South Of Canada with Mike D - Day 2

We arrived at the river with high hopes. Right away Mike had a whitey and I think a bow, but lost it. I landed two speckled rainbows right out of the gate. I remember thinking…If this keeps up it's going to be a good day, I am sure Mike's thoughts were the same. Working our way we spooked a few fish and Mike hooked up and lost another. By this time its kinda the on going joke…. Bummer though, I have had plenty of those days where nothing goes right. Walking down river a bit further, to our destination, we saw the side channel flowing good ol' muddy water right into our perfect day. It created a river of mud below. We fished back up the clean water and made a move.

Within the first few minutes Mike was on again, a nice bow, only to loose it right at hand. I am certain by now the running joke is wearing thin. A few runs up he lost another; meanwhile I was unhooking a nice little healthy brown. Mike lost a few more, and I again unhooked another fat brown. The joke was becoming a reality when he lost another. But this time the fish came up for his indicator and latched on, Mike's reaction was to immediately set the hook. He actually fought the bow for a minute before the fish let go. For a minute there I don't think anyone knew what was going on, including the fish. Too funny… what wasn't funny was the next lengthy stretch of water. To our dismay, we counted 16 dead calf cows. More than half of the animals were in the river. Unbelievable must have been a harsh winter.

There was a lot going on around us, birds flying every which way. There was no silence, cries and hollers were heard all day. A many large anthills covered the old roots systems of a local bush that has been withered away. The ants were interesting to observe. In between the cries of the cranes and geese you could actually hear the ants moving, working and doing whatever it is that ants do, it was at times pretty loud.

It was a great few days on the water. Can't wait to return, or at least get back out of the city of salt.

First two bow photos courteous of Mike Doughty... thanks again Mike!