Day 4 and 5 September 12 and 13, 2011
Another early start to the day as wanted to get to the Nickel run at first light. I seemed to be slow getting going and after a 15 minute drive I arrive at the run to see two other cars parked. It has been light for 20 minutes or so.
As I climb down the steep slope to the fishing spot I see the pool is vacant with one angler fishing downstream a bit. As I draw nearer I see he is fishing on the bottom and is just landing a jack. Good the run is still on as I knew it would be as this is the best time of the year to fish for these guys until they close on September 19th to protect the Interior coho that will be arriving in this area around then. Also Thompson River steelhead I suppose these days.
I pick up my pack from behind a large boulder I left overnight as did not want to pack it up the steep incline last night. As I pick it up I see the mice have been busy and have chewed some of the material off, making a warm nest for the coming winter I guess. No major damage but I check to make sure they are not inside
I think back a week when sleeping under the stars on a very warm night I was awakened by mice crawling around my feet, I guess they are everywhere and come out to make their living at dark.
With the pack checked it is time to make the first cast and the bite is on right away and two jacks are quickly landed. The fellow below me comes by, with his limit in a bag.
As he starts his climb up the hill I am now into an adult chinook salmon that stays in the nun for a minute before it vacates to the fast water and the 8 pound test leader easily snaps.
I retie a new leader and it does not take long for more action with some fish lost before I limit out. The fish are in nice condition and with my possession limit of 8 I have about the same amount of weight of a 15 to 20 pound adult. They of course make excellent table fare and are very good smoked.
The sun is just hitting the water so a good time to leave as it hears up quickly.I then leave to pick up my stored trailer and visit with John before heading to the Packing House to meet and film Steve Rice about the closure of their old bridge as well as his take on the Thompson River steelhead situation.
We do the 2 segments in one take each with Steve standing on the bridge with the Thompson as the back drop. Steve certainly knows how to talk, the video is here,
http://youtu.be/zf9YK1-P_kM . With the film in the can it is time for a coffee at the packing House with Steve doing the buying. Oh, the bridge closire video is here
http://youtu.be/gCEJhy1SGrUI read the paper to catch up on the bad news from around the world and BC before heading back to camp to clean the fish and have a late breakfast. A nap follows before heading towards Merritt where I spend time shopping and visiting the tackle shops. Pick up a jar of Double Red Hot Pro Cure, is only $9.95, 3 dollar cheaper than most other places.
I decide to dine out instead of cooking supper for a change and then head to visit Lew who is fishing a lake nearby. When I arrive he is out fishing but comes in for a bit and we talk about the
Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Societies BC Rivers Day event that is fast approaching on September 25, it’s our tenth one.
Please plan to attend our cleanup, details
www.cleanrivers.ca or take in another celebration of a river near you. We have about 10 displays booked including the Chilliwack Hatchery, FOC enforcement, BC Conservation Service and Rodney will be there with a display and will be glad to meet you. We have Chilliwack Tim Hortons donating a good supply of coffee and donuts before the cleanup. Around 11:30 we have a free BBQ for those that attend the cleanup part of the day followed by numerous prize draws. While this is going on you are entertained by my wife’s Bluegrass band.
Sorry I gave gotten away from the fishing report. As I know Lew wants to get back out fishing I bid goodbye and head back to Merritt for the night ending day 4 of the trip.
Day 5 will be a short one as I have to be home by 2ish.I spend the first part of the morning after grouse and do pick up two adult birds including one on the wing that is one of my better shots after years of bird hunting but maybe it was just luck. When the bird flushed it was going through a bunch of trees and just got a glimpse of the blue grouse hooter as I pulled the trigger I thought I saw it tumble. After a bit of searching in the grass I was please to find it but it escaped my grasp and ran off downhill or nearly a 100 yards before I was able to catch it, was a big bird too.
Some may not like hunting but it has always has been a way of life for me and I know God put them there for us to harvest. This is how our ancestors survived. The hunting debate I guess is like the flossing subject.
I decide to use the rubber raft I have been packing around the entire trip and head for a lake nearby, on the way another grouse falls to my scatter gun.
As I quickly have pumped up the raft I discover the end of my fly rod has a broken tip, must have done that make one circuit of this beautiful lake with only one other angler on it. He tells me it is a bit slow but has caught two. He was not giving out much information so maybe he had more.
The end of the trip draws near so I deflate the raft and head back to the highway for a 90 minute drive home. I stop in Hope for a coffee and then at the Jones flossing site and retrieve a few bottles that ran my take up to around $50. I also find a good luck loonie on the ground. It is very disturbing to see all the garbage left behind by the parking area by some people that work this area. I wonder if any one that goes there will clean it up, maybe I should
What can be better than a trip like this, 3 grouse, 8 jacks, and some dollars made selling corn and the bottle money?
The sage brush I have in a bag in the Leaf Mobile is a reminder every day of being in Gold Country; I think another trip is just around the corner, maybe you will make it one day too, I recommend it.
Author
Topic: Thompson River, September 9th - 12th 2011: Both fishing and hunting (Read 4174 times)