I’ve never quite understood all the intricacies of time zones.  Sure I get the basic idea of the whole thing, but sometimes when I look at the way the boundaries of a time zone slither across the map, I am reminded of a drunken sailor staggering through town looking for the local cat house.  Nowhere does this seem more apparent than on Canada’s Gaspe Peninsula.  The Eastern Time Zone seems to reach out; as if to support the peninsula and keep it from dropping off into the depths of the Atlantic. What you might ask does this have to do with Salmon fishing?  Well, when you couple it with the northern latitude of the peninsula it means that the sun comes up at about 3:30am in the morning on the peninsula and does not set until about 10:00pm.

More daylight = more fishing time.

This is a blessing and at the same time, a curse.  More fishing time means less sleep time, especially when you consider that we fisherman don’t immediately go to sleep when it gets dark. There are meals to eat, alcohol to consume, cigars to be smoked and bull-shitting to be done. At the end of a week of this type of fishing, many of us resemble sleep deprived zombies.

Despite the hardships, this is something I would not miss for the world. I can remember reading stories in books and magazines about salmon fishing when I was young and the names of the rivers have not changed. Names like Bonaventure, Cascapedia, Matane, Saint-Anne, Matapedia and Ristigouche to name a few- all of which brought up rich memories for me, well before I even laid eyes on them. And when I finally did, reality was better than the dream.

The peninsula itself is rugged and mountainous- and this is where the rivers get most of their character from. They are jagged and rocky, and their waters are exceptionally clear. And let’s not forget the fish, after all, they are why we came. The Atlantic salmon in these rivers are strong, beautiful and wild, a combination that just can’t be beat.

The Gaspe Peninsula is not the only place in Quebec that has good populations of wild Atlantic salmon. Quebec has six other regions with dozens of salmon rivers. The Lower St. Lawrence, the North Shore, Anicosti Island, Northern Quebec, the Charlevoix and the Saguenay all have many rivers with good runs of salmon. One could spend a lifetime exploring all these wonderful rivers.

Most of the water in these rivers is crystal clear and stays that way even after heavy rains.

Rugged beauty, tumbling from the mountains.

The fish in these rivers are sleek, powerful and wild.

Traditional fishing methods are still the norm in this place.

The places are pretty wild, too.

Quebec is a beautiful place in itself.

The fish are strong and fight hard. Leave your 7wt. at home

This fish is fresh from the sea with a few sea lice on its tail to prove it. Sea lice usually drop off of the fish in a forty-eight hour period after the fish enters fresh water.