Most often, when we think about a trout's diet we tend to imagine streamlined fish, inhaling nymphs, or sipping gossamer insects. Sometimes we might expand these images to include the gobbling up of a hapless grasshopper, or possibly we picture the swift ambush into a school of minnows. But in the far north, a land almost devoid of mayflies, hoppers and minnows, the legendary brook trout have survived, indeed thrived, upon a diet that includes other brook trout. And these are not just small, immature, trout parr. When landing one-pound trout it is not unusual to glimpse one of the speckled giants in hot pursuit of the smaller, struggling fish.

This scenario of fish chasing fish repeated itself again and again during a trip in pursuit of a long unfulfilled dream. A dream based on boyhood memories of tales of deep northern woods, campfires, spruce-bough beds, and of shadowed, mysterious waters with large, hidden, dark brook trout just awaiting the adventurous angler.

And so it was that to complete one more fly fishing goal I found myself in the company of Len Rich as our floatplane crossed the Mealy Mountains heading toward Awesome Lake and the English River system. This part of Labrador, Canada is a transition zone. It is a land of tundra, of stunted and tangled spruce forest, of caribou, and of speckled brook trout.

In preparation for this trip Len advised me to bring the usual assortment of dry flies, mostly sizes 8 to 12, woolly buggers, some bombers, large streamers and mouse imitations. Other fishermen who had fished the legendary Minipi system to the west, spoke of the Hexagenia mayfly hatches, so I also tied an abundance of large nymphs, emergers and dry flies to match this hatch.

Lefty Kreh is credited with saying "all fishing is local fishing," and my Labrador experience provided confirmation of Lefty's truism. We fished the inlets to Awesome Lake as well as the English River outlet, and on downstream for 2 miles or so. Numerous smaller trout gobbled all manner of flies, dry and wet, but I travelled this distance for the opportunity to catch large fish-fish of 3 to 5 pounds, and the possibility of even larger ones. When you observe big fish trying to eat the small ones you've hooked, it doesn't take a genius to recognize that a change of tactics might be in order. This realization intruded into my brain at about the same time that I became aware that Len kept swimming a mouse imitation across the surface. He told me that Hexagenias are absent from this particular watershed, and unless one of the other scarce hatches were in progress, I might be better off using a larger fly: a real mouthful for the big trout. Now, I'm not talking about the usual 1 or 2-inch long streamers, rather, these fish want more substantial offerings. I watched with fascination as hooked, struggling trout over 12 inches long were suddenly grabbed broadside and carried off by lunkers which materialized from unseen depths.

But foot-long streamers are impractical to use, while 3 to 5 inch representations serve well. Close observation of these large trout is possible in this gin-clear water so we were able to see the actual take of the streamer fly. Interestingly, this often occurred during the pause of a typical strip-and-pause retrieve. When this happened the trout rejected the offering before the angler could tighten up, and the strike went undetected. It was incredible to watch a 5-inch streamer completely disappear as a trout inhaled it, only to have the fly reappear a split second later having been rejected as a fraud.

One regular fisherman here swears by a fly named a Widowmaker. This is a woolhead streamer, and although I didn't have one to experiment with, it is very possible that trout might have difficulty in ejecting such a fly because the wool would likely become entangled with its vomerine teeth. Interestingly, according to fishery biologists, Awesome Lake brook trout have a fully developed double row of enlarged vomerine teeth, uncharacteristic of the species. The obvious inference is that the cannibalistic diet encouraged this localized evolutionary trait. Lacking any Widowmakers for experimentation I couldn't confirm the woolhead theory, but nevertheless we found success with sizable Clouser Minnows and Double Bunny flies.

Except for an insignificant Arctic char population, brook trout is the only species found in the Awesome Lake drainage; there are no other baitfish in this watershed. So the predatory behavior is entirely cannibalistic, and all streamer flies should be based on brook trout coloration.

Given my "druthers," I'd druther fish a floating fly. Floating flies engage the sense of sight in the act of angling, and in this part of Labrador a wonderful opportunity exists to entice voracious brook trout using a mouse imitation. Len believes that many commercially available mouse "flies" tend to be unnecessarily complicated for this fishery. Len's mouse is quite simple, it features a tail, a compact deer-hair body, and "half a bottle of Gink." In other words, eyes, ears and whiskers are unnecessary, while high floatation is paramount.

The fishing technique utilizes a 9 foot fly rod, a size 6 or larger floating fly line, and a relatively short 6 to 8 foot 2X leader. After casting, raise the rod tip high, lifting as much line as possible off of the water surface. Now, rapidly wiggle the rod tip as you slowly swim the mouse using a hand twist retrieve. The vibrations from the rod tip are transmitted to the fly, creating the illusion of a live, swimming mouse. This is a constant motion, smooth, not jerky, with an occasional pause to suggest a resting mouse. I laughed as small trout entertained me as they attempted to attack this oversize prey, sometimes grabbing the mouse's tail and pulling it under. But the big northern brookies simply attack a mouse. There is no pause or hesitation-they just smash it. Trout are not generally regarded as carnivorous, but how else would one describe this affinity for small mammals?

I have wild brook trout in the small river a few minutes stroll from my house. These are living jewels in crystal mountain waters, and I cherish their presence, but it took the predatory Labrador trout to fulfill my boyhood imaginings.

Only days following a frost, an extraordinary hot spell produced 3 consecutive, record breaking 100 degree days which drove water temperatures to uncomfortable levels for brook trout. Despite unfavorable conditions a number of large brookies were caught and released in both the English River and Awesome Lake. Canadian Norm Wallachy with a nice trout.

Access to most Labrador waters necessitates the use of a float plane which, as in Alaska, has become known as the air taxi. Weather conditions resulting in low visibility can delay arrivals and departures, so travellers should be prepared for the possibility of missed schedules. We waited 2 days for the weather to clear sufficiently before this plane could carry us the 80 miles back to Goose Bay.

Foot-long brookies like the one shown here were sometimes grabbed by trout large enough to grasp them sideways in their jaws. We refrained from any temptation to use these smaller trout for bait.

The season on many northern lakes is very short, generally 8 to 10 weeks long, and accommodations are limited. The Awesome Lake lodge shown below holds 8 fishermen and is the only facility for miles around. Fly fishing only and rules limiting anglers to one trophy fish help sustain a quality fishery.

Deer hair mice, Double Bunnys and Clouser deep minnows are among the indispensable flies for trophy brook trout in this unique watershed. The angler has a choice of lake or river fishing, both just minutes from camp.