Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: chris gadsden on May 30, 2007, 06:52:24 AM
-
A warm welcome to The Journal from sunny Merritt on a Wednesday morning.
My time is limited as I have to meet Nick and Rodney in 15 minutes for breakfast, when fishing with"The Master." You are never to be late when he has fishing on his mind or you could be left behind. ;D
Yesterday we met up at Hope at 7:30 am and headed to our first lake that The Master had picked out for us to fish.
With boats quickly in the water on our arrival at the lake in the Merritt area it was no time that we were into fish, actually Rodney was outfishing us and was busy filming us and himself for a video to show you all later.
I was my usual self by missing a few before I was able to land 2 small brookies. ???
The Master then decided to move us down to the far end of the lake leaving Rodney where we had started. Nick is always on the move searching out where their may be a chironomid hatch going on. My arm gets tired pulling up the 15 pound anchor a few times each day. But one should not complain as it pays off time in and time out.
It was not long until Nick is into a good one, I film the action and he brings a nice chunky Brookie close to 5 and a half pounds to the net. ;D More pictures are taken that we will share later. I have to work hard to even get a bite and miss a couple but Nick lands two more good fish, not as large as the other but ones I would not mind getting hold of.
Rodney comes down our way and gets a nice one too, I believe in the 3 pound range. We pack it up around 6:30 and head back to Merritt to find a motel.
We had ended the day with Rodney landing 6,The Master around 10 with me trailing the field with 2. They of course lost more than I landed. :'(
We had a good meal after checking into our room that I asked for a senior rate which gave us a bit of a break but it was still a few cents under a $100, I was not complaining. Nothing like a good sleep after a day on the water especially after getting too much sun. I enjoyed the sauna and a swim before we called it a day with some good stories of the day back at our room. I even had a beer so I would sleep soundly and I know FA would want me to have one, to toast the day.
This morning I walked down to Tims for a double double while the boys slept.
We will have breakfast in a few minutes and then head to another lake where Terry may join us. I have a feeling after my slow start I will get the most and the largest today as it is my turn. ;D Stay tunned for the results later tonight. ;D ;D
-
Good luck Chris. Drink your beer after fishing not during. Slows your reaction time. ;D
-
Fishing was great today for some of us, I just got in and too tired to post until tomorrow, maybe Rodney will. ;D ;D
-
Reaction time and thought process are also significantly reduced by heat stroke. ;)
Hello from Kelowna. The Master proved why he is The Master today. I on the other hand will be working on how to keep big rainbows away from the anchor ropes. ::)
A lengthier update tomorrow after some needed sleep.
-
Sorry for all the spelling errors on the above post as I was in too much of a rush doing it yesterday.
I corrected it this morning, so hopefully it reads better.
Day 2 with "The Master", Rodney and now Terry who has joined us.
I get back to the room after typing the opening post and find Nick and Rodney filming a raven's nest that is situated in a tree by the parking lot. Nick tells me it is rare sight to see such a nest. I know I have never seen one.
The boys have loaded all my stuff from the room into Nick's truck, talk about valet service but I gave them no tip. ;D
Off to the Home Restaurant for the first meal of the day. We find Terry and Bill Otway the president of the SDA there, the three of us slip into the booth beside them. Good to see Bill who recently moved to Merritt and that he was able to join us. We all owe him so much for what he has done for us, the sports fishing community. Over our breakfast he tells us about the current affairs with the new fisheries act before parliament and many other things, we will never have the knowledge he has. If you have time check out the Sportsfishing Defense Alliance web page, much good reading there.
With breakfast completed we bid Bill good bye after giving him a couple of fish from yesterday's outing.I also have handed delivered some tomatoes that Gwyn has sent up for Bill. Boy, they are the best eating guys there is. If you are ever up in Chilliwack stop in and buy some, you may get a fisherman's rate ;D ;D His greenhouse is just South of Knight Road on Chilliwack River Road. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
Before we start today's adventure Nick gasses up the truck, at 123.9 a litre :'( and off we go with Terry and Rodney in tow, heading to start day 2 of our fishing trip.
It is not a long drive to lake two and Terry and Rodney are given direction by Nick where to launch their cartoppers. We have to go to another spot to launch our boat. The road is rough but we finally get there. We are just getting set to launch and Terry arrives in his truck. ???
Terry said they found the spot they were going to launch was not that great so they came our way. They did not know how rough our road to the launch was ,one quickly learns when fishing with "The Master" he gives you directions for a reason. I find that out several times over a trip. Terry then heads back, anyway Rodney is stranded back at a hill. ;D ::)
We launch and head around the lake, Nick searching for chironomid casings, the odd fish is breaking the surface. We anchor at our first spot but find nothing, a few moves later Nick is the first to hit a fish, whats new, a rainbow of close to three pounds come to the net. By this time Rodney and Terry are anchored in their chosen spot. The wind is changing direction making anchoring difficult at times. Nick always sets us up perfectly.
An osprey is busy fishing too and has better luck than me, scoring a 12 incher or so on his third attempt. Two loons circle us looking for an easy meal. They finally leave us, maybe thinking they will have better luck by fishing for themselves. I forget what Nick has done after getting the first one but I know he lost a couple and maybe landed at least one other, the heat is getting to me in more way than one. Especially after what I wrote at my opening post on this thread.
Fishing is really not that great and I believe I had missed only one before I decide to have a nap, it is around 2. Once again will my prediction at the start of this thread just be a lot of hot air, just like the temperature that has risen to close to 30.
I settle in for my nap, in the bottom of the boat. 8) ::) I have been maybe sleeping for 45 minutes, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I peer up from the bottom of the boat at the annoyance.
"Gadsy I have one one" I hear Nick say. I stumble to my feet and reach for the video camera, filming the action. Another nice rainbow clears the water a couple of times. With it in the net I fumble around for my rod as the guide says "the bite is now on", it is now nearing 3.
After a nap I am not at my best and Nick knows that. "Give me your rod and I will put a chromie on for you" he barks out, he does and he even casts it out for me, what a guide. ;D
I notice we are now at the other end of the lake right by the launch, I see Rodney and Terry part way down the lake. It does not take long and I lose my sleepiness as my indicator is going sideways, I lurch for it,finally I am battling a fish that looks like a 2 and a half pounder. Nick grabs the video camera, I have to give him directions once again how to run it. He is defiantly a better angler than camera operator. ;D It feels good to finally feel a fish that has a little size to it especially after my struggle with two miniature Brooke Trout from yesterday. With my fish in the cooler, the bite is on as Nick is into them too.
Time to try to reach Rodney and Terry to get them down to the newly found hot zone. I try them on the two way radio's, no response as they continue to cast away, their backs are to us. ???
I then try their respective cell phones, first Terry's, it says leave message. ::) Then Rodney's, it rings but I end up talking to his mother. Her sweet voice says he is not in, I refrain from saying I know as he is only a few hundred yards away from me, just trying to get him to come to where we are catching some fish.
I donot think she understood but who could blame her as I am probably talking too fast and bubbling with excitement. The line goes dead, did I lose the connection or did she just hang up on me, who could blame her. ;D
I forget about our fishing partners they will just have to suffer. The bite continues as I lose the next two but then I land a large spawner as does Nick. He tells me this fish still has the eggs in from last year, and also has new spawn developing inside her crimson belly. I ask why this is, he says because she could not find a place to spawn in this lake, little gravel just marrel;. He adds it will most likely get sick shortly and then die. :'(
O, I forgot to mention Terry and Rodney have now finally come down our way and are anchored to our left. I continue to miss and land fish chalking up a 12 incher, a 10, and then a 15 inch rainbow. I take two more for the table. I also had landed another but forget its size.
"The Master is still connecting how many, I forget too. ;)
Terry had lost a nice one and then Rodney has a nice fish on, I will let him tell that story if he wishes. :'( :-X
We fish to close to 6 and the bite has died off some so we call it a day, heading to our respective launch areas. Rodney heads North us South. We meet Terry at the Home Restaurant in Hope for supper and relive the day over and over again. ;D
I arrive home close to 10, exhausted but pleased with my success of the day.
Once again I found out "The Master" is truly that, I believe Rodney and Terry found that out first hand too, they hopefully will tell their story in the days ahead.
Once again our annual trip was as enjoyable as one could ask for, I caught some fish, learned some new tips but most off all enjoyed the fellowship of Rodney, Terry and of course "The Master"
Watch for part of "The Journal", on video in the days ahead. ::) ::)
-
Great read as always Chris and I can not wait to see some of the videos from your guys trip.
-
Hello again from Kelowna. Chris phoned last week and asked if I wanted to do a filming trip with Nick on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first thing I asked was, "What time are we leaving on Tuesday?"
"6:30am at Home Restaurant in Hope.", he said.
"6:30am in Hope, that means I have to leave at 4:30am!" :o 4:30am does not exist in my dictionary. Well actually, it does, it's the time when I go to bed. ::)
In the end, I decided to skip breakfast with them, so I could get my 30 minute extra sleep and left Richmond at 5:00am on Tuesday.
Tuesday May 29th
The first 30 minutes at the lake on Tuesday was quite funny. Nick was intense when seeking for signs of fish as usual. We anchored, then spotted a school of fish splashing further away, quickly motored over and reanchored.
I had two rods set up, one with the typical indicator rigging, while a sink tip and leech on the other one because I like to be active instead of staring at an orange dot the entire day. ;) Within a couple of casts with the olive leech right after we reanchored, a tug at the end of the line was followed by a big bend on the 4wt rod. I was somewhat surprised, or shocked in fact that I was into a fish so fast, even before the two old timers had it dialed. ;) The 1lb brook trout dove and circled in front of me, it was going to be a fun day I thought. :)
Just as I was taking a photo of my first ever brook trout in the net, Chris yelled, "Rodney, the indicator!!"
I looked up and was unable to find it, but the bend in my other rod told me that I was now into a double header. I quickly sent the other fish back into the water and picked up the dancing rod for more thrill.
The school of fish continued to circle around us. Everytime it came by, the indicator would dip quickly but also slightly, so one really has to set the hook precisely. They did not seem to be picky eaters. At times when a bite was missed, another fish would grab onto the fly again, and again, and again.
This basically went on for the next hour before the switch was turned off. It seemed as if the fish had all gone to bed. Moody fish, Nick explained, apparently it is typical to see this pattern when fishing for brook trout.
That afternoon, although the bite was off, I was able to connect with a few more fish, including one that I estimated to be around 3lb. They are short, but thick, making it rather difficult to grab in the net. Although they do not leap like rainbow trout, they are certainly not sluggish, which some have told me in the past. These fish dive and take frantic short runs, making them rather exciting to target on a light fly rod.
Wednesday May 30th
The day at the lake started with some hide and seek as Chris explained. Nick directed Terry and I to a different launch while they went to one for the bigger boat. When we arrived at our launch, Terry and I thought it was rather tight for our boats so we decided to see where Nick and Chris went. I also was concerned about Terry hurting himself when unloading my cartopper as it is much heavier than it looks as some have experienced in the past.
Off we went to the other launch, only to find myself stuck at the base of a steep trail where the truck drivers had no problem getting up. ::) After several sad attempts, i gave up and radioed for help so Terry and I made our way back to the other launch again. :-\
After all that drama, it was very relaxing once we were on the lake. The first few hours were rather quiet as Chris has explained. The wind also made things more frustrating. It was circling continuously instead of sticking to one direction. I found it rather tough to fish the indicator properly since the wind was blowing it around too much. Between a few missed bites, I landed a 6 incher that had beautiful markings on it.
As Nick and sleepy Chris made their way to the other end of the boat, I decided to revisit a spot where I tried earlier. A light tug was felt while stripping in the leech. I recasted to the same spot and I felt another tug as the leech made its way back to the boat. I set the hook and found a rather energetic fish that darted from one end of the boat to the other. It turned out to be a 14 to 16 incher. As I was releasing the fish, I had the video camera and tripod turned and focused on the fish. I leaned on one end of the boat and made the boat tilt slightly. Just before I was letting the fish go, I saw the tripod tipping slowly because of the tilt. The fish made a splashy exit as I jumped up and grabbed onto the tripod just before the $2,000 video camera reached the edge of the boat. ::)
With all that excitement, I heard screams and big splashes behind me. I looked back and only to find a rather big trout getting some air time around Nick and Chris. I turned the radio on and Chris said that he made my mother rather confused. ;D I made my way over, it turned out the hatch took place, just at a different end of the lake. ::) The funny part was that this particular spot was only meters away from where Terry and I launched our boats. :P ;D Never neglect the water right in front of you, the grass is not always greener on the other side. ;D
The next hour or so, it was basically a fishing show, hosted by Nick. Terry and I struggled with working the two rods properly as the wind continued to be indecisive. Terry's reel screamed loudly twice as he was fiddling around with the other rod. Both fish gave him some brief excitement before saying goodbye. :-\ ;)
When I finally had the boat position, indicator depth, fly size and colour figured out, an orange dot disappeared. I grabbed the rod, set the hook, leaned back and stripped the line in frantically as the fish was running straight towards me. Meanwhile, it made a beautiful leap behind me, which the other guys witnessed. It was a beauty, easily 3 or 4lb. While the fish was darting all over the place around the boat, the circus continued in the boat. I had my shoes off at the time, so I was trying not to step on anything with my bare feet while repositioning myself. I turned the video camera on and hoped to capture all the excitement. Meanwhile, Chris had his video camera rolling behind me. After a couple of heart pounding minutes, the fish seemed to have calmed down. It stopped jumping and was slowly being guided to the boat. Just when I thought that I was about to land my biggest rainbow trout to date, the next problem arose. The indicator didn't pop and it was now 9 feet above my hands! With 18 feet of line between it and the fly, there was no way that I could land it without popping it first. As if the fish knew something was up, it decided to do some short dashes again. It headed straight to the front anchor rope and turned again just after it passed it. A wrapping around the anchor rope would have mean the end, but luckily it turned once again and got out of it. Although it didn't wrap itself, it was still diving deeply under the boat. With more line being peeled out, I decided to reach for the indicator and attempt to pop the quick release. I grabbed the line and the fish went for another strong dive. A quick snap that no fishermen would like to hear ended the show instantly. ::) The size 12 chromie emerged as I pulled the line up, I guess it slipped out of its mouth with all that pressure. :-\ Oh well, they call it fishing, not catching for a reason after all.
Later on last night, I reviewed the video tape, only to discover that I wasn't recording during that fight. ::) The question "Why didn't you press the button?" is now haunting me once again (those of you who read about the trip with IronNoggin last year (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11236.0), would know where the question came from). :-X
Anyway, that's the trip so far, hopefully tomorrow I will be able to capture the video that I have planned to do when I fish for more brook trout or kokanee with fishersak and his dad. It looks like a lovely day in Kelowna, so I am off to Trout Waters Fly Shop now to see Nick and Savas. :)
-
Here are a few photos that Chris took in the last two days. The first two are Nick with his 5lb+ brook trout. The third and forth photos are Nick with his rainbows from yesterday. The last photo is me with, nothing. ;)
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/cgadsden/070529_01.jpg)
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/cgadsden/070529_02.jpg)
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/cgadsden/070529_03.jpg)
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/cgadsden/070529_04.jpg)
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/cgadsden/070529_05.jpg)
-
This after I went into Trout Waters Fly Shop in Kelowna. It is much bigger and has a much larger selection than I had expected! :o Talked to Nick and Savas again for an hour or so, they were super busy in there. This weekend they are having a customer appreciation weekend with many big prizes for the draw. Check it out if you are in the area.
-
Looking at the 5th picture in the previous post, I just realized that we can actually see my racoon tan on my face. :-\
-
The last photo is me with, nothing. ;)
It's the experience and the friendship not about catching. Right Rodney ? :)
-
The last photo is me with, nothing. ;)
It's the experience and the friendship not about catching. Right Rodney ? :)
Actually for Rodney I think he's probably experienced too much of the "Its about the experience and friendship and not about catching" that he's forgotten what the experience of catching feels like. ;D ;D At least he's out with a couple of gentlemen who won't razz on him for sucking the whole trip!! ;D ;D
-
Hey now, I beat the Maple Leaf on brookie fishing, wasn't that something to be proud of? ;D
-
Hey now, I beat the Maple Leaf on brookie fishing, wasn't that something to be proud of? ;D
Everybody beat the Leafs. If you don't believe me, just ask Chris. ;D
-
nice report rodney! those are some beautiful brookies
-
The only downer on this trip was Chris' choice of restaurants. The selection leaves much to be desired unless cold eggs, cold potatoes and cold toast turns you on.
-
Photos from May 29th
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070529_01.jpg)
Sunny sky, green surroundings, glassy lake, anticipation, paradise
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070529_02.jpg)
Brook trout
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070529_03.jpg)
Another brook trout
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070529_04.jpg)
Pretty dots
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070529_05.thumb.jpg) (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/member/gallery/album34/070529_05) (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070529_06.thumb.jpg) (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/member/gallery/album34/070529_06) (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070529_07.thumb.jpg) (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/member/gallery/album34/070529_07)
More brook trout!
-
Photos from May 30th
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070530_01.jpg)
Another paradise
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070530_02.jpg)
Kaos on the boat
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070530_03.jpg)
Down time on the boat
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070530_04.jpg)
Tired, tanned, defeated, ready to go home
-
After spending a couple of nights in Kelowna to catch up with some old friends who I have not seen in several years, I met up with Fishersak and his father as planned to fish for brook trout before returning to Vancouver. The day started at 7:00am for me as I drove out of Kelowna, which sure has evolved into a rather big city in the last several years.
As I reached the area where I was supposed to turn-off, I began looking for it by rewinding the trip with Chris and Nick. Suddenly Fishersak's truck and boat sped right past me from the oncoming traffic. Oops, I guess that I had passed it. ::) A quick turnaround and we were at the lake in no time. Fishersak got out of the car. He seemed rather excited as he walked towards me. Behind him, the truck and trailer began rolling backward. I yelled, "The truck! Hand brake! Moving!" :o He turned around, only to see the truck slowly gaining momentum. He ran toward it as fast as he could while his dad sat in the car hopelessly. What a son. ;) Luckily, the trailer turned and prevented the truck to go backward any further. Talk about excitement before the fishing even started. ;D
After we launched our boats, we took some time to observe the water along the lake shore. A closer look discovered snails, shrimps, dragonfly nymphs, tadpoles and many other aquatic creatures that are unknown to us. This aspect of lake fishing is really enjoyable as it brings back memory of childhood days when many of us would poke around a pond for tiny critters. It is also advantageous to spend the time to observe and learn what feeds are available in a particular lake.
As soon as we reached our fishing spots, rises of brook trout could be spotted. According to Nick, this is always a very good sign as they can be extremely moody. He was right of course, not long after I started, I felt a good tap as I stripped a size 8 leech in. Meanwhile, the indicator on the other rod sat idly. A few minutes later, Fishersak radioed and said, "Fish on!"
From that point, the bites came on for the next two hours. My indicator started to dive quite often, many times right after I casted it out. The fly of choice for me was a size 14 chronie that Carlo had tied up for me at Leighton Lake. It has been the same fly that I have caught most of the fish in every lake. Hopefully I will not lose that, otherwise I will have to ask him to teach me how to tie them up. ;D
In total, I managed to hook 12 and landed 7 fish, but instead of learning my lesson and sticking to one rod when the fish were biting, I continued to strip the leech while the indicator bobbed. This resulted in a few dozen misses. ::) Fishersak and Senior did not fair as well, their total catch was 2 fish. Being their first outing for brook trout may be the factor, but then again this was only my second attempt for brook trout. ;D
The bites seemed to have died off by mid afternoon when the wind picked up. At 4:00pm, I started getting hits again on the indicator but missed all seven of them before we ended the trip. ::)
All the fish we landed were between 1 and 2lb, unlike some very large ones that we found on Tuesday.
Here are some photos from this outing.
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070601_01.jpg)
First of the day
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070601_02.jpg)
Another look
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070601_03.jpg)
The fight
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070601_04.jpg)
The netting
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070601_05.jpg)
Success!
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070601_06.jpg)
Silver bugger
(http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/album34/070601_07.jpg)
Rowing in spectacular scenery
-
I guess he was so excited when he saw the photos I had sent him prior trip. ;D I hope you had the video camera rolling with the truck episode. It is always good to have it close to you as you never know when a blooper can developer. I saw that first hand when yo had that nice rainbow on and I was rolling and got you fighting the rainbow and a 10 pound anchor. Watch out when I figure how to get this stuff on you tube. ;D ;D
I guess "The Master" will have to take them but I was fishing with him that day we were there and I only caught two also.
Nice report and photo's, we look forward to the video production of your trip.
I am taking some of my sister's grandchildren to Cultus Lake shortly, maybe the pike minnows will not be as challenging as those brookies are to me, Fishersak and his dad. ;D ;D
-
Video clips from our trip so far...
Raven nest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mJwPbydBz4)
Chris' fight with a rainbow trout on May 30th, 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8davfFtRo)
Terry's brief fight with a large rainbow trout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrA5GkVOdzE)
Nick and his fire trout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTxGxzB2iyI)
-
Come on Chris, you don't need a landing net for that minnow. ;D
-
You're just jealous that it's better than your Lafarge. ;)
-
Beautiful brookies. I will be catching some brookies soon. Only 2 more weeks untill I am back up in that area.
-
excellent report guys! Awsome pics!
I will be reporting on my fawn/deka trip shortly!
-
While fishing on Friday with Fishersak and Senior, I kept one brook trout and released all the others. Good thing that I only kept one. ::) Last night I cooked it up and it had a very strong muddy taste. I've eaten carp, various minnow species, never have I tasted something so awful in my life. :-X
On a funnier note, while driving back from my Leighton Lake trip (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=14757.0) a couple of weeks ago, the girl at the toll booth commented on the very visible racoon tan on my face. ::) Last week, that tan just became even more visible as Nick started to call me "Racoon Rodney" during the whole trip. On my way home last Friday, I approached the toll booth, stopped the car, looked up, the same girl was at the booth again. ::) Obviously she recognized my face from the tan right away and had a good chuckle. :P
-
Great report guys. Good to see a fishing report with a lot of detail and pics. As far as the fish tasting muddy, that is one of those things that can be a hit and miss thing. I have fished lakes in the Okanagan with my brother and his friends and the fish we catch usually taste pretty good. Sometimes the muddy tasting fish come out of the shallower lakes, but I remember keeping some fish out of a high elevation lake, that also had an algae bloom occurring. The fish to put it politely tasted off. But a couple of weeks later talked to some other people that fished the lake after the algae bloom was over, and they said the fish they caught tasted good. Anyhow you live and you learn.
-
awesome reports!!!
-
must be nice to fish those pay lakes????lol
No need to fish pay lakes when fishing with "The Master". ;D ;D ;D
-
Here is a clip from during our trip:
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/video/0711.html
-
Here's a clip of the brook trout fishing:
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/video/0713.html
-
A couple more video clips
Blooper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFzPbRp-UPg)
Nick explaining chironomid fishing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1ZIP2Dox7Y)