Immerse yourself in the captivating world of fishing with our selection of the 5 best stories. Incredible fishing stories await you, memorable moments of catching gray trout, walleye or giant speckled trout. These inspiring anecdotes from our ambassadors or friends of fishing Daniel Gilbert, Phil Paradis, Raymond Carignan, Valérie Gauthier and Jason Tremblay Morneau. Let’s get to the heart of these great adventures in the great outdoors without further ado.
Giant speckled trout north of Kuujjuaq: story by Daniel Gilbert
Perhaps twenty years ago, Daniel Gilbert experienced the most incredible fishing of his life on a river which flowed into Lake Laronsière north of Kuujjuaq. “It was a superb day of fishing sunny with giant brook trout”he exclaims, saying that these were 4 to 5 pounds and up to 24 inches each.
It was while filming as part of the Hunting and Fishing film evenings that he had the chance to experience this moment shared with his friends Norman and Kenny Byrns. Did he know it was going to be such a great day? " Absolutely not! We just wanted to try a few line shots and in the end, it was just incredible. », summarizes the fisherman. Along the way, we asked him for the ingredients to build the best fishing trip. According to him, it takes good camaraderie, being at the right time and in the right place, all combined with good fishing technique and the right equipment. The must? Less frequented fishing areas in Northern Quebec. The end of this fishing adventure? Fillets seasoned with white butter and a few spices: a treat like no other! A memorable fishing trip that he will remember for a long time.
“We just wanted to try a few line shots and in the end, it was just incredible. » - Daniel Gilbert
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The biggest gray trout ever seen: Phil Paradis at Lake Témiscouata
Phil Paradis, owner of La Salopette et l’aventurier in the corner of Kamouraska loves to tell about his best fishing trip. It was on Lake Témiscouata that he experienced his best outing in August 2021. It was a morning of fishing with a nice temperature with two friends, one experienced and the other, an amateur but with little experience and technique. Strong winds were forecast for that day, but Phil was confident they would have time to do their fishing before the weather got wild. After an hour of fishing, with nice specimens of 7 to 8 pounds harvested - which was already a damn good fishing with nice little fish! -, the fishermen see it appear in the distance that the wind is starting to pick up. “We barely had time to each pick up our fishing rod when the winds were very strong. We managed to cross the lake with difficulty: we were splashed by the waves and the boat was full of water. I'm not naturally fearful but I really didn't like it. », he remembers.
Passionate, they nevertheless decided to change marina and go to a quieter bay. A change to their route that would amaze them! “I was soaked but the sun was starting to come out. Once our lines were back in the water, we pulled out fish after fish of 6 to 8 pounds. We were fishing in about 70 feet of water and the sonar showed me a very thick mark: I thought there was something big there. I started working on getting the fish interested and of course trying to hook it and then it worked. » he says, still excited, remembering his very arched rod, the technique it required to ensure the fish was brought back to the boat. “I told the guys to start filming because I suspected it was big, he said, when he thought the fish would be around 10 pounds. Every time I managed to get the line up 25 to 30 feet, the fish took off with the line. It must have taken me a good 6 minutes of work. »
His more experienced fishing friend manned the well and waited impatiently. However, as soon as they tried to net it, they realized that the net was much too small and then the handle broke. With difficulty and misery, they managed to bring the fish back into the boat. “It was a huge fish: I had never seen such a big gray trout. I took the fish in my hands and it was bigger than a baby! His head was as big as mine. », he describes, specifying that ultimately the measurements indicated an animal measuring 15 feet and 30 inches in length. Phil says that this is the second fish over 10 pounds that he has seen caught in Lake Témiscouata, he who fishes around 250 gray trout per year. He is convinced that even in his old age, he will tell this fishing story to his grandchildren.
« […] I had never seen such a big gray trout. » - Phil Paradis
Night fishing for walleyes – Raymond Carignan
Raymond Carignan's best fishing trip dates back to August 2018. This experienced fisherman was then at Lake St-François, a widening of the St. Lawrence River which is in Quebec, Ontario and the southwest part in State of New York. In the company of his friend Denis Laflèche and filmed the show Passion Plein air and Outdoor Passion. “ On this same lake, in the section located in Ontario at Lancaster, I won the Budweiser National Walleye Championship professional fishing tournament twice with a world record each time. My return to this lake brought back very good memories and when I come back, I create new ones. », he says nostalgically, explaining that night fishing is always more exciting since all the senses are heightened. During the day, the underwater camera showed the presence of huge walleyes. They were sleeping and therefore, Raymond suspected that at night, the animals would be more active.
What were their secret weapons, you might be wondering. Things like Rapala's Shad Rap and Storm's Thunderstick. “They have the shape of a traditional led and their presence is diffused by the sound of beads inside a sound chamber, plus they have a very strong action. Adding a smelt flavor gel to these lures gave us a clear advantage. Given the aggressiveness of the nocturnal walleyes, we always activate the lures during all trolling passes with rods even if it can become exhausting in the long run. », describes the fisherman precisely, adding that their speed was 4.5 km/h for good lure action and good hooking. To this day, it was their most impressive catch ever as the team released approximately 100 pounds of walleyes in just a few hours. " It was very impressive. I had never experienced that! », he concludes.
Memorable ice fishing – Valérie Gauthier
Valérie thought long and hard before meeting us about her best fishing story. It’s because she has several really great stories, and she couldn’t decide which one to tell. Moreover, several of them come from a camp in Northern Quebec, near Lac Mesgouez, a place that she visits religiously with friends every year during their vacation. There, it is a true paradise for fishing for all kinds of specimens such as walleye, pike, gray trout and speckled trout.
Finally, a few days before our meeting, as if we had brought her luck, chance decided that she would have an even better fishing story to tell us. “I was surprised, I really didn’t expect that. It was really a nice trophy”, she tells us straight away. Valérie was returning from a weekend of ice fishing in Ontario on Larder Lake near the Cheminis Lodge where she was staying. Anyone who wasn't a fan of ice fishing a few years ago rediscovered this activity once they were well dressed - with Sportchief clothing! -, with a tent which is less manageable than a cabin, and above all well equipped, in particular with a sonar to understand the depths and know what is teeming below the ice. “We went there to fish for gray trout. I succeeded in fact: a beautiful 23 in, the biggest ever caught. ”, she remembers. However, it was another episode from that weekend that caught his attention. She was fishing about 45 feet deep and saw a fish suspended at 25 feet above. “I wondered what he was doing there: was he lost or what? she laughs. I laughed to check on him and he jumped on my line. The neighbors heard me screaming because I was so happy. I couldn't manage to bring it to the surface, every time I came up, it took off with the line. It was tough. When it came to the surface, we immediately saw that it was a walleye... and it was so big: it was the size of the fishing hole. We had to work together to get him out of there.”, she enthused, recounted being in shock and trembling for hours. After a few photos with her trophy, she put it back in the water. “A beautiful spawner like that, we put it back in the water. That day, no one around released a walleye. I was the only one.”, she said, specifying that she called it her gold ingot because its yellow scales shone with a thousand lights.
The miraculous catch of Jason Tremblay Morneau: “It was sick!”
The story goes back almost 20 years. Jason Tremblay Morneau had just obtained his diploma in Wildlife Territory Protection. As his first job, he was recruited by the Leaf River Lodge in Northern Quebec as a guide. “I had zero experience and I asked the more experienced guides to give me some tips”, he remembers with a laugh. During the summer season, while the day was shaping up to be like any other, he experienced his best day of fishing. About 1 hour from camp, he stopped the boat at the foot of some big rapids. He and his fishing buddies got out of the boat to fish at the head of the rapids where there were fish like he never saw again. "It was crazy, he exclaims. We were there for 2 or 3 hours and it didn't stop! As soon as we cast the line, we had a fish on the end.” In addition, the fishermen had some really nice specimens: rainbow trout of 2 to 4 lbs and beautiful grays that weighed up to 14 lbs. “It was sick. We left because at one point we were burned out! (laughs) It still remains my best fishing day ever.” What's more, before leaving, the guys saw a wolf rushing towards them. They thought the animal was going to attack them but yet it fled since it must have heard the sound of a boat approaching maybe a kilometer away. When he saw the fishermen, he turned back. Enough to add a little extra to the day already described as… perfect!
Do you also have a fishing experience to tell us? Any fishing tips to “harvest” the most beautiful fishing stories? We want to know more about your beautiful peaches! Write us!
