So the Co man and I took another fish off of his list of first’s!

Richard Mason, owner of Bow River Adventures, with another big Brown Trout. Nice fish Rich!

I’ll be joining Richard in Steelhead Country next month.

They say she inherited my looks.

Im not so sure…………………………….

MAKER’S MARK kentucky straight bourbon whskey

There’s nothing like having some small batch sour-mash while searing some red meat.

Just ask Bob Meiser

The weekend was good. I was hoping to get a proper bend in the Burkheimer and Bulls were the ticket. I was up early and couldn’t wait to head out from camp. I hooked over a dozen nice bulls but had a hard time landing them with only 6 pound tippet and no net. Here’s some of the pics I took while the rest of the guys were sleeping (passed out).

Well this weekend marked the first annual Boy’s weekend, after some planning here and there over the last few months it was time to finally go and fish. I was lucky to get out of work early on friday and get home to pick up Rob who had also been parolled early. Once on the highway one thing became very very clear! it was fricken HOT out. My truck said it was 36 in abbotsford, now usually I like hot weather so I wasn’t to worried about it. Untill we arrived at the lake,,, Hot equals sweaty Kirk + sweat loving mosquitos= sucked dry, frustrated and itchy Kirk. I have been fishing this particular area since childhood and have NEVER seen it this bad on the mosquito front. We also had no bug spray. The only way to get away from them buggers was out on the lake fishing so that’s what we did. I say fishing because we weren’t catching. Back to shore to see the new arrivals Mat,Logan and Ronny well the bugs had FORCED them to consume mass amounts of liquid in the form of beer to distract from there apparent lack off bug spray. Party was on! later the next day(if you want to know what happened that night, you will just have to come next year!) back out we went I am ashamed to say that I couldn’t muster the concentration or the drive to catch any trout, so I went and had a nap. Later that afternoon myself and Peter went in search of one of my favourite fish the mighty bull! We had unbelievable fishing they were stacked in this section of river. So Pete lost his bull trout card that night, to a very respectable fish I might add. Back to camp to find more new arrivals. Devin and Dave Henry(site founder) so after all the pleasantries were exchanged, out came the whiskey! All to early the next day Dave was off in search of bulls, I cursed him as I know Dave can cover water very very effectively. He doesn’t leave many fish behind for others! We packed as fast as we could and after removing Robs truck from the pole he accidently high centered himself on, myself and Rob (Macleod) went after some bulls. Enjoy the pics! next year will be somewhere else and I am sure just as enjoyable. To all of you who made the effort to come out. Thankyou!

Peter with a bull on!

Peter's bull card "Stamped"

Torpedo locked and loaded!

Heyo!

Rob's bull card "Stamped x 4"

So I haven’t gotten out to fish lately. On the other hand I finally received a much anticipated package. My new 9′5 Burkheimer 6 weight. The rod is even better looking in person than on the website. I had Kerry build it to cast similar to a Winston BIIX. It is a 4 piece rod, the bottom sections from his saltwater line up and the top two sections from his DAL(deep action load) line up. This creates a a rod with a powerful, fast lower end and a deep loading fast top end. It is built saltwater ready with Titanium guides, strippers and seat. The cocobola wood insert adds a nice rich brown colour to the rich green blank. Beautiful craftsmanship.

I had it out on the grass today casting a 6 weight line loaded on an Abel Creek reel with the Bonefish finish(more on that later). It loads with very little line for short accurate casts. It can also fire out a long accurate cast with a tight loop. The trick is to really slow down and let the rod do the work, much like the BIIX that it imitates. The rod feels a bit stiffer in the bottom end than the BIIX and I would like to try casting a large weighted streamer with both rods for comparison. This stiffness adds to the swing weight of the rod and almost makes the rod seem noticably heavier than the Winston. They are almost the same weight. I would imagine this rod outperforming the the Winston in windy Saltwater environments but the Winston would be more enjoyable for lighter trout fishing. Both rods will be great for nymphing and streamer fishing on the big rivers I like to fish.

I would recommend Burkheimer rods to anyone looking for a fine crafted, personalized rod. In fact, for the price, I would recommend them over any premium flyrod. If you’re going to spend the money, you might as well get something that’s made just for you and your casting style.

The Abel Creek Bonefish reel looked really nice on the rod. I did notice that it reflected a lot of sunlight though. In my opinion, this could be detrimental when fishing for spooky bonefish in shallow water. Seeing as it is a click-drag reel, backing capacity would also be an issue. I would probably end up using pewter or black reel for flats fishing instead.

Check out these videos from Richard Mason of Bow River Adventures. Particularly the one of the Bull trout eating a Cutty. Some fish don’t know when to stop eating. I hope to spend some time fishing the Bow with Rich this fall. Keep an eye out for us in the skeena area this September.

http://www.bowriveradventures.com/bowriver/id18.html

Yesterday was the annual Michael and Young Spey Day. This year was the 5th installment of a growing event that attracts Spey rod enthusiasts from all over the Pacific North West. It’s a free, one day event that allows those who enjoy two handed rods to try out gear from many different manufacturers. Held at Peg Leg, a large gravel bar on the Fraser river, this years event had the biggest turnout yet. Companies such as Scott, Sage, Loomis, Winston, T&T, Echo, Guideline, Rio, Airflo and Scientific Anglers, and others put their wares on display to the public. Special guests included Steve Rajeff, Steve Choate and Chris Sepio. Anglers were able to watch scheduled demonstrations and get a free Barbque lunch while chatting with each other. The pros and local Spey gods also provided one on one instruction for those who needed a little help. A raffle near the end handed out prizes which included a Hatch reel and a couple of pairs of Maui Jim sunglasses. I myself didn’t pick up any of the rods and spent the entire time talking with people I haven’t seen in a long time as well as meeting some new folks, sipping Coronas and smoking a cuban or two. It was a great event that keeps getting better and bigger each year.

Sascha and Anna picked me up at Fort Langley and we headed there by boat

Coleman and Isis came along

The Casting Gauntlet reminds me of Summer Sockeye Fishing

Plenty of Rods on Display

Chef Ryan

One of the many casting demos

Raffle Time

My friend Ed Kunze, a guide in Zhiuatenejo Mexico,  just sent me this video of Sailfish attacking a bait ball. From the surface all you would see is birds diving into a school of baitfish. Am I the only one who wants to go back to Mexico?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12c-QIhhnqQ

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