Day 3
I once again was up early and it was still cold so I decided to try to keep warm by rowing around the lake, the lake is quiet and I am the only one out, boy is it nice to be away from the bustle of the Valley that has grown so much since I first moved there, is bigger better, not in my books.
I am part way around the lake and line starts going off the reel as a fish clears the water. I bring it in fairly quickly to a net as I see the friendly loons headed my way, looking for an early breakfast.
The lovely looking rainbow is a little over one pound. I pump its stomach and it is full of fresh water shrimp and blood worms that were in the picture above until I deleted it in trying to add a caption.
As I want to finish the journal tonight as I am heading away on another trip I have asked Rodney or my son to fix the pictures up, I cannot figure it out.

I continue fishing for a while but the cold, the constant wind gets to me and I head to shore for breakfast of bacon and eggs. After that I decide to go into Merritt again and buy some things before the HST kicks in.
I stop at a camp on the way out to show some other anglers what was in the fish and they thank me, "we are just going out so we will be fishing blood worms" the gentleman and his wife say.
I continue onto Merritt and buy my hunting license to save the HST and also a Musso brother's map book, no HST saves me a bit on each item. On the way back to the lake I stop for a walk and come upon a dead moose, a cow, that had been hit I presumed by a car on the highway, it was getting a bit high.
Back at the Lake the couple I had talked to said the blood worms worked and were into 4 or 5 fish after being fish less the day before. It shows to check out what the fish have been feeding on, gives you a leg up.
They also related to me that they had released a 1 to 2 pound fish and when they did the two loons got it and started to eat it but the eagle, see my photo of it above swooped down and stole the fish from the birds, 2 unhappy loons, one happy eagle. This would have made a good video.
The chap had given me a blood worm on my first stop at their camp and he tells me that was the one they had got the fish on. Feeling confident about this I headed out for a couple of hours but it proved fruitless.
Feeling disgusted I headed back to shore for supper and an early bedtime once again. Hopefully day 4 will be better and The Master will be coming so maybe he can provide me with some hints to help me out of my Maple Leaf like slump.
Day 4 Canada Day and the first day of the GST
Another early rising sees it colder than the day before and I see why. I go down to check the boat and low and behold there is frost on my life jacket, see the photo. I have never seen frost in July, have you?.
Back to the fire to warm up as the sight of this makes me shiver I may be in paradise just like heaven but its colder than Hell today. (hence my topic header) ;-)
After a while sitting around the camp fire sipping piping hot coffee and enjoying the breaking of another day, and another month, I think, will we ever get Summer, no wonder the fishing is slow. I saw very few chronimids on the surface all the past 3 days.
I decide once again decide to fish the flat fish that has given me some excitement, I will do one circuit of the lake and then go in for breakfast and wait for The Master and company to arrive, maybe he can help.
At least the wind has died down some and the circuit is very rewarding once again in some ways, watching the bird life and there beautiful voices, the ever present 3 loons, they must be getting hungry as few fish for them to steal from us anglers and a odd beaver cutting down some willows bushes to nibble on as well as adding to their dam, at one end of the lake.
I am not back at camp very long when in comes Nick, Deb Sneddon the FOC Fisheries Manager, Recreational Fisheries and friend Graham. They are still excited from their trip yesterday, at another lake as they got some fish up to 5 pounds and Nick said " I lost Albert too, broke me off he chuckles. (by the way Nick is taking me to this lake Tuesday, maybe I can find Albert brother or at least his cousin)
The guys and gal unload Nick's boat and the other two's float tubes and set off across the lake. I say "I am making pancakes and bacon, you go find the fish and I will join you later."
I take my time having breakfast and join up with Nick in about an hour he has found nothing yet but Deb has one small one, its about noon.
I am talking to Nick when I see a fish jump by the Leaf Craft, then my fly line is zipping off my reel. "I shout got one Nick" but the thrill is short lived as the fish falls off the barbless blood worm hook I tell Nick " my first fish on the fly gear in 4 days I feel confident but that is all I could muster. I will now keep the report brief as I have to get ready for another trip or is it because Nick now puts on a fishing clinic as he is into 12 fish over the next couple of hours while my indicators stay above the now calm lake. Nick even give me a mayfly nymph that he is having all the action on but it does not help a bit. I leave him to his fun as I row back to camp and head for home dejected some but still it was a great 4 days in Paradise and the good news is I return to it in about 5 hours from now. The journal will resume in about 4 days and I hope I have a picture to show you of a big rainbow, the silver kind. If I donot I am sure The Master will provide one for you to see..