Casting a line in Gasp's legendary salmon river, 'the holy grail in Canada'

For the first time thisseason, salmon fishermen are able to cast their lines into the Grand CascapdiaRiver in the Gasp region of Quebec today.

"If you're a fly fisherman, and an Atlantic salmon fly fisherman, this is the holy grail in Canada," said avid fisherman Greg Dixon.

"The largest, the biggest:it's just a joy to be here and fish this river."

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The river begins in the Chic-ChocMountains at the centre of the Gasp Peninsula and empties120 kilometres away inthe Baie des Chaleurs.

It has a watershed ofmore than 3,000 square kilometres.

The largest, the biggest:it's just a joy to be here and fish this river.- Fly fisherman Greg Dixon

The river is undammed and wild, and in the summer the water runs so crystal clear, one can see the fish swimming near the bottom onthe pebbled riverbed.

Hobby defines fly fisherman

Dixon says being a fly fisherman is one of hisdefining characteristics.

At the Sexton and Sexton fly shop in Cascapdia-Saint-Jules, Que., he leans onto the glass display case holding flies and reels and reminisces about his first day on the water, some fifty years ago, with long-time employee Todd Cochrane.

"[When you catch]your first salmon, you're more hooked than the fish," said Cochrane.

Dixon remembers that day well. He was 16or 17.For three straight dayshe caught nothing, while his brothers reeled in catch after catch.

"I was thinking, 'This is no fun,'" Dixon said."Then on the last morningkapowee!"

Dixon now lives on the RestigoucheRiver in New Brunswick, but he travels to the salmon: earlier this week, he was fishing in Scotland.

Indeed, he fishes nearly every day of the season except the month of August.

"My wife makes me take off August," he said.

Growing stocks

Salmon stocks have increased in the Grand CascapdiaRiver in recentyears, said Dixon and Cochrane.

They say the turning point began in 2010 when the Quebec government struck an agreement with the Mi'kmaqofGesgapegiag, a small First Nations community on the Gasp Peninsula,bywhichcommunity members are paid to stop netting fish at the mouth of the river. The current agreement is in place until 2023.

Fishing on the Grand Cascapdia is catch-and-release for any specimenlonger than 63 centimetres.

It costs between $77 and $600 a day per person to fish on the river, depending on where on the river a fishermen casts and whether a guide is included.

Most of the riverand the best fishing pools are owned by private camps that have been established for more than a century.

Long-time guide

Those camps provide jobs for a large proportion of the workforce in Cascapdia-Saint-Jules, population 750.

Cornad Legouffe has worked on the Grand CascapdiaRiver as a guide for 51 yearsmore than 40 of them at Lorne Cottage.

According to the Cascapdia River Museum, Lorne Cottage was built by the Marquis of Lorne for his wife, Princess Louise in 1880. Legouffe saidthe campnow belongs to five sisters who inherited it from their parents.

"A perfect day on the river for me is sitting back in the sun, enjoying the people I've got out fishing," Legouffe said. "There is a plus if you get a salmon on the line."

Legouffe saidover his half centuryon the river he's guided such people as actor Paul Newman, fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, hockey great Jean Bliveau and former prime ministerJean Chrtien.

"Ican't say it's a job,"he said. "It's a holiday when I go out on the river."

Life's work

Todd Cochraneof theSexton and Sexton fly shop is also defined by fly fishing.

He's worked at the store, owned by brothers Evan and Reynold Sexton, for 23 years. (This week, Cochrane is mourning the loss of Reynold, a pillar of the fishing community inCascapdia-Saint-Julesand Cochrane's close friend, who died in hospital on Sunday.)

On top of helping clientsand winding reels, each year Cochraneties about 9,000 flieswhich he sells at the store.

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Clients such asDixon come by specifically to speak with Cochranebecause of his expertise.

He learned to fish from his fatherand from listening to other fishermen tipshe's happy to pass on to others.

"Atlantic salmon fishing has never been a competition," said Cochrane.

"No trophies are handed out for the biggest fish; only a handshake between friends and maybe a glass of scotch raised after a good day on the water."

Cochrane predicts "a very good season,"based on a six-year cycle he's noticed in fish stocks.

"And I better be right because everyone passed the word around that 'Todd said it would be a good salmon season!'"

"If I'm wrong I'm going to have to hide,"he says with a laugh.

The fishing season on the Grand CascapdiaRiver runs from June 1 to September 30.