Hooké

In this season 1 finale of Hooké, Derek and his brother Scott spend a week on the famous Restigouche River in Canada fly fishing for big Atlantic Salmon. This massive and exclusive New Brunswick river is known worldwide for the size and quality of its Salmon. On the banks of the Glen Eden lodge of Baie-Sainte-Anne, the brothers spend days making long casts in long pools to no avail. After killing time eating lobster and visiting local boat building workshops, Derek ties up a special fly in a last attempt to catch a monster, and his line finally tightens.

Episode two of Hooke sees Derek Martin and Philippe Laperriere travel to the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia to catch a mythical big Steelhead on the fly. Both men have dreamed of catching one of these beasts their entire lives, and local wild man Francois Blanchet is the man to help them do it. Steelhead are a sea running variety of the rainbow trout, which travel out to sea to fatten up before returning to the rivers to spawn. The crew begin on the big water of the Skeena and the intimate backwaters of the Lakelse, searching through their boxes for the perfect fly. After mushroom picking and woodcarving with the locals, they head for the Bulkley river where the big fish are finally willing to bite, where Francois shares his philosophy of how to live off the land and respect the natural world.

In this exciting premiere episode of Hooke, Derek Martin and Phillipe Laperriere go fly fishing for massive Bull Trout in western Canada. The duo jump in the RV and begin their trip on the renowned Bow River in Calgary. After meeting with local guides John and Mark for a night on the town, they hit the river for their first fish of the season; a pair of pristine Rainbow and Brown Trout on light tackle. The next day they set their sites on a trophy and visit a secret location in the Rockies home to massive Bull Trout, made evident by the enormous flies presented to them by their guides. The sensitivity and rarity of the species make Bull Trout a revered and respected species to anglers. Amidst pale blue waters and snow peaked mountain wilderness the crew land some nice smaller fish drifting the boats, but a local legend decides to let them in an an even more secret spot 30km upriver by boat. After a clever change of tactics, the fish suddenly come on the feed, and Derek hooks into one of the biggest fish the crew have ever seen, a true fish of a lifetime!

The Hooke crew go fly fishing for big Atlantic Salmon on the Bonaventure and Cascapedia Rivers of Quebec, Canada in this episode. Derek and J.P. begin on the stunning Bonaventure on a sunny autumn morning. Listed as the third clearest river on the planet, the Bonaventure offers a rare opportunity to sight fish for Salmon; an exhilarating and frustrating task as huge pods sit tantalisingly in the deeper holes. Following a night of wild camping, both men get a chance to catch the first fish of the trip. After a trip to a local tackle shop for some advice, they link up with the rest of the team and head for the Cascapedia; a historically respected river known for massive fish in excess of fifty pounds. As big Salmon jump all over the pools, J.P. hooks into his prize and the group discuss the philosophies of catch and release that are so important to the new generation of anglers.

Derek joins his old friends on the rivers of New Brunswick, Canada in this episode of Hooke to fly fish for the fall run of Atlantic Salmon. It’s deep into autumn and pouring with rain, which may be good for the Salmon, but makes for difficult fishing on the notoriously treacherous Nepisiguit. With the knowledge of the local anglers, the crew take advantage when a group of grilse move into the pool. After visiting local legend Jack’s fly shop for some advice and to pick up some secret weapon flies, the group travel Derek’s home river, the Miramichi. As the weather eases off, some powerful autumn salmon enter the pool and move in on the flies. This episode is an example of the kind of fishing that Canada is famous for among fly fishers worldwide.

In episode five of Hooké, Derek joins his old friend Jeff in the Joliette region of Canada to fish for Brook Trout and Pike on the fly. The pair begin by chartering a small plane to the town of mirage in the James Bay territory, followed by a float plane trip to the remote Roz Lake camp; a famous spot for catching Brook Trout. Also known as speckled trout, the big brookies that reside in the remote corners of Canada are the ultimate prize for their beautiful markings. After finding a few smaller fish the group move down river in search of something bigger and come across some surprise Lake Trout. After waking up to terrible weather, they set out for the La Grande-4 Dam to fish for its huge population of Pike. To make things exciting, they decide to rig up their rods with surface poppers to get an aggressive response from the big ones…

Hooké visits the James Bay region of north-eastern Canada to fish with the Cree community for Speckled Trout and Pike on the fly. Derek joins his friend Fred at camp Louis-Jolliet on the banks of Lake Mistassini; a camp of indigenous anglers and hunters living off the land. The crew explore the vast network of lakes and rivers by boat, but unusually high waters have scattered the fish throughout the smaller waters in the forest. A few small Trout and a big Caribou provide dinner for the night, an opportunity for the anglers to learn the self-sustaining ways of the tribe. The next day, guide Jason boats to a small bay known as wolf portage. Casting big surface lures tight to the bank, the water soon erupts with big, dark northern Pike, a hard fight on light fly tackle. Fred is dragged overboard in excitement, but soon finds himself hooked into the massive Trout they were looking for.

The fishing gets competitive in this episode of Hookè, as Derek Martin is joined by his brother Scott for a trip to the Cains River chasing Brook Trout. A tributary of their home river the Miramichi; the Cains is one of the best places in Canada to catch wild Brook Trout thanks to its clean water and remote location. After a stop at the local fly shop, the brothers arrive to the ancient Leighton Brook camp and read through a century of fishing stories. After a great start fishing small dry flies and a night of trash talk, Derek and Scott meet friend and local expert Chris downriver and start catching the bigger brookies they were looking for.