Reading your post FM brought back some memories from around the middle 60's. A little story for a late Victoria Day evening and besides I have not written a fishing report for some time. Here goes with a report from 40 years back.
My wife and I were staying in the St. Alice Hotel in North Vancouver, anyone remember it? It has been torn down now. It and the Olympic Hotel (The Big O) were a couple of wild places those days especially for a country boy like me, just out of high school, just married
and just starting out in the work place.
Anyway those were the days as we had race horses at Hastings Park, lots of time to take in all the entertainment that Vancouver had to offer including the Old Vancouver Canuck hockey games that were playing in the Western Hockey League. As well the
Leafs were
rolling rolling rolling right along winning numerous Stanley Cup's
(FA will latch on to this I am sure)
I am geting badly side tracked, sorry.
One day I asked my wife if she would like to try some fishing, of course in those days she was very agreeable to anything, so off we went to Horseshoe Bay. Over the years I had read about the Vancouver Sun Derby in this area and I always loved Len Norris. His cartoons of this derby were priceless. Sort of reminds you off some of the fishing on the Fraser River at times, I bet he could have drawn some good ones of this as well if he was alive.
As well I remember Lee Straight and others writing of the fishing at the Hole In The Wall so I thought it would be the place to go.
We rented a boat at Sewells of course and bought some frozen herring there as well as we would be doing some smootching, sorry mooching as I had done lots of it at Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island in the 1950 and early 60's, before heading to the unknown ahead of me on the Mainland
With two mooching rods rigged we were on our way to the legenary fishing spot. I of course tried to keep out of the way of the ferries wake as my wife disliked the waves but in those days the ferry traffic was nothing like it is now. If I remember right there was hardly any other fishing boats around.
It was a lovely Summer evening to be out on the ocean once again, not a care in the world for us, no thoughts of pollution, war in Iraqi, global warming, illegall fishing, bait bans, barbless hooks, bottom bouncing, corrupt governments,and the list could go on, how things would change in the next four decades or was it just the innocence of youth we were experiencing.
I can not remember how long we were fishing but when my wife was reeling in we saw a salmon chasing her plug cut herring to the boat but it turned away when it saw the shadow of our rented white craft.
I was more excited than her I remember as I knew there was fish around.
A little while later I see the tell tale bend on my wife's rod, "let him take it I bark out", the bend in the rod increases, "set the hook is my next command". I do not know if she ever did as line starts to peel off the single action reel. My wife most likely had never caught anything bigger than a bullhead and the knuckle buster was causing her all sorts of problem. "You take it" she says, which I am happy to do as I would sure like a fresh fish and the chance to fight a fish once again. Now I would never dream of taking it, how times change.
Anyway a good tussle takes place and we are happy to net a 15 pound white spring, most likely heading for the Squamish River.
We are both excited with our catch and as dark approaches the happy couple heads to Sewells dock to show off our prize.
Those days Ted Peck had his fishing show on the radio so I phone in from a pay phone to boast of our skill but for some reason as I am to go on the air the line goes dead.
Anyway that was the only fish we could catch as a few more trips saw us blanked.
Good memories indeed and I can say, or was it my wife that caught a salmon at the famous Hole in The Wall, maybe I should return there one day before it is too late.
Time for bed and to dream about those good old days, there were sure great.
Maybe I can dig up a photo of this fish if I can find it and post it at a later date.
Author
Topic: Hole in the Wall, Monday May 23 (Read 5099 times)