A late night call from the Master inviting me on a bar fishing trip was a welcome relief from 4 meetings so far this week and two more to go to end the week. I said "name the time and place and I will be there."
"Just bring yourself and I will have everything else, be at Island 22 at 8:15" was my instructions.
I awake early enought to prepare for a FVSS meeting tonight, put a lunch together and grab 2 extra large coffees at Tims on the way.
I arrive one minute late and Nick already has the boat in the water, anxious to get going and I am reprimanded for being late.
I get a better welcome from Nick's dog Annie who wages her tail, most likely she can smell the donuts from Tims in the bag as I clamber aboard Nick's boat and I shove off.
I am surprized to see so many guide boats at the launch as the Captains assemble their clients for the day into their waiting boats. I also feel like a client but my fee is alot less, a coffee, some donuts and besides I am with one of the best guides in the Valley.
As we motor to our spot that my guide has chosen for the day he points out how the river is really cutting in a Island 22 now. I can see, we are in for some serious trouble as it is working in behind the rip rap now.
As we continue our journey Nick points out all the dead pinks along the shore, I turn to look and my Maple Leaf hat blows off and goes for a swim which thankfully does not sink as it takes me two passes in the boat to retrieve it. (I know FA will be all over this sinking Leafs, water logged etc.
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I imagine some of these pinks are from the FN beach seine fishery that wrapped up a few days ago as the reports of them being tossed around and recaught a few times before they succumed were rampant in e - mails I received. However others would be ones that had died after completing there spawning cycle in the adjacent waters.
We arrive at the "Hot Spot" Nick has chosen and we have our rods in the water around 8:45. Nick says "we will try without bait for a while."
Nick has given me the rod with the old stand by on, a half and half #2 that has caught me lots of fish at this time of year in years past.
Nick has a # 2 silver with the red top, mylar wings aboard his Fraser King rod with a 275 Diawa single action reel, the best bar fishing setup in our minds. Water conditions are perfect, weather lovely, mild, no wind, lovely Fall coloured leaves and no other fishers.
What else could one wish for except a fish or two of course that I was sure would come in due time.
As the hournow grows late and I have pictures for Rodney to post I will break the days events into time periods.
9:00. We are just getting settled and of course "The Master's" rod goes off first. I can see by the bend of the pole it is a fair sized fish. "A good sized spring, see it boiling out there" I am told as I quickly get my pole out of harms way.
The fish that turns out to be about a 20 pound spring, a hen that battles well before she is brought ashore where I snap a picture for all to see.
9:25. We now have put on some coho bait from a fish Nick has caught this week in the Vedder, real good looking procured stuff in a bag of borax. Nick gets a hit but it falls off, species unknown.
9:55. It is my turn as the ringing bell elevates me from my lawn chair and the result is a 17 inch wild cutthroat a very pretty fish, picture snapped with the now dried Leaf hat making the picture, picture perfect.
10:15. Nick is into something big that gets around my line before I can get my rod in. "No worries" Nick says as it is only a buck chum that finally falls off anyway right near the the beach.
11:30. 3 other fellows come in below us and set up barfishing also.
11:35. While passing Nick a donut and one in my hand my rod is doing the bar dance. I stuff the donut in my mouth as I run to my setup, I set the hook but nothing there.
Eating of donut completed.
11:50 or so. One of the fellows below charges to his rod but is rewarded with a dead pink caught by the tail.
12:15. Nick says, "lets not throw out so far as I see the wake of some fish passing by close to the shore". Shortly thereafter Nick is landing a very fresh spring jack at the 50cm size limit that he retains, picture taken, tip noted on casting distance.
12:25. My turn, rod tip dips a bit then stops, around 2 minutes later the fish or another fish bends the rod good this time and I land a wild coho of around 3 pounds. Nick snaps the picture of a prime fish before it is released to continue its journey to the Chehalis or some other upriver watershed.
1:10. As a helicopter is flying over we donot hear the bell but I spot Nick's rod nearly jumping out of the rod holder. The late start to the rod may have prevented another fish being played as it is gone as Nick picks up the rod to set the hook.
1:50. While I am visiting the 3 fellows below, Nick has another chance but the salmonid falls off half way to the beach.
2:25. After my rod has been in the water for 45 minutes I check it and it is tangled real bad. "You Beak, can't you cast properly" my partner ribs me.
I sheepishly tie up a new leader and throw back out. "Not far enough" I am told. I say "watch I will have one in a minute." Maybe two minutes later my rod is jumping nicely with the bell tolling its sweet music.
"Told you" I quickly retort to "The Master" knowing it was more luck than everything else. The fish is big and it turns out to be a 20 pound sabre tooth tiger with stripes to match, a chum that escapes Nick's grasp before we can hold it for a photo.
3:00. The time comes all too quickly for our time of departure as Nick has to get ready for a guiding trip tomorrow and we both also have the FVSS meeting to attend.
As we head back to Island 22 we pass a guide boat with a sturgeon on. "This is the best time to fish the Fraser as there is so many different type of fish to catch" Nick says.
I could not agree more as we caught 4 species today, spring, chum, coho and the cutthroat in about 6 hours of fishing. It does not get much better than that and hey I out fished "The Master" 3 fish to the beach to his 2.
I would like to take the credit but I must remember in all the 25 years or more we have fished together he has been the teacher and I the pupil.
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Topic: A Day On The Fraser With The Master, October, 13th (Read 4856 times)