It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting here at the lodge rather than fishing. The reason is simple, weather. Yesterday ended dead calm and we were expecting a bright sunny day. I knew at midnight that was not to be the case with the rain tapping out a tune on the cabin roof. Come morning things hadn’t changed, and a good shower was coming down. Heavy enough the lodge staff wondering how many fishers were going to stay in bed and call it a day before it got started. Not us, so the cook didn't get to sleep in.
After breakfast it was still raining steady, hard actually, but with the winds down Ron and I opted to head out. It actually was the smoothest ride so far. When we pulled up to a small rock cropping, Peter said trout today. I quickly cut off the seaducer and tied on an all-white Clouser. Using a sinking line to push the fly down a little, I was quickly in business and soon had my first lake trout and then before long another. It looked like we were in for a banner day, while the lake trout were not large, maximum of five pounds or so, their fight was strong and a kick to catch.
Ron was struggling with a floating line, and spoons failed to produce. So we took a short break, rigged my nine wt. with a type III shooting head and soon had him in business. It took a bit of coaching to get him casting, as shooting lines take a bit to get used to, but soon he was punching out 50-60 ft casts with ease. Shortly thereafter he picked up his first lake trout on a fly. Yep, it looked to be a banner day. Then the winds came, strong and unrelenting. After struggling with them, and trying wrap a line around Ron and hitting Peter with a fly, we opted to call it a morning, head in for lunch and wait things out. We're hoping for the storm to abate so we can head out this evening and try for a few more trout and maybe a grayling or two. With three species under my belt, I’d like to add a couple more over the next few days.
While I missed the shore lunch today, the lodge provided us with homemade soup and sandwiches. The bread was recently baked and delightful. Nice consolation for being forced off the water early.
There are a couple lessons from today. First, no matter where you fish or with whom, you have to remember they don’t have control of the weather. On week long trips, expect that there will be times when you can’t fish as planned. Today is one such time. Second, I did come prepared for rain. So I stayed dry, what I failed to do was to think through what I needed for my gear, primarily the camera and flies. I really needed to think through how to carry my flies, camera items, etc. such that things not only would stay dry, but also be more easily accessible. Idea, Brittney has a small blue lidded tub that I’m looking at absconding with. Things would stay dry and be easier to access than the dry bag. Lastly, I miss having my tying stuff, so next trip I'll figure how to tote a kit.
Some highlights of being a guest at the lodge. My daily hot shower is high on the list. Not having camp chores so I can concentrate on fishing is delightful and most relaxing And something I wasn’t too sure about before getting here was the guiding aspect, as I do like exploring on my own. But Peter is really changing my view. First, this is big water, and truthfully getting lost would be real easy. Another pleasure turns out to be having someone netting, unhooking, and releasing those toothy pike, which mean a lot more time spent fishing and catching. While my fingers are far better for his efforts, I still have managed to put a couple grooves in my casting hand fingers due to the stripping and playing fish. Rough life I know, but I’m doing my best to buck it up and deal.
Never realized how difficult it is to speak "with one's tongue in their cheek." Until tomorrow, having fun at Arctic Lodges, Saskatchewan.
