A Decision Made By Fish

A day of fishing takes shape mostly by what the fish offer you. Sometimes it isn't much. Sometimes it is plenty. This past Sunday was just such a day. It was a day when 4 of us went to the river, and the river offered up Sea Trout, and more. The decisions start early. Choice of fly? I tried many. The Parma Belle, the Mickey Finn, Dark Montreal, Black Zonker, Purple Drummer, Orange Bomber, Cosseboom and Blue Charm to name a few.

The beauty of that, is i caught or raised fish on all of them. I wasn't the only one. All in all this week, i caught more than 30 trout. Many of those were Sea Trout. One Sea Trout was about 15" and about 1 and 1/2 pounds. Quite a few were in the pound range. Two Salmon were hooked, one was landed. We have had better weeks in the past, but when the Sea Trout are in and taking, it is always good. Depending on this weeks weather, i may even get another shot at them before the early summer run is all done.

My Father-in law hooked and landed about a 6 pound Atlantic Salmon. Caught and released, it is a silver trophy of a once glorious fishery in Nova Scotia that has been diminished over the years. Hooking a Salmon never gets old. Seeing this one caught re-ignited my feelings for fishing them. We still have a very good fall fishery here and maybe this year is when i need to get back to it.

Tonight, i thought about the trips this past week. Good times, with good people. You can't ask for too much more than that. As for the fishing, i think it is entirely up to the fish. For as good as many of us think we are as anglers, the fish decide when to run (aided by the rain of course), they decide which fly they like the best ( Sunday was a Bloody Muddler, Thursday night, it was the Purple Drummer, Dark Montreal combo.) Sure, some of what we as anglers do makes a big difference. An experienced angler lands more fish, hooks more fish, reads the water better, has the patience to ride it out when the conditions are tough. While native Brook Trout are predictable, Sea Trout are their own creature. The holds that always seem to harbour fish, don't always work. The flies that native Trout revel in, Sea Trout can ignore. They are a great example of what makes angling the unique experience it is. For me it is the one rare chance i get to hold nature in my hand.

The Rain Cleanses The Waters

Finally

It took a while. We had almost no rain for an entire month. Then, in two days, we got between 50 and 100 mm depending on where you look. With a heavy July rain, comes an annual ritual. The Sea Trout. Tonight my brother in law and i took a drive to Spry Harbour and caught around 30 trout between us. It was Sea Trout we were looking for, and before dark, we were rewarded. The beginning of the run was up to the first pool. We only caught one each, and they were both small, but they were a sign of better things to come. Good water, more showers and cloudy days should make Sunday a great day for fly fishing. The fun begins.

Passing The time Until The Next Big Rain

It is officially the dog days of summer. The days my wife longs for have arrived, and for me, they are the ruin of good angling opportunities on a weekly basis. No rain, higher temperatures, and longer days don't really enhance trout fishing in Nova Scotia. As for Salmon, those chances would still happen, except for the fact that the water is very low.

So i wait. I mean it isn't the torture i may be making it sound like. It gives me the time to spend with family and or friends and do the things summer are about. This weekend, a trip to the beach was in order. We took the day in with a front row seat on beautiful Crystal Crescent Beach just outside Halifax. White sand and blue (although very cold) water make it easy to forget that work is a drag at times, or that the fishing is slow.

As evidenced by the picture, the thought of fishing is never far away. There is no real surf fishing to be had in Nova Scotia, although at times i want to take the fly rod to the beach and try it anyway. If i don't get fish, at least i got to spend the day in the cool blue water of the Atlantic, with my family lounging nearby, with no blackflies. If you remove the fact that i may not get any fish, it sounds like the best of both worlds. Until then, i am off of work for the next two weeks and if it rains, i will be reaady to go. Those Sea Trout are no match for me. There will be photographic evidence, you have my word.

Until then, tight lines, cold beer, good cigars, a nice glass of wine and a day at the beach to all.