A Very Special Quebec Trip

[McQ]

Club Rudy

A trip back to how it once was

Every once and a while I get an opportunity to enjoy fishing at it’s most unique. Late last season an invitation was extended to spend a week at Club Rudy and get reacquainted with multi specie fishing, now being a Walleye fanatic the options of also fishing for aggressive Speckled Trout and monster Northern Pike couldn’t be passed up.

This story begins with a caution; access to this piece of fishing heaven is difficult without a 4 X 4 or arranging float plane convenience. My choice was to drive in and the immediate feeling was “I’ve done this before”, memories of trips into the wilderness from my earliest days surfaced and my anticipation level skyrocketed. The first part of the trip is over paved roads from Ottawa to Mont St. Michel and takes about 2 hours, and then turning onto a well maintained logging road 4 miles north of the village and arriving 2 hours later at the L’Verendrye hydro complex sets the stage for the final approach. Club Rudy sits on top of the mountains 35 miles from the complex and the story really begins here.

Turning onto the access road brings you into the true element of Quebec remote fishing. The road follows the hydro line for some distance and after crossing the river takes on all the character of bush access. You ford a stream which is part of the road, climb grades and take all the twists and turns that mountain roads follow. The scenery is spectacular and every mile you travel pumps up your heart rate with anticipation. I took 2 hours to make this final run and enjoyed every minute of it.

Nothing prepares you for your arrival at Lake Canoe the base of operation, the final turn unfolds and well appointed 5 star camps greet you. My host Michel Maheu was all smiles as I stepped down from the pick-up knowing full well the experience I just had. Have any trouble he asks, of course my response is – why have you been keeping this place a secret? I’m so pumped up all I want to do is get out on the lake but Michel has other plans. He has laid out a full schedule of fishing and insists we take a light lunch first and get organized for activities that are on the board for the next few days.

Half an hour later we are on ATVs heading out to a trout lake at the furthest end of his territory. At 3 o’clock the canoe is in the water and at 3:10 I put the first of many superb speckled trout in the basket. An hour later, limited out on trout from 17 – 23”s we head back to base for a Bar B Que of moose ribs and all the trimmings. A few glasses of wine loosen the tongues and we are engaged in a rehash of the day’s activity and what’s ahead for the next 5 days. The talk centers around the extent of the territory that includes 30 lakes and 2 rivers, the availability of “Big” Pike on his C&R managed Lake Shingle, Walleye on the rivers and lake and all the small trout lakes that lace throughout the territory.

A good night’s sleep and a hot shower before breakfast puts me in a very civilized frame of mind. Mike gets the gear ready and we are off for a days Walleye fishing at Blueberry Camp a half hour drive from base. Our boats are 14’ers powered by 2 Hsp merc motors and get us around this protected lake quite well. I was cautioned that 6 fish were to be kept for shore lunch and any incidental catch was to be released. After an hour I knew why, regardless of whether tossing a jig or trolling harnesses the fishing is too easy. A fifty walleye day is easily the norm on this spectacular fishery. Mike tells the story of the 13 pounder coming off a weed edge and has many other stories too, the truth of what he is relating is brought home when I get bit coming off a hump, this fish towed the boat for about 5 minutes until I made a rookie mistake and gave slack at the wrong moment. I’ll never know just how big she was but for sure it was a huge walleye because that’s all there is in this lake. Another fishing memory is created and a full day of story sharing puts us in the mood for planning tomorrow’s trip – a day on Shingle chasing monster Northerns.

Day three dawns, breakfast is completed and a trip to the other end of the territory starts, after a drive of about an hour, crossing a small lake and a 15 minute portage to our destination we quickly get a boat in the water and start working the shoreline with spoons and crankbaits. I’d like to say that the northerns just jumped in the boat but that didn’t happen. For whatever reason the fish would follow the baits to the boat, flash and turn away. Neither amount of figure eights, nor tossing of jig creatures as a follow up would entice the fish to inhale a bait. The decision was made to troll jerk baits and pump them erratically, not 10 minutes of this tactic and fellow guest George ties into an 18 pounder. A 15 minute battle, adrenalin pumping leaps from the water, a few line stripping runs from the boat and this typical Shingle alligator was brought to the net. A quick photo and this beauty is eased back into the lake, a flick of the tail and a drenching of water was Georges reward. The weather took a change for the worst shortly after and we decided to cut the day short but as Arnie says “I’ll be back”. Upon returning to Lake Canoe we are pleased to see that Michel’s wife and partner Julie has arrived and insists that the next day is to be spent on a couple of her special trout ponds.

This day dawned bright and beautiful, I’m sure Julie has a direct link with Mother Nature. A quick breakfast and we are off to fish a chain of lakes that run south from the middle of the territory. Trolling is the key to success on our first lake and 4 nice specks in the 16 – 17” range are brought to the boat. A short hike on a footpath brings us to the second lake and the excitement of casting small spinners and 1” crankbaits to these feisty little devils shows proof of the tenacious spirit of these native speckled trout. Cast after cast produced violent strikes, head shaking leaps from the water and all around general mayhem. In a little over an hour we filled our limit and packed up. Returning to the camp preparations were made to smoke these beauties for a snack before dinner. There is nothing that tastes quite as good as smoked trout and Julie has a recipe that just tantalizes the palate. Combined with a glass of light white wine, I quickly made my way through 4 of those tasty critters and packed up a half dozen to bring home. Around the dinner table later that evening the conversation swung around to the upcoming hunting season. My hunting days are over but my curiosity set the stage for my last day here at Club Rudy. Michel, George and I decided on spending the last day brushing out and marking trails to all the moose blinds on the territory.

What a day; I tramped through woods tying marker tape on the branches of the trees while Michel and George did the brushing. There is moose sign everywhere and Michel relates the hunting success stories that every blind has produced. To those of you who are avid hunters and want the experience of getting to sight in on a 50’ rack then this is the place to spend a week. All the blinds have shooting lanes that look over the ponds and marches, tracks are everywhere you look and even though no animals were spotted during our days work, for sure they are there.

This trip was memorable for any number of reasons, the fishing was great, the company was appreciated and most of the all comfort and convenience of the camps was 5 star. I look forward to returning to this bit of heaven on the top of the mountain later this year and Michel tells me the drive in will be easier. The logging company will be building a new road and bridge that will open access to the southern end of the territory taking a couple of hours of travel time off of the trip. I’m so happy I had the chance to come in and enjoy the trip back in time. In this day and age of convenience and at your door access a journey to the way it used to be was a treat.

Check out the facility at www.clubrudy.ca I know you will enjoy the cyber trip.

McQ

http://groups.msn.com/McQonFishing

[Wallyboss]

SURE SOUNDS LIKE PARADISE.

[Coyote]

sounds like a great trip,wish i was there.

[Canadian Bacon]

What afantastic trip..
I m gonna hve to check out thier site for sure.

[lostanotherone]

That story is great i'd love to do something like that some day.
they have alot of great pic's on there web page but the one thing that there mising there is the prices! Thanks for letting us know of the place.

[M.T. Livewell]

Bill, nice to see your return, and what a return!
Great story, thanks for sharing.

M.T. Livewell

[steve-hamilton]

i think its one of those places basically if you have to ask 'how much'? You can't really afford it.



BUT MAN, what a trip!!!!!

[JimmyBuffett]

Sounds like a dream I had the other day!!

[McQ]

The rates are quite reasonable, send them an email and enquire.

[wolfe]

McQ,

Reading your descriptive post was like a mini getaway in itself! Perfect blend of the great outdoors & pampering!! Great memories for you...thanks for sharing them.

W.