Posted on March 18 2015
God’s Country
Gods Lake in Manitoba, Canada was so named without a possessive apostrophe in error. While some controversy exists over the validity of
this name, one thing is not controversial: Gods Lake and the river that
drains it into the Hudson Bay is one of the most idyllic, preserved
fisheries in North America. The lake is 1/3 the size of Rhode Island,
and it was from a seven-mile-long island, Elk Island, that I was based
for my expedition. We landed there on a gravel runway that used to be a
working platform for the now-extinct mining settlement there. In the
waters of Gods Lake trophy pike and lake trout thrive, but the most
special aspect is the trophy brook trout fishing of Gods River.A thirty minute float plane ride from Elk Island, Gods River is
thronged with brookies that consistently top the 25″ mark. While this
species’ population has been crippled in most of North America, here the
deforestation and human impacts on the ecosystem that have decimated
literally 95% of the wild brookie population on the continent is absent.
Our guides skillfully navigated class III whitewater in our aluminum
boats as Phil Shook and I angled for that once-in-a-lifetime catch. And
we found it.
original content and photo Brian Irwin