TITANIC TYEES

Merc Point was one of our first stops (it received its name because someone nailed a 54 Mercury hubcap on an old tree), an area where large kings have been known to feed in the early morning hours. Lazy kings like to hang around in areas where the current isn't strong and they can ambush their prey. Besides being an easy meal for them, this helps them preserve energy for their long trek upstream. Guides will show you exactly where they are, as well as the technique they use to carouse them out of their holes.

Mick and the other guides prefer a technique called mooching. Mooching for salmon uses a type of specific gear and is generally composed of a long limber 10-foot rod combined with a single action fishing reel. A time-honored tradition is to use a six-ounce cannonball sinker attached to a 10-foot doublehooked leader and a plug-cut herring. Pulling the plug-cut herring behind the boat at a slow motor speed – just a knot or two – about 20 feet deep allows the herring to flutter behind the boat when it is taken out of gear. This is a very simplistic way to fish and takes just a few times to get down. I watched our guide (who was driving) and asked him if he wouldn't mind showing me this technique. After about half an hour it was like second nature to me – and a lot of fun. Because of its simplistic approach, mooching allows you the opportunity to really take in Canada's beauty and everything the Inlet has to offer.

Later in the day Mick jumped on another boat to help out with some of his other guests, and we were lucky enough to pick up Rob McGeorge. Rob is a knowledgeable guide and really knows his stuff when it comes to mooching and fishing the Inlet.

Another technique, my personal favorite, that Rob showed us is drifting in a tide line. When moving your boat from point to point, you come across tide lines, and they seem to go on forever. Generally, you'll see birds working them for herring, another good indication of where to start fishing. Guides at Legacy Lodge provide you with this information as well as give you a lot of other inside information about the Rivers Inlet and all the great honey holes it has to offer. These guys are experts on local fishing grounds and fishing in general, often passing up higher-paying guide positions to work at Legacy Lodge because of the intimate fishing experience that Legacy has to offer. You can fish with or without a guide. I'd recommend having one go with you on your first and second days.

For bait, we used plug-cut herring – the best natural lure you can use. It offers the best of both worlds – the natural scent of herring, and the way it spins and flashes with silver and blue patterns in the water. And that's why they supply your boat with a huge amount of bait each morning.

One service at Legacy that I haven't experienced at any other lodges is, each morning around nine o'clock, the chef brings a hot breakfast and a thermos-full of coffee right out to your boat. They do this for lunch, too.

At the end of the day, Steve and I had bagged a lot of silvers, but we were most impressed by his 16-pound silver and one very ornery 14-pound chum that I caught. Our excitement was cut short, though. Upon returning to the lodge, we found out we had been outgunned by ten-year-old angler John Moffet with his 26-pound king, and twelve-year old angler Lindsey Poole with her 38-pounder. Checkmate! Those kids are going to remember that experience for the rest of their lives. Their parents were very proud of them. Good job, kids. I have to admit I was a little envious.