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 ...

Return to action..

I am a sucker.
After being taunted by my numb-nutted friend I finally agreed to go fishing.
Normally I would jump at the chance to fish but this year so far has been different.

I have been reluctant to fish this year.....in truth I have been in a bit of a funk towards everything since returning from my training in Chilliwack.

That trip was like a giant kick in the stones and I am still trying to find my wind.
This never-ending winter isn't helping either.
On top of the emotional and professional strain I seem to have contracted a severe case of tennis elbow in my right arm. Some days it is so bad that I can barely make a fist.
Not good for 50 ft casts , bone jarring hook sets, or prolonged fish battles.


What the hell.
I can't let Brian have all the fun.
Last week I tagged along with Brian and Harv to Michigans west side.

I love it over there ....even though I have yet to experience a break out day.

We caught a fair amount of fish.......a lot of little fish...I caught one true MI Steelhead which I didn't capture on film. In a fit of stupidity I left my camera at home.....as well as my ID....

In Brians typical shutter-bug fashion he took all kinds of pictures of everything from Fish to very small rocks....the guy is mental...

Something has happened over the past few years in regards to my fishing proclivities..
The second day we all slept in......like past daybreak slept in.....
Normally this would fill me with such shame that I could barely look in the mirror...

I used to obsess about first water!
I am not a big fan of forcing it in any aspect of my life and I must confess that I just don't give a shit anymore...at least not in the same way.

We had one of the greatest trips in my memory.

Good food....laughs...fresh air...and enough fish to make us all feel like we weren't assholes for even being there. I even managed to come home rested???
WTF?

Morin caught a fish that was huge for anywhere.
It bossed him around like the school girl that he is but the horseshoe up his pooper once again prevailed and he got his grip and grin that he can masterbate to later on.
It was one helluva fish.
....we kept coming back to it as we waiting for 9 hrs in the traffic jam on the way home.
Anyway...
Most of the tale is told better at www.numbnuts.com anyway but I did have a great time.


First time fishing with Harv. He turned out to be a decent guy and he should fit right in considering that none of us are smarter than a 5ith grader.
Heres to a new elbow and parental leave.
Later.
BTW... I have been also very busy over here making sweet ,sweet elevator music.

To be fair.....

....BC wasn't all bad come to think of it.

I found a couple of really good beers and I will miss them dearly.
I spent a great deal of time drunk and it is probably the only thing that kept me sane throughout the entire horrific experience.

Here they are.

Okanagan 1516

and,

any of the great Granville Island beers.

If you ever get out that way be sure to order up some of that beer lovin'.

YUM!!

Conversely...here is local little lovely libation that I currently have sittin right in front of me. Sweetness and Light

Certainly worth a look see and can be found at the local store.


BTW......I have had enough of winter already.....It is currently -27 here with the windchill off the lake.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy".

--Benjamin Franklin

Well.. I'm Back..

At this risk of being labelled a heretic I friggin hate British Columbia!



I have just returned from a three week long business trip in Chilliwack and to say that I am very glad to be home is like saying water is kinda damp.
What a disappointment.
I don't travel well to begin with but this trip was to bring me to a training facility literally right on the shores of the Vedder river and I figured that if the course I was on began to grate on my nerves at the very least the fishing would keep me sane.
Wrong.
The fishing was terrible.

Upon arrival I contacted a guide that I had booked through a local outfitter in order to work out the logistics of our trip. In a rare display of west coast decency the guide shop actually talked me out of the walk a wade Steelhead 'adventure'.
"Knowing where you are from and considering the condition of our fishery you are most likely going to be disappointed so I will save you some dough...besides the river isn't that hard to figure out. You can access it anywhere and there are usually tons of people."
That is the sound of my heart sinking.



I did fish....I mean I am not a complete idiot.

I ended up buying a ridiculously expensive 7 day fishing license complete with 'Steelhead tag' (?).

I fished the first day with nary a nibble and had planned on fishing the following weekend hard as well but a nasty bout of stomach flu put the kibosh on that.



That first day I fished optimum looking water for about 7 hrs with no less then 300 people and I saw one fish caught. To be fair it was a big fish......probably 15 lbs of hatchery stupidity and it was immediately smashed on the head by the dirt bag that had landed it.

Get me the fuck out of here.

I don't know what I expected but I now know for certain what I had suspected all along......
WE HAVE GOT IT MADE HERE BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!


The crew at the local tackle shop were the rudest MFers I have ever run across and I wanted very badly to burn the place down. When they found out we were from Ontario we might as well have announced that we were from a leper colony.
Fuck them.
I would be bitter too if my Steelhead fishery had gone in the shitter.

After some searching we located a fly shop with some really cool people....one of which was a transplanted fella from Ontario. When we laid our story on him he just laughed and said that his fly shop regularly organizes Steelhead trips to the Great Lakes.

True Story.

Sad Story.

Another thing that shocked me was the amount of crime!!!???
Chilliwack is a gangridden shithole....and I am not talking about wanna-bes....these guys are the real dealio. Drug money and power dominates the lower mainland and it is like living in a friggin warzone...all this with a backdrop of scenery that is so beautiful that it is hard to look at. Surreal.
If I was forced to live there I would surely disappear into the mountains.




Any hoo....I am home now....thank the Christ.

My course sucked but I was successful and with any luck I will never leave my family again.

Did I miss anything?

:o)

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.