Concerning Fishermen
July 7, 2016 5:48 pm Leave your thoughts
In my first blog I promised fishing would play a major part of my summer, and I would like to share some of my fishing experiences with all of you over the summer, but before I do I feel like I should touch upon the nature of fishermen. I have always found fishermen to be very much like magicians; we are masters of deception and we never tell anyone our secrets. For example, I could look you right in the eye and tell you I caught 30 fish and say it with so much sincerity that even I believe it. If you run that number through what I like to call the “fishing conversion,” you’ll find in reality the number is much closer to 17 or 18. This embellishment is what turns a story, into a “fish story.” As for the secrets, you may have guessed it does not pertain to how many or how large the fish are, but rather to where they are found and what particular lure was used to fool them. During ice fishing season, no fisherman will hesitate to tell you how many perch they managed to find, but the second you ask what lake they were at, their mouths snap shut and they give you a look so dirty that you feel ashamed for even thinking of such a taboo question.
It is in the spirit of this sacred secrecy, and also in tradition of a long running inside joke, that all streams, rivers, and lakes that I discuss in this blog over the summer shall be dubbed as “Gull Lake.”
So last weekend my wife and I decided (pretty last minute) to go on a camping trip out towards Hinton to a set of small chain lakes named Gull Lakes. As you can see in the photographs, these lakes are remarkably pretty, with water so clear you can see schools of trout hanging out 20 feet below you. The problem with the water being this clear is that the fish can see you as well as you can see them. This led to me fishing the same school of huge trout for well over an hour, trying every fly in my arsenal, and watching them reject every last one. At one point my heart jumped into my throat as the largest fish in the school shot towards my fly… and didn’t even slow down as he passed it. In fairness, you don’t grow to be a big fish in a small pond without learning which meal is safe to eat. It still hurts though. Nevertheless, I did manage to pull in a dozen or so smaller brook trout, as well as one rainbow, and I have full intention of returning and trying my hand at the big guys once again.
This campsite didn’t just have fishing, it also has some incredible walking trails. These trails circled around all 5 lakes on the tops of the eskers that separated them, roughly 100 metres of elevation higher than the lakes. This made for some amazing views as you hiked along the 8 km of wildflower lined trails. One of my favourite flowers was in full bloom, the western wood lily. They are such a nice splash of color in an otherwise green and brown world.
My next trip planned is this coming weekend where my friend and I will be hiking in to a lake about 4 km from the nearest oilfield road. Luckily this 4 km is along groomed snowmobile trail so it will be fairly easy going. From what I hear, the lake at the end of the trail is really only fished in the winter by snowmobilers so we are hoping to be the only ones there, and that the fish are not accustomed to humans in the summer. I have seen photos of 6-7 pound brook trout in this lake, and have heard rumors of even larger. With any luck I will have some amazing photos (and possibly video) for you when I get back. Wish me luck!
