Minipi Camps Web Log
Here’s some advice from a Minipi Guide—It’s Your Trip, Prepare and Enjoy!
As I browse thru the new web site I see lots of information on equipment and personal effects to bring when you make the decision to come to Cooper’s Camps on the Minipi watershed. The fly selections are based on years of careful record keeping in the log books and you can check the Lodge logs where you will be staying and the dates of your trip and see what flies were catching trout during that period over years. Fly patterns and size recommendations do not come better than that!
I was asked to offer some advice for new anglers to the Minipi system that would give them a better chance for success and make their trip go smoothly and be more enjoyable.
The first thing I would offer is an understanding of the methods employed by the guides to get you on to the trophy trout of a lifetime!
The largest trout in the system live in still waters. This can be the lakes themselves or large ponds in the river systems. The trout feed on the abundant insect life in these still waters. They cruise the water picking the hatches off the surface. When a hatch comes off , the guide will watch for rise forms and position the boat to make it easier for the angler to put his fly on an intercept path with the cruising trout. What you’ll see is a rise and then another a short distance from the first. You then cast ahead of the second rise the same distance you observed between the first and second rises.
The trout are cruising and will rise in a predictable pattern. Your task is to make fast, accurate casts to where you anticipate the next rise will be. It is very similar to bonefishing with the exception that this is surface fishing. Bonefish cruise the flats chasing bottom forage. Minipi trout cruise the same but are , during a hatch, after bugs on the surface. While long casts are nice; short, accurate casts, I feel, are more important. And your guide will position you according to your ability.
Practice quick accurate casts out to sixty feet. If you feel comfortable with that, stretch it out according to your ability. Practice before you come. That being said, the guides are experts at correcting casting faults. But you have to ask; they will not point out a casting fault because that might be thought of as a negative reflection of the guest’s casting ability.
Typical nymphing techniques work as well in the flows that run in the narrow areas between the lakes.
There are times when a deer hair mouse works very well and is thought to imitate the lemmings that are abundant around the lakes and rivers.
Blind casting or trolling streamers works well when there is no hatch.
There’s plenty of opportunity to wade streams at Minipi Lodge, for example at the outlet that runs about a quarter mile to the “Gorge”. This rapid water is a pleasure to fish but the fish are smaller. The largest I have caught is 3.5 lbs but there are plenty of eager 1-2 lb fish. This is a great place to spend an evening when you want to stay close to the Lodge.
I hear that the new camp at Little Minipi has good stream fishing with larger fish but I have not been there myself. I hope to explore this resource in the future. You could get there before me and you can let me know what’s up down there.
It is important to talk to your guide, to tell him what kind of fishing you enjoy and want to do during your stay. The focus here is, has been, and will be on catching really big trout. But it is far more than that.
There is excellent northern pike fishing and when the trout fishing slows down as it will, a session of pike fishing is exciting and action packed. The pike can run to 12-14 lbs but most will be in the 6-8 lb class and they will attack poppers with a vengeance. Top water fishing for big pike will make your heart skip a beat! You will need a wire leader and you can bring them or get them at the Minipi Outfitters shop. I have found at times pike can be leader shy and so we recommend you use the thin leaders that are tyeable. I also have used fluorocarbon mono 15 lb test with success.
There are also big Landlocked Artic Char in the system and they come out the during the hatches. They can be a bit frustrating because they cruise in a straight line with their rises far apart, so you can get involved in a long, exciting chase to get ahead of them. On the other hand, speckled trout tend to cruise in a circle so interception is easier. You can troll the deeper parts of the lakes for char using streamers. The char are usually in deeper water during the summer months and you should give them a try as they are strong fighters and a beauty to see.
This is more than I intended to say and I hope to see you on the water at Coopers Camps...soon. Perry
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