Today my neighbour stopped by to let us know that there was a Hawk perched in our backyard Poplar. Apparently he had grabbed himself a little squirrel and was having himself a rodent feast.( The Hawk ...not the neighbour) LOL We had a great view from our upstairs window and the kids got a real kick out of it ....and so did dad.
Well the Salmon derby is over. We started off well but kind of fizzled towards the end. This was due to a number of factors. The pictures tell the story. The rain and the wind played havoc up at Kettle Point on the last few days and just about blew us off the water.
We weren't missing much. For whatever reason the bite went off and we had lots of head scratching company out there. One thing that has always confounded me about fishing for Kings is that when it shuts down ...IT REALLY SHUTS DOWN!!! When you fish the rivers you can always seem to force out a few even when it is slow but on the big water there just doesn't seem to be anything that can be done some days but take your lumps like a man. We weren't without our little victories this year. Gerry won the seniors day and received a cash prize and we also got 9th place over all in the Salmon category which is nothing to sneeze at. Some bigger fish were weighed in this year and all of them look really healthy. A fish that weighed just shy of 19 lbs won the thing ...and that is not too shabby. Ah well...the boys had a great time and it is a fun tradition...there is always next year.
Today my alarm went off at right around 04:30...and I almost didn't get up. My heart wanted one more kick at the floatfishing game but my body was saying no way ..
Avery has had a rotten cold and that coupled with the fact that she is teething like 90 makes our sleep pattern resemble torture more than any type of rest. We have all been exhausted lately. I went anyway...
There is quite a hike involved where we like to fish. Typically you dance in and then find yourself crawling out. On the last trip I was thinking that in the very near future I probably will find it hard to justify the toll it takes on my body.
I just turned forty ...and I am an old forty at that. Christ .. I was born old. I am not quite smashed yet and I need to take advantage of these opportunities.
The river was less than optimum. The water was clear , the sun was up and I had everybody and their brother for company but in spite of this I still had a wonderful day.
The fishing was tricky but I managed all right.
Even the bugs held off......for a while. It was a great way to say goodbye until the fall.
I even managed to find some new sexy water that I am sure will load up silly style this fall.
Now off to bed and then back to the real world for a day.
Well the derby is in full swing and I have to admit I am enjoying the hell out of it!!!! So far we have had some really nice weather and the fishing has been good enough to keep everyone happy. I think we have weighed in right around 16 fish and most of the fish appear to be bright and healthy. The kings are finding food somewhere and the downriggin good old boys are all smiles. I could do wthout all the useless radio chatter but it is easy to understand. Most of these guys look forward to this all year. ... My father in law is one of them.
He really lives for this event and it is a great thing that we can do together as a family. All year long Gerry donates his time as a volunteer at the local hatchery raising money and organizing this event for the area and it is nice to see him participate and do well in it. So far there has been a crew of four on the SS RUBE. Gerry is the Captain and the deckhands are My brother in law Mike, his son Erik and myself.
Gerry has a great boat and being on the water fishing out of it is very relaxing even when the weather is a bit snotty.
Our biggest fish so far has been a 12 lb KING that was caught today. These spring KINGS are nothing like they appear in the fall. They hit hard and peel line like freight trains. Silver as dimes and full of piss.
Erik has finally made it to the point where he can fight a fish from start to finish and todays fish was a rite of passage....in fact a great and proud moment for all of us.
I am down for a few days and surprisingly I am sad to think that I won't be able to join them out there again until Thursday. LOL
