For over 6 months Attorney Michael Shepard of Dalton and I have been planning a fly fishing trip to Lake Ternay in Northern Quebec.  We had arranged the trip through outfitter Joe Stefanski of High Arctic Adventures. Several years ago, we used the outfitter to fish Diana Lake in the Nunavik region in Canada.  We had a wonderful trip then catching lots of large brook trout and we hoped the same would happen at Ternay.

The day finally arrived and we drove up to Montreal, stayed at the Sheraton Hotel that night and linked up with three other fishermen :  Mike Miller and Carl Racie from Athol, MA and Gary Hebert from Richmond, NH.   The next morning we flew to Sept-Iles in Quebec and then on to Wabash, Labrador.  From there we took a 5 minute ride to Labrador City where we purchased our provisions and spent the second night.  The following morning, bush pilots flew us in two  seaplanes, from Little Wabash Lake to Lake Ternay where our camp, Lake Ternay Lodge was located on an island.  Our plane was a four seat de Havilland Beaver which was built in 1956 and it appeared that the only modern equipment on it was a GPS system, similar to what you have in your car.

Mike Shepard sat in a front seat next to the 22 year old pilot and I sat in the back next to a strapped in 55 gallon drum of aviation fuel.  After an hour flight, we made a smooth landing on the lake.  (I get such a rush taking off or landing on water).  The lake is located approximately 100 miles northwest of Wabash in Quebec Province with nothing, I mean nothing but tundra and water bodies in between.   There were no other people or towns for nearly 100 miles.

The lake is in the headwaters of the Caniapiscau River in the sub arctic region and a river flows in from the south (South Rapids) and the outlet flows north (North Rapids).  All rivers there above the 52^nd parallel flow north ultimately into Ungava Bay, some 350 miles north.

According to Stefanski, the brook trout, lake trout, landlock salmon, pike, etc. stay in the deep lake during the winter and as soon as “ice out” the baitfish swim upstream to spawn and the game fish follow and feed on them.   During the warm summer months, they drop back into the lake and stay there until it is time for them to spawn, in late August or early September, depending on weather and water conditions.  That is what brought us to this remote spot at that time.  We wanted to fish the rivers for big brookies, landlocks, and perhaps lakers. Aah!  The things we do and places we go to outfox a critter with a brain the size of a pea.

After two days of traveling, we finally made it there and were ready for a wonderful week of catching some big fish.  To be continued in next week’s column.  *****

At the September Berkshire County League of Sportsmen meeting, Andrew Madden, Manager of DFW Western District reported the following:

Hunting on Sundays is still prohibited in Massachusetts.  A bill allowing bowhunting on Sundays had been passed by the House in June, but it did not get passed by the full legislature.

The DFW Field Headquarters staff is back in operation in Westborough. The new state-of-the-art, energy-neutral Headquarters building, is located on the footprint of the old building on the Westborough Wildlife Management Area.  Phone numbers, email addresses for Field Headquarters staff, and location remain the same (1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581).

The sale of Surplus Antlerless Deer Permits by Wildlife Management Zone will be staggered over the following days in October:

• Zone 11 permits will go on sale Tuesday, October 7th at 8 A.M.
• Zone 10 permits will go on sale Wednesday, October 8th at 8 A.M.
• Zone 13 and 14 permits will go on sale Thursday, October 9th at 8 A.M.

Three Western District sportsmen’s clubs are participating in the Youth Pheasant Hunt this fall (East Mountain, Lee, and Worthington).  For more information contact the DFW Western District office in Dalton (413) 684-1646.

Total new acreage (Ownership and Conservation Easements) in the Western District totaled 958 acres this past year:  Blandford – 150 acres, Chester  – 76 acres, Chesterfield – 91 acres, Cummington – 2 acres, Great Barrington – 325 acres, Lanesboro – 139 acres, Windsor – 75 acres and Worthington – 100 acres

Fall trout stocking should begin the last week of September and run through the Columbus Day weekend.  The Western District waters usually stocked in the fall include: Ashfield Pond, Deerfield River, Littleville Lake, Westfield River (E. Branch), North Pond, Upper Highland Lake, Littleville Lake, Norwich Lake, Goose Pond, Laurel Lake, Lake  Buel, Windsor Lake, Lake Buel, Otis Reservoir, Big Benton Pond, Onota Lake, Pontoosuc Lake, Richmond Pond, Stockbridge Bowl and Windsor Pond.

The September meeting of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board will be held this Tuesday at noon at the DFW Western Wildlife District office, 88 Old Windsor Road, Dalton. *****

The Berkshire County Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited will be having a banquet on Saturday evening, September 20 at the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club, Route 102, Stockbridge.  There will be games, raffles and a social hour at 5 PM and a buffet dinner at 6:30 PM.  Tickets cost $45 for a single, $35 for spouse, $25 for junior.  There are sponsor deals also.  The ticket order deadline is tomorrow. We attended the first event last year and had a wonderful time.

The Cheshire Rod & Gun Club Turkey Shoots start next Sunday and run every Sunday through November 23.  Shoots start at 1 p.m. and costs $3 a shot.