, this was one of the largest brookies hehad ever seen and it would probably place inthe top 2 or 3 largest in Manitoba for 2016.

Once we settled down from theexcitement, we continued our journeyseveral miles upriver to a wide section thatwas a maze of channels full of fallen timberand boulders within the rapids. The logisticsof casting and retrieving through themassive logjams made for a challenge. Butthe rewards were worth the frequency of lostlures and flies. We experienced snags as wecaught some beautiful fish here, including athick, 21 1/2-inch trout that weighed 5pounds using my fly rod and an OliveMatuka streamer tied by my lifelong friendRobin Lacy. By late afternoon, Mike and Ihad landed about 18 or 20 trout with twoqualifying as Manitoba Master Angler fish.The special time we spent experiencingthese world-class fish was simplyincredible. The run downriver to our pick-uppoint was almost as exciting as the morningclimb as Byron ran the rapids with abandon.We were now carrying a bucket list full ofamazing trophy trout and memories.

Elk Island Lodge a wildernessclassic

The main lodge is a comfortable affairhandsomely decorated with rustic andwilderness-inspired décor, including a smalllibrary of books, a pool table, a tackle shopand bar with a huge stone fireplace to gatheraround for food and storytelling. The fullyequipped log-sided guest cabins are perchedalong a high granite promenade with apanoramic western view that brought theamazing sunsets to our doorstep eachevening. It was evident as soon as we setfoot on the lodge’s runway and were greetedby Greg that he and his family had takencare to ensure their guests’ expectationswere exceeded. The hospitality exhibited byGreg’s staff showed they sincerely cared,making sure visitors felt special whilevisiting the lodge. Elk Island is the kind ofplace you will experience the classic,quintessential, Canadian fly-in wildernessadventure that includes excellent fishing,great people and amazing scenery.

If we are lucky enough we willultimately find more than just fish on awilderness adventure. The scenery, wildlifeand the people we share it with are thepigments that color the canvas of memoriesthat an epic fishing adventure are paintedon. It would be difficult to paint a betterpicture than the trophy Brook Troutadventures and wonderful hospitality Mikeand I experienced at Elk Island Lodge.MWO

Page 77January 2016 MidWest Outdoors “Helping you enjoy the outdoors”

BUCKET LIST BROOK TROUT FISHING!One of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class brook trout!

ELKISLANDLODGE.COM

UCKETBOne of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

IST LUCKETOne of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

ROOK BISTOne of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

ROUTTROOKOne of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

ISHING FROUTOne of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

!ISHINGout!ook trbrro

One of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

One of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

One of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

One of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

One of only a handful of places on the planet to catch truly world class br

out!ook trbrro

what you’re looking forand Lindsie Dick, and we’ll tailor your trip to comfortable and well run. WClassic Canadian wilderness fishing lodge,

e’re your hosts here forWWeand Lindsie Dick, and we’ll tailor your trip to

e are owners Greg n. WWeClassic Canadian wilderness fishing lodge,

organized and clean2-, 4-, 6- and 8-person cabins – •brook trout fishing on God’Proprietary access to the best •

One hour shore lunches – more time fishing•

omWWo•

ropTTr•

organized and clean2-, 4-, 6- and 8-person cabins –

s riverbrook trout fishing on God’Proprietary access to the best

One hour shore lunches – more time fishing

oman-friendly camp – inclusive, many amenities

rophy northern pike, plentiful walleye

One hour shore lunches – more time fishing

oman-friendly camp – inclusive, many amenities

rophy northern pike, plentiful walleye

here, you’re part of our familythe very best personalized service. When you’re

, hands on,you every dayy,. what you re looking forr.

. Give us a call!familyy.the very best personalized service. When you’re

, hands on, guest focused, delivering e re your hosts, here for WWe

ELKISLANDLODGE.COM

easy to get around campElectric golf carts – •

organized and clean

ELKISLANDLODGE.COM

Excellent experience and value for your money•

easy to get around campElectric golf carts –

organized and clean

ELKISLANDLODGE.COM

Excellent experience and value for your money

ELKISLANDLODGE.COM

Excellent experience and value for your money

One hour shore lunches – more time fishing

Cleveland casts his favorite copper, chartreuse-stripedDardevle along a submerged weed bed for pike.

Mike Mouradian with his first Canadian fly-caught pike.

Unloading at Gods River for the day’s brook trout adventure.

A beautiful 19-inch Gods River brookie.