Fiddleheads

Today was my opening day.


The actual opening day was last Saturday and I was forced to miss it due to work.
I couldn't spare any leave because of the pending arrival of the Nipper.
I start my official parental leave on June 26th ...and I can't wait.
The Storks ETA is June 15th.


Work has been bumming me out lately and the break is a very welcome one.
My scheduled return to work is March 11th 2009.

Fuck it...I am out.

I was sorry to miss the actual opener.

Even though the river on opening day is typically a horror show it is something of a tradition. I have been in a bit of a funk lately to say the least and my mood is such that I am painfully aware that there are a finite amount of Steelhead seasons and great moments should never be taken for granted.
We lost one member of our fishing group this year.
Terry was a great guy and I always enjoyed his company....except for when he was tuning me up at Euchre.
Rest in peace.


I usually share the opener with a great group of guys that have a sweet piece of property right on the river.There is more card playing and drinking than fishing during this gathering but I always have a good time.

Oh well....I can't play poker worth a shit and I am pretty sure that I will be able to make the Fall get together.

Today I faced the river at its worst.


The water was low and clear and the fish ... I am sure were shell shocked from the opener.
A cold front had pushed in and I was actually a little chilly this morning. The rain that had been forecast never really showed so the river is even worse now.



One lucky break for me was the complete lack of pressure today.

I saw a few familiar faces but it certainly wasn't the horror show that I had anticipated.


?
Where is everybody??
Maybe the poor conditions spooked everybody.
For the record I didn't miss them.
;O)

Maybe the Wendigo ate them all on the weekend



Anyway..
The fishing was tough but I managed.


As a matter of fact I did pretty good.
;o)
The fish were hot....like greased lightening hot.

I hadn't fished that much lately and it felt nice.

..really lifted my spirits in fact.

The woods in the spring are a revelation.
Trilliums, Fiddleheads and Leeks...
The smell is terrific.



It was cool to connect with nature again.....all exept for the weasel I saw.


It reminded me of work.

(BTW...my elbow is screwed)

Mother of god...

Dig this shot,


This picture is from a poster that is currently scattered throughout Southwestern Ontario....particularly Sarnia.

What a RUBE....camo toque and all.

I have tons of people at work asking me for an autograph...

UGH.

Oh well..there is no sense running from it.

I am a shitrat....salmon killer...environmental terrorist.



Ah well... tis true that a number of Chinook Salmon have found their way from the depths of the Lake Huron to heat of my BBQ...
With any luck this spring derby will see even more.

Every year I fish this 10 day Derby with my Father in Law and honestly I hate to miss it.
It is pretty far removed from the almost religious pursuit I have developed around Steelheading but I love that man dearly and the derby has provided some great memories.



We actually won the thing on the last day a few years back...right down to the wire by ounces if my memory serves me ....and I don't really care if it does or not.

Oddly enough ...my relatively new found sensibilties are rarely challenged on the open water because we almost never hook Steelhead.
This pleases me for two reasons.
I almost certainly wouldn't have the heart to kill one and the boys would likely throw me overboard if I released it.
.....especially if it had a chance of making THE BOARD!!!!


I think first place for a "Rainbow" is a snowblower or some shit....
Oh the humanity...
It is a tough little struggle for me to be honest.....

I cannot deny that I love participating but the shitrats that we compete against for the most part make my skin crawl.

I remember one year asking to see the leading salmon at the 'weigh in' station.
They keep the board leaders on ice in a giant freezer.
The fella behind the desk was only too glad to show me and after some digging hauled out a beautiful 15 - 16 lb fish.
It was one of the biggest Brown Trout I have ever seen.
After about 10 mins I ran out of energy arguing with the guy...lol.
(They saw the light about two days later)
One small point,....
Should people be allowed to stock hundreds of thousands of fish a year into our watershed if they can't tell a trout from a salmon?

They are good people really...with very good intentions.

They have a day at the hatchery where they allow handicaped children to fish for the penned Steelhead.

Anyway...
The Lakes are so screwed up that I doubt they are doing much real damage and they way they dump these pellet eating Salmon into the Lake year after year I suppose it can't hurt me to hang up my ethics for 10 days or so and wade into the Bloodbath...
Who knows...maybe we'll actually win the thing again...


Actually... I am pretty friggin good at it....and I could really use the dough

Morin and Harv are currently hammering real fish on South Erie.
I was scheduled to tag along on this one but had to bail at the last minute due to some babysitting logistical shortfall.
Truth be told it wasn't that hard to do so...
I am a bit of a worry wort and Kimi is right around 7 months in.
Things are going good but I have a hard time being away from home right now.
Besides my elbow is still 10-7.
Ella and I have visted just about every park in the area over the past two days.
It is so good to have some nice weather finally and it is impossible to keep that little girl indoors.

Today we had a picnic at a park down by the Lake. It was chilly ...but that doesn't bother that little monkey.

I don't know what it is but I have been very emotional lately.

Maybe it is the expectation of the wee one or the fact that the winter has finally released us from its clutches ....or just the fact that I am really tired,.. but I have been conscious of some perfect moments lately.

I don't know if anybody knows what I mean?

Today at the picnic was one of these moments....




I think I can afford to trade a fishing trip now and then ...