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

This year’s record salmon stock not entirely unexpected – News1130.

They say she inherited my looks.

Im not so sure…………………………….

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

Just ask Bob Meiser

Heavy Hatches

Kirk

We planned the trip knowing that the fishing would be tough. The small lakes would be close to or in algae bloom. The big lake fish would have abondoned the creek mouths for deeper, cooler water. The Horsefly river would probably close on our way there due to high temperatures. I guess sometimes you just have to do your best with what you get. We made it there in 7 and a half hours and were asleep in a cozy guest room within minutes.

After breakfast on day 1 we decided to head to a small, rarely fished lake that I had success at a few years back. It’s a beauty of a lake that is hard to find without local knowledge. We set up the kick boats and headed out.

The fisrst thing I noticed was the algae in the water. Not too much, but enough for concern. The second thing I noticed were the small caddis flies skittering across the surface here and there. I suggested that we head for the far end of the lake where there was a mid lake island and some nice shoreline shoals. In no time we had rowed across. somehow sarah managed to remove her waders en route. It was scorching hot out, too hot for waders, but I was too stubborn(lazy) to take mine off. I headed for the drop off with a sinking line and a dragon fly nymph. sarah hit the shallows with an elk hair caddis dry. As usual she hit the first fish. And the second. I rowed over and got one on my set up. Then she she got 2 more. Four fish to one is a sign to change tactics so I switched spools and flies to match hers. none of the fish we caught were huge but they fought like they thought they were.I’m not sure how many we caught but it was a blast to have an entire lake to ourselves. At one point we just jumped in and had a swim.

We headed back after the sun had gotten the best of us and had a nice Prime Rib dinner.

Day 2 we headed out on th ebig lake hoping to find fish at the creekmouths. It’s difficult at this time of year but if you search methodically you can come across large pods of bulls and rainbows. The fishing can be fantastic. Other times you find nothing. This was one of those other times. We did find one rainbow at one creek mouth but it spooked from my shadow and was never seen again.

searching for bows

We had a rough ride back to home base but were in good spirits. We had another nice dinner and watched a fireworks display.

Day 3 the plan was to pack up and fish the Horsefly on the way home. Surprisingly, it hadn’t closed like it has for the last few summers (it closed a couple of days later though). We weren’t feeling up to floating and the spot I stopped at had too many trucks for my liking. sarah made the executive descision to head out and stop in the desert on our way home. Good call. We fished our usual spot and did marginally well. I figured it must have been hammered by the long weekend crowds before we arrived. We got fish though and it wasn’t as brutally hot as usual.

It was a good road trip and a great anniversary. Life isn’t always about how many fish you catch. It’s about going out there and giving it a try. We saw caribou, a bear on the road, caught fish and spent time with good people. What more could you ask for?

6 pieces all together

the usual awesome craftmanship

Bob also set us up with grain matched Scandi heads for both versions of each rod (4 heads in total). I had used my 11′ switch for a couple of seasons and knew how it performed but I was dying to try out the 13′9 light spey. I put together head wallets to hold both heads some assorted Rio versileaders. We loaded the reels with Rio powerflex core shooting line.

Then it was off to the river…………..

On the way up the digital temperature reading in the truck read 37 degrees. I’m not sure how accurate it is but it felt that hot if not hotter outside. We decided to make a stop at a popular run before heading to our favourite spot. When we arrived there was no one else around as usual and we quickly geared up and started flogging the water. The rods felt light in hand for almost 14′. It took a few minutes to get the right timing and then the casts came easy. The water was a little too high where we were and complex currents made swinging flies almost impossible. Plus there were no signs of any fish. We packed up and headed for the good stuff.

Again, nobody around. We left the truck with smiles on our faces and began the hike upstream.

Our first fishing spot was in a large deep back eddy. The only way to fish it properly is to high stick. Long leaders and heavy nymphs were the ticket and within minutes Sarah had deep bend in her rod. “I can’t believe how much this rod bends” she said. Line peeled off of her reel but after a few minutes she had the first fish of the day in the net.

Then it was my turn.

extreme high sticking

We managed a few more before they got wise to us.

two of my favourite things

It was time to start mving slowly from spot to spot on our way down river. Although a 70 foot cast was effortless with the 13′9 rods, it was hardly neccessary. Our ability to mend line and high stick was amazing and could only improve if we used tapered running lines instead of level ones. Even the smaller fish put a nice bend in the rod, something I was concerned about at first. I do feel that these rods have enough bottom end to handle mid sized fish like summer run Steelies, Coho and Pink Salmon, as well as Bull Trout and Dolly Varden.  We will definately get alot of use out of them.

We continued on down river landing plenty of hard fighting, net filling Rainbows……..

double header

By late afternoon we were done. Sun baked, dehydrated and hungry. We could have stuck around for some evening dryfly action but opted to start the 4 hour journey back home. The rods performed beyond our expectations and have added to our love of two handers. Another masterpiece from Bob………