Another day, another day on the Vedder after some more steelhead, how the days fly by when you are fishing and having fun.
more on that later.
As always a warm welcome to forum members and guests to my daily fishing journal on FWR.
My fishing day starts of course on the "Starting Run" and the angler who picked up a hatchery steelhead yesterday is entrenched there when I reach the run. The wind that was blowing yesterday and last night has diminished some but it is still cool. I look upstream at the "Above Run" and see sthslayer and Ross working the run.
I work all possible locations on the run for a while other anglers arrive in the area. I finally have a chance as the "new" Maple Leaf Drennan ( Got up too late this morning to put on the rescued one) makes its first downward motion, I strike but no contact. I know it was a fish of some sort as I know the run like the palm of my hand and it never bottom in this area as I am at least a foot off bottom.
Whatever it was it becomes tight lipped for me as no second chances are given to me. Time to move to a lower run or two but keeping a eye on the other anglers for the tell tale bend on a rod. When I see this time to forget fishing and get to the scene of the action hoping for a wild fish for the brood capture tube. sthslayer as a tube also and I know he will have his area covered.
I am anxious to get one as have not been able to angle one or get one from a donator for over a week now. Word has it they had 25 as of yesterday according to the Master.
I find nothing in the lower runs and are very careful to keep away from that snag that tried to steal the Maple Leaf Drennan from me yesterday. As I walk upstream I run into sthslayer and Ross and they have no positive report and are moving on.
I return to "The Starting Run" and the "Successful One" from yesterday says he
rolled one.
I have no luck after many more casts and finally around 10 I tell Peter who arrived after me " I think I better leave you guys as I am jinxing you with my tube".
As I pack up my tube and head towards the Leaf Mobile I see the Successful One" coming back from the "Above Run".
As I slip over the hill of the gravel pit, 2 to 3 minutes from the river I hear a yell, it is Barry that is walking on the dyke motioning with his arms, pointing towards the river. I know that means fish, I race to the top of the dyke and there is the "Successful One" with a fish on, right where I had just vacated.
I start to move towards the sidestream hoping maybe it could be a wild, but the "Successful One" for two days in a row has a nice chrome steelhead bouncing on the gravel bar. Not bad, two hatchery for him his first of the season.
How could I not have enticed that fish to bite my succulent roe bags. I shrug to Barry as I again head for my vehicle thinking, just when you think you are doing things right you can quickly be jarred back to reality. I remember my dad telling me never ever think you know everything about fishing as that can give you bad luck for a while.
As I get to the Leaf Mobile I see Terry has slipped into the area as his truck is parked near mine.
( on my return home he has informed me he got a wild, I guess I left to early
)
I head to town to catch up on a few chores and visit Nick who is working today in Chilliwack Dart and Tackle and invite him for lunch where we catch up on all the latest fishing news. How time passes when you are with "The Master" as he is so positive about fishing and has so many interested stories.
He is back to work and I go for a look at the KE run as had not ben there for a few days. It still looked ok. Pappy is there before me, always have a good visit with him. He tells me he had
rolled one in another run. He like me has not seen much today.
I then go and do some exploring to an area I have not checked out this year. It is nearly 2:30 tubing over for the day so leave the tube in the LM.
I work my way down one of the arms but not much fishable water. I decide to take a picture of the Peach Road housing development that I said I would do in an answer to Chronic on another forum. It is a shame that a housing development is allowed so close to our precious rivers. They seem under attack in one form or another all the time.
As I pick up my rod and move back towards the river all of a sudden I am airborne. I try to regain my balance in the rocks but I continue to pitch forward and dive headfirst into about a foot of water as my sage goes flying.
My mind goes blank at this time as I come up sputtering. I have sort of a funny feeling and a strange taste which I really can not describe. Afterwards I release I must have inhaled some water up my nose. I felt OK except I had banged my knee cap that is hurting as I file this embarrassing event.
It comes more embarrassing as I hear a voice "are you OK", I turn around as I drag myself dripping wet out of the water to see a fellow angler 5 feet away. He of course saw it all.
After making fun of the fellow that broke his rod last week it was my turn to look bad. Serves me right for making fun of him not once but twice in my journal.
I sit on a log to collect my now dampened spirit. The fellow after we talk for a while about my moment of glory, trying for a 10 diving mark finally asks me, "are you from FWR" I say yes. "Thought I recognized that Leaf hat" he says now I know there is no way to now disuse who I am in this most embarrassing moment. He identifies himself as dboy from FWR and the Fish BC Forum. He tells me he reads my daily journal, I am thinking if he reads about me catching a few fish this season he would not expect to meet me diving into the river. As I pick up my pole dboy says the Maple Leaf Drennan looks a little crushed. I would be a little crushed if it was broken as after lunch I had but it back on. It would be sad after rescuing it yesterday to see its life end here. It is OK put the eyelet on my top guide as come loose And I fiddle with it but can not get it in properly. I am glad my camera and cell phone are both in a sip lock bag and are dry. A tip to consider if you do not put them in a bag like this incase you too try to go swimming.
Dboy heads down river but before he leaves he snaps a picture of your truly soaking wet, may send it to Rodney to post if he wishes and a picture of the pool I dove into. dboy said he may give his perspective of the event as he had a bird's eye view of the worse fall I have ever had.
As I prepared to leave and start fishing again I see what tripped me up. A darn embedded stick that my foot got temporay caught in, that what prevented me from regaining my balance I guess.
I see Pappy once again on the other side of the river, I ask him if he had seen my performance but he had not.
I fish and explore but find no steelhead as does dboy when we separate.
I leave the river at 4:45 and as I limp with my now throbbing knee back to the Leaf Mobile I see the snow lower on the mountains than it has been all year. I feel a chill in the air, is winter coming or is it I am just cold from my attempt at swimming with the fishes, one of lifes most embarrassing moments.
PS Chronic if you read this you owe me a lunch getting this picture for you as I would not had this happen if I was not getting this picture as I said I would of the Peach Road housing developement. Maybe Rodney better post this on Fish BC so he can read it.
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Topic: Swimming With The Fish, Vedder Jan. 26 Report (Read 5840 times)