Time to let her go....

Today was the last day for this year on the river I love....and I got skunked.
That is not a very nice way to end what turned out to be another wonderful season of fishing but only a moron would complain.
Besides,..I have come to realize that I am prone to fits of piscine uselessness for whatever reason. They come and go and to be honest they neither surprise me nor bum me out. I just except them as part of the Steelhead package and roll with it.
So be it.
I wasn't the only one who took it on the chin today... in fact the river was waaayyyyy too crowded with dudes like myself who probably should've stayed home if catching fish was they only thing they were after.

Catching fish wasn't the only thing that I was after. There is way more to this than that.

Morin caught fish.
That POS.
Even the Sausage Man caught a fish....on a Purple Nurple no less.
?
WTF
:o)
...and move on.
Sausage Man offered me a drink of his scotch on the river today and who was I to refuse???
.....that kind gesture may have just saved his life.
lol
If we could only talk him into releasing a few of the fish he catches.
Oh well...
I was thinking today that maybe I should lighten up on the old school meathunters. Truth is they have very few winters left and have been harvesting fish like this for years....and still the fish come in.
One more for the smoker.....
UGH.
Looking back on the season...

This ..I have decided was my coolest fish of the year and was ironically my first of the season from my home court.
The breathable waders and the wader liners were perfect through even the worst of it and they made the hike in sooooo much easier.
The wading boots however are shit and will be returning to Cabelas in the new year.
I have decided that Suffix line is not for the pin.....I still can't argue with good old Trilene XL for performance and value....Once again a victim of option anxiety.
My Islander is my go too runner matched up with my shitrat Rainshadow 13fter.
I got skunked twice this year and each time I had my Mykiss with me....superstitious????.....a fisherman??....
Keep an eye on ebay.
Probably the best piece of fishing equipment I own is my car which saved us a ton of dough this year....
If the gas prices keep rising I may start riding a horse to the river.
Anyhoo...
I realize that I am rambling.....
The blog is still fun and I hope that it is not offending anybody or damaging any fish populations. With any luck I will be able to post a Pacific Coast Steelhead when I get back in Feb.
Happy New Year to all you friggin clowns...
<>< out.

Merry Christmas...

...to all you Fish Nerds /Blog freaks!!!

Hope everybody is healthy and happy over the holidays and into the new year...should be an interesting one for this household.
;O)
...with any luck I'll be posting at least one more fishy outing before my trip to the West.

This weeks trip...

It's a busy time of year and the only day I could squeeze in for fishing this week was today.
The water was low and the forecast called for freezing rain....but it was considerably warmer than last weeks misery.
I have been having slush nightmares.
For a change today I felt like I was fishing well....normally I feel like a buffoon out there.

Morin was chained to his desk so I was flying solo again. It suited me today anyway.
Hiking through the snow is one helluva workout and my legs are still cramping up.
Maybe I am an old geezer???

I had a pretty cool thing happen today.
The snow was falling hard and I was really concentrating on my float through this one stretch of water that I love to fish. The takes were very subtle and you had to really eye your float or you might miss a 'wiggle'. The opposing bank was covered with snow and the reflection on the water made seeing the float at the end of the drift difficult. I would strain my eyes so hard that they would begin to water...
Fun stuff.
Anyway....I was kind of in a Steelhead trance when out of the corner of my eye I noticed some movement. I slowly looked up to see a deer right across the river from me.

Cool.
I tried to get my camera out quietly enough not to spook it but ...it moved quite a distance away.
I still managed a few photos.
I love stuff like that.
As it turned out there were 6 or seven of them...all does by the look of it..moving together on the opposite bank.
Solitude.

Peace on the river.
Deep breaths of fresh air....
It is almost disappointing when the float goes down ..
Almost.
;o)
My Father-in-Law went without a Deer on this years hunt. They hunt about 10 kms from where we fish. I am not sure if I will share this little tale with him considering that I could've hit these deer with a rock.
lol

Back to work tomorrow.
I have been away from my team for almost two weeks..

... I kinda miss those knuckleheads.
Tired......Dog Tired...
Where is my Scotch?

'Nuff Said..

Slush fest today....beautiful walk through a post card pretty winter wonderland....but I was so cold I didn't even think to take pics...




That just about sums up the water conditions.

Oh well ... I don't mind taking it on the chin once in while..lol

The day wasn't a complete write off...

And tomorrow I will sleep in...ya

"There must have been some magic in...

...That stinky fishing hat they found"



Sarnia finally got some today snow and my kids were thrilled. They are calling for rain...heavy at times this afternoon though.





I don't like Frosty's chances.....but mine are pretty good!!!!

<>< on.

When Things Get Tough....

I dragged my ass out of bed today to fish a river that I knew would be brutal but I had spent the last two days looking after my son... nursing him through some type of stomach flu ..and now that he was feeling better Daddy needed to bolt,....Big Time!
LOL
Poor little fella had 'er on rewind for almost 48 hrs.
I hate when kids get sick...just breaks your heart.
We toughed it out together as a family and hopefully he'll be well enough to go to Christmas in the park tonight.

The river was stingy and the weather was brutal but I still managed to sting a few.



That'll teach 'em.

I only had to share the water with one other guy.....and it wasn't Morin.

He was too busy today getting his beauty sleep...and Christ knows he needs it!!!

One good thing about crappy conditions is the solitude....and I believe that I have mentioned this here before but it certainly bears repeating....I think the solitude is more important to me than the bent rods.

Good for the soul and the blood pressure.



Daddy is recharged and ready for the next challenge......(I think?)

THX fish.

PS..
Here is a picture from Christmas on the Farm. Here we are freezing to death on the Hayride...
Fun stuff though.
:o)

Slippin' in through the cracks..

The river was less than ideal ...but so are most things.
I figure that if you sit around waiting for perfection you can miss out on a lot of cool stuff.
I spent too much time thinking about fishing at work yesterday so finally , on a spur of the moment decision I reached for the leave slips.

The fishing was tough but with a little perseverance I managed to luck into a few including a big old Buck bordering on the double stripe.



The water was low and clear and cold. The fish were scattered and lethargic ( until hooked)....but I couldn't be happier.



I had the place to myself...howling wind, frostbite and all. Oh joy.
There were signs of a recent bank maggot hatch....probably from the previous weekend and I was instantly reminded of how cool it is to be a shift worker. I should make it my goal to never fish on weekends again unless the weather is catastrophic.



Today was close.

At one point ,early in the afternoon, a storm blew in off the lake with winds so powerful that I actually saw a tree go down about a hundred yards from me. The sky went from sunny to black in a matter of seconds and the snow fell so heavy that I literally couldn't see my float. The best part was the thunder.
???


I was so freaked out that I broke down the rod and called it a day.

I thought that maybe mother nature was trying to tell me something.

By the time I had gotten back to the car the weather was fine (of course) and I almost considered heading back to the river but there is nothing wrong with being home early..
The family was glad to see me and it it is Wing Night at Skeeters...
Oh yah...Good day....
:o)

My Car Stinks...

Smells like Victory.....
Well maybe not quite.
Between Brians rotton gloves , the Cherry Cheddar Elk sausage (and the flatulence that accompanies it) , Tim Hortons Coffee, sweaty sweaters discarded in the back seat after barely surviving the hike out of a winter ravaged ravine, not to mention the ubiquitous rotten river stink that finds its way into every piece of fishing gear this time of year,...my poor old Steelhead mobile is REDOLENT of Fall Fishing....
...And it is about time.
I can breath a sigh of relief....finally.


I doubt anything will ever compare to last years fishing but at least now I can look forward to my days off.
The grass is still green in Sarnia , but ten minutes outside of the city we have vehicles in the ditch.
Winter took a shot at the Huron Shore this past week and I loved it....iced guides and all.

I have a fair amount of time off this December and I hope to do a fair amount of fishing...preferably fishing that doesn't involve travelling for hours in a car.
I love a good adventure as much as anybody but after a while enough is enough.
Back to work tomorrow.
The government is going to tell me if I am crazy or not....???....how unsettling is that???
Takes one to know one???
lol
Wish me luck.

Here fishy fishy..

The workplace loosened its hold on me yesterday so I decided to burn some leave and wet a line.
I had set my alarm a little late which is very unusual for me. I like to be first on the water...always.
I am not a fish hog but I enjoy the anticipation of being there before sun-up and having to wait before being able to effectively fish. It is a nice feeling and I hate to miss it but yesterday when I went to bed I had decided that the extra hour or two of sleep would be of greater benefit.
Sounds good?...fast forward to the part where I wake up to find that I have a flat tire. Kim needed the second vehicle for the kids so I was forced to do a little pit-stop action at 6ish. Sweet.
All my gear was already loaded in the car so in order to get at the spare I had to first unload all my crap out on to the driveway. For a very brief moment I considered just pulling the plug and going back to bed.


Brief Moment. ;o)
Oh well...could've been worse.
That baby could've popped on the I69 a few weeks back whilst driving through that blinding MI snowstorm.....NOW THAT WOULD"VE SUCKED.
Regardless....an hour or so late and I am on the road.
I stopped by my favourite river and had a look-see only to confirm that this season is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.....at least around here. Maybe this is some kind of penance for last years easy pickings??
Ah well ...suck it up.
Desperate times...

A fella I know ,who is dialed in on every flow from here to British Columbia (it turns out) recommended a river that flows out of the 'Sea of Tranquility'.I had recalled overhearing a hushed conversation at the local fishing store about Steelhead fishing on the moon so figured WTF??! I have never fished any lunar tribs and was eagar to try them so I quickly dug out my space suit and off I went. The gravity thing was a little bothersome but the beauty of the surroundings quickly made up for any discomfort....that is if you like cheese.

(I did in fact bump into Wallace and Gromit)
Any hoo....the fishing was dismal....turns out that my curse followed me even into outer space.
Might have to book an appointment with the Witchdoctor again.
I did manage to dig up this pic from last year and decided to post it if for no other reason than to lift my spirits.

BTW...hey Kettle ...this is the coffee calling....guess what ...you're black.
:o)

The Curse....

...has settled on poor old Trotsky.




Again.


Nothing new I supposed ..and I have always maintained that when the fishing gets too easy I lose (..not loose! ..lol..) interest...but there is another side to that coin and that dark oppressive cloud has positioned itself right over my fish starved soul.

I can't buy a fish lately and it has been a long time since I have felt a cold streak like this one.

Brian and I fished in MI this past week and it was a great trip. Northern Michigan is everything its legend suggests. Beautiful sprawling forests with endless access and a wildlife management program that creates a sportsmans paradise. You've gotta love a place where the gas stations have fish mounts on the wall and you can walk into a restaurant at 6am with you waders on and not even raise an eyebrow.
It is pretty cool to literally see people just stop at the side of the road ...grab thier gear and disappear into the woods.
The colours were peak on this trip and the walk through the woods would've been worth the effort alone.



I would've liked a fish though....I mean come on.
We fished two famous Michigan rivers and one was so pretty I would fish it even if there were no fish in it. ( ..this works out well because I don't think there were....yet).
...Well..to say I went fishless isn't entirely accurate.
The resident trout were so thick that that you had to alter your presentation just so you could avoid them. They were beautiful little jewels that I would've killed for on the Upper Credit but after two or three you shamefully start cursing them under your breath. The little monkeys were so voracious that you could just set your line in the water at your feet and literally a 12 - 15 inch Brown would snatch it up if you weren't quick enough to remove it.
Weird.
I can only assume that the Salmon run sends these little denizens into some sort of feeding frenzy .
Steelhead weren't so easy.

Could be a tough season.



I am really dumb and it takes me a while to learn things but the water looked obvious.

Anyway...should'nt bitch about a fishing trip....ever.

Numbnuts wants to go back and I am more than willing to take my lumps like a Man.

There has to be one or two stupid fish swimming around there with my name on 'em.

Right?

:o/

Btw..To all my Blog nerd friends who are catching fish with ease I only have this offer.

BTW (2)-....Have I ever mentioned how much I hate midnights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taking what the river gives you....

...can sometimes really blow!!
I fished a new river yesterday and I loved it.....all except the fact that I got blanked.
Remember when it used to rain?
I am going to kill the next person that comments on "What beautiful weather we've had this fall"
Die!
Oh well....It was good to see my old fishing buddy again....even if he is now a full fledged granola eating homo.
Friggin' seed eating dipshit. Cloggin the arteries on a road trip is half the fun!!!??
Could it be that god is trying to tell me something by sending skin and bones a fish and leaving me a donut???
Sure was a pretty river though......minus the shitrats.
Man I am grouchy.

Oh well...with any luck I will be able to post a fish picture or two more before the end of the world.

And we're off..

The Sauble River is a nasty old bitch that can really shake my confidence but it always has flow and considering the drought like conditions we're faced with here in Ontario I thought I would giv'er a go today.
This is the river that I cut my teeth on as a Steelheader so whenever I return to it I always feel nostalgic.

One of the greatest fish I have ever hooked into was landed there. Oct 13/2001.
30.5 " chrome bright hen that probably went around 11 lbs. I had no business landing that fish...and maybe because of that the river has always been stingy to me with only rare exceptions.
Today the water was low and disgusting and choked with weed growth. It was more like Sauble Swamp. I still managed to hook a decent fish but lost all hope of landing it very early when the rotter took me deep into the wood. Anybody who has fished there I am sure knows the spot I am talking about.
It was nice to get back there if for no other reason than the memories.


After about an hour I bolted for one of southwestern Ontarios most famous rivers.

This is also a river that I have hardly fished. I generally stear clear of the fabled waters for whatever reason but I really enjoyed myself today. There is a ton of water here and even though you still get the assholes who want to stand on your shoulders after you have landed a fish there always seems to be plenty of elbow room.

All in all a very good day. It even felt good to be alone for a change.


I stopped by my backyard river on the way home and it looks nothing less than catastrophic. It is hard to believe that it will even be able to support a fishery this year but it always surprises me how quickly things can shape up for the positive.


Anyhoo...it sure felt good to blow the dust off.

I have included the some of my own homo "fall colours" photos that seem to be obligatory this time of year in blog land.


I will be on a river next Wednesday.


Praying for rain.

Gearing Up

This weather has been making me insane.

Last night I spent the better part of two hours cleaning out my eavestrough. This job hugs nut at the best of time but last nights misery was compounded by hordes of mosquitos and temperatures rivaling mid-summer.

I am sure this is the end of the world. ITS OCTOBER FOR CHRISTS SAKE!!!!!

Having given up hope for any early fishing I having been making hay while the sun shines financially....whoring myself out to the Man at almost every opportunity. This is good for the bank account but very bad for my soul. I have been a miserable Cur lately and I don't know how my family has put up with me...not to mention the travelling public.
:o)

I had a day off finally and used the time to prepare some of my fishing gear. It felt a little strange to be preparing for the fall fishing while cowering from 30 degree temps in my basement like some kind of animal but it at least took my mind off of it.
I had decided to order some new breathables and boots.Being rather flush lately I almost pulled the trigger on some of those homo big name waders that are spun from gold but found reason at the last instant.Waders are like erections...they are cool to have but they don't last.
I break things....it is what I do.
I no doubt will have to re-order waders next year, regardless of what brand I purchase ,so my best bet is to run as cheap as I can and put the rest of my fish money in the gas tank.
There has been quite a bit of talk in the camp lately about fishing in MI and I have decided that I am all for it. It will be fun to branch out a bit and with the dollar being as strong as it is things couldn't be more affordable on that front.

If only these ass-holes at the border would get the traffic moving.

I still have to make a run to London or somewhere for some floats and hooks but other than that I am pretty much ready to roll.

I figure that we'll have to wait until about mid December for frost any way.

Tick tock....

Feeding the 'play-doh' fish...

I took Ella down to the local hatchery today. She gets a kick out of feeding the pellet heads in the pond.

The pellet machines are a great source of income for the local club. All the quarters generate thousands of dollars if you can believe it.


The guys that run the club are very good people...and whether or not their efforts are misguided or not everybody likes fish in the water.



If nothing else it gives me something fun I can do with my kids on a crumby afternoon.....and there are some lunkers in there swimmin'.
Back to work tomorrow.
yuk

Blowing the dust off....

It has been while since I have visited this little corner. I have been very busy this summer with all kinds of crap. Everything from home repairs to bebop. Typically fishing slows down for me in the summer months but I can't recall ever going through a fishless break this long. Scary thing is I didn't seem to miss it. My interests have become streamlined and it seems that I have only one speed. The family just got back from an annual trip to Collingwood. This trip is a great way to cap off the summer and I always look forward to it. My father in law and I usually hit the rivers up that way and I try like hell to get him into some Salmon but this year it wasn't meant to be. The rivers were shit and I ended up forgeting half my gear at home. I guess my heart wasn't really in it. I have heard certain people gripe about what a horror show Collingwood has become and I am the first person to bristle when the Disneyland disease takes hold of something good but I wouldn't be honest if I said that I didn't like it up there. Even the Blue Mountain Village is charming. Maybe if I had been there from the beginning I would be disgusted ....but I wasn't ..and this trip really brings my family together. My kids were outstanding with thier behaviour. I am so lucky to have children that are healthy and well adjusted.

I don't think that I would have the energy to deal with it otherwise. I discovered a new Beer on this trip. Certainly one of the best I have tasted....and I have tasted many!! ;o) This summer I spent most of my time playing guitar. I don't seem to be getting any better but I have never enjoyed it as much. I will try to keep it up over the winter months but I fully expect the Steelhead sickness to take over. ....In fact I am looking forward to it. Everything goes on the backburner and it is Daddy time.....BRING IT.<><
I see that some of my BLOG freak friends have been out already and it warms my river starved heart just to read about it.
Safety First Gents
Morin has informed me that he has been dieting and trying to lose weight over the summer. I have this strange image of salads covered with Ketchup and Salt in my head..... Freak.