Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Monday, April 7, 2014

Spontaneous Fishing In Canada


It was just a few summers ago on the “inland passage" in B.C. that our gracious B&B hostess, Patty, suggested a short jaunt into the interior of the Vancouver Island to see a falls, visit a salmon hatchery and perhaps find a nice picnic site in the forest. We followed her advice tracing the course of the Campbell River upstream.

We visited the hatchery and then found a nice picnic area, which was near a small tributary of the Campbell.

After lunch, Mrs. T found a nice swing  and decided it was time for a rest.





 

Already having noticed some fish in the tributary, I headed downstream to check it out. I hadn't brought any of my flyfishing gear with me, as this trip was to be mainly visiting family and sightseeing. A few hundred yards downstream, I ran across two guys intently spinner fishing. With no elitist attitudes about their method, (I've used spinning gear and bait fished on many occasions), I said hello.

 It turned out they were salmon fishing and one soon had what appeared to be a lunker on his line. It was then that my fisherman's instinct for hyperbole took over. "Looks like it might possibly be a small keeper," I offered. The fisherman's partner said "It's only about **kilograms," as the fish was landed. It looked about 5 lbs. "Nice but we get em a lot bigger than that back in Minnesota." I retorted. Except for Lake Superior, salmon fishing is unknown in my home state and certainly not where I fish in the spring creeks of Bluff Country. I was then informed that these part time lumberjacks and commercial fisherman were catching ***kilogram fish here only a week ago. I figured that many kilograms had to be at least 50 lbs. "Sounds like decent ones to me," I nodded agreeably.  "Would you like to give it a try and see if you can do better " said one of these fine gentlemen challenging  me by handing over his spinning rod.
What could I do? I was forced into  fishing (just to be polite). Beside with experienced local guides like these, how could I go wrong?




Yes, I caught a  nice salmon. And yes, with all the shouting and hubbub, Mrs. T, camera in hand, quickly arrived on the scene.

Then they offered  Mrs. T a chance  to give it a try.
Wouldn't you just know it? Then she caught the biggest one of all!  British Columbia, Canada. There we met some fun, interesting and above all, friendly people

27 comments:

  1. What a great time, I would like to see my pole bend like that

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  2. That's pretty neat! And fun was had by all!!

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  3. Just how many *.* kilograms was the fish that Mrs.T caught? And no picture of the biggest fish in all of BC?

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  4. We have been metric for many years now, more than 3 decades. But I still have to do some mental conversions. 1kg = 2lbs approx. I can even order sliced meat in metric now -- about 200g = .5lb approx. I don't bother converting km and miles much anymore but our hwy speed is usually 100kph which is essentially 60mph. Same with temp. I don't bother converting much but room temp of 20 to 21C is close to 70F, and I know it's hot when we get into the 30s which is 85F+.

    Sorry, I went off on a tangent which had little to do with your post. Yes, we're pretty friendly, but if there's a national characteristic we're a little less open and more reserved than Americans.

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  5. Fished in that area many times, the Campbell does have some really big kings, upwards of 60 pounds.

    The writer Roderick Haig-Brown has written some excellent books about the Campbell area in the 40's.

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  6. really cute - that she one-upped you. :)

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  7. Now that's a lovely fish tale! So, you didn't need your own license or your own pole to do some fine fishing,eh?

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  8. And you didn't get a photo of HER fish? At least you are man enough and honest enough to tell the true fish tale! Good for you, TB!

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  9. Well Mrs T -- you performed well that day. Did either of you keep your catch? Beautiful river and woods photos. -- barbara

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  10. Great post, loved the bending rod and I do love fishing, Francine.

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  11. That would have been so much fun. Doing things not expected are so much fun.

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  12. Funny. I love the photograph of Ms. T standing next to the marvelous tattoos.

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  13. Hooray for Mrs T! Score one BIG one for the gals-haha!

    I have no doubt you guys meet a lot of interesting folks out and about. You must have some fun memories!

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  14. Now that is funny and kudos to the TB pair. I would love to go to B C. It is on my to do list.

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  15. Apparently the best experience is to charter a boat and go out to sea.

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  16. I don't have your email, but wanted to let you know I was glad to get your "vent" comment! I agree!!!

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  17. Ha ~ forced into fishing :) Go Mrs. T !

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  18. What a beautiful place for some fishing. And, nice to see Mrs. T with the catch!

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  19. Well done, Mrs T. I've never been fishing or even accompanied a fisherman, but I imagine it to be a very satisfactory sport. The area looks fantastic.

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  20. Well, we ladies know everything about everything :)

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  21. That's my kinda trip! Canada is so beatiful

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  22. leave to Mrs T to show you all up!! :)

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  23. I love the way you finagled your way into using their gear to land a whopper. And I love that Mrs. T. topped your whopper. But where is the picture that I'm sure you took of her fish? After all, she took a snap of yours.

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  24. Great story! I would love to visit this part of Canada - B.C. intrigues me.
    My brother-in-law from Rochester, MN was in the Star Tribune, telling about his love of fly fishing & MN streams this past week. I thought you might like to read it:
    http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/253794871.html

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  25. A wonderful experience and you related it so well. You and Mrs T remind me so much of my parents, although not in age as they were probably nearer the age of your parents. They never passed up the opportunity to "wet a hook" and make new friends, no matter where they were.

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  26. Great Story. Lovely part of Vancouver Island - just convinced me to make that my Fall destination.

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