Finally!!

I've gotta say, it felt pretty great to finally get back out on the water this past weekend. I took a trip with a couple of good friends to Salmon Lake, the only public lake on the Douglas Lake cattle ranch in British Columbia. For one of my friends, this would be his first real fly fishing experience. Needless to say, he was instantly hooked. Of course it was only about five minutes after he wet his line that he hooked up with a fish. And to be honest, for his first time fly fishing he did a great job fighting and landing the fish. He continued to catch fish after fish and drank beer after beer while I struggled to keep up. As much as I truly enjoy catching fish, I get almost as much joy from watching a friend hook into and land a fish. Especially when they are excited about it or when its their first time.

The fishing improved as the weekend went on. Each morning at around 10:00 the chironomids would start coming off. Chironomids are basically oversized midges and fish eat them by the thousands. Matching the fly color and size to what the fish are eating along with finding their feeding depth can make for some exciting fishing. I was also lucky enough to fish one morning next to a friendly local guy. Together we we caught fish after fish and then after a couple hours the bite completely stopped. At that point, he pulled out a small stomach pump and sampled the diet of a fish he caught. Interestingly the fish were still eating the same size chironomid, but had changed the color they were targeting. We both switched flies and the bite was back on. Needless to say, I now the proud owner of a new stomach pump. 

Growing up in Wyoming I have always considered myself a river fisherman at heart. And to be honest, I think I still am. There is something about fishing a river that excites me and I am not sure exactly what that is. With that said, I have really begun to enjoy my experiences on the lakes here in British Columbia. It's a different type of fishing but at the end of the day, its still fishing. I am excited to explore and learn more about the fishing in BC. I will keep you posted!

To see more pics from the trip, click here.