Last trip of June part 2 ...

So we're on our way back home, warm heater and warm grub on our minds when Dad spied this silly critter by the camp road...

 

It's pretty easy to see why they get hit so often, this one was running right down the road ...

So back to the camp we lit the heater had a quick snack and Brad and I headed back out to fish his uncle's pool on the MSW.

Toasty warm!

Brad and I arrived and his uncle and cousin were working on the camp and their road down to the river. We chatted with them for a bit then headed down for a pass. I had a wet fly on for the first little bit but I didn't like the swing so I figured this looked a hell of a lot like a great spot for a dry fly... So on goes the locater.... of course it was the blue one...

For the next 3 minutes I worked on getting the hang of flinging a dry fly with my spey rod and getting it to land and drift just the way I liked it ... at minute 3.5 and out of nowhere this big ass salmon grabs it heading from upstream to downstream?!? Whoa! Was I ever NOT ready for that! And did this fish ever prove it while I was trying to get him on the reel while keeping things tight! The first jump, my line was 30' feet downstream of the fish and by the time it decided to jump the 2nd time I had it on the reel with maybe just a whisker too much tension as the fly popped right out! Bummer! But what a rush! :) Man do I ever love dry flies! I was quite happy to have hooked another beautiful bright salmon and this one was at least a 3 footer if it was an inch. We fished the pass through then decided it was time to head out. Back across the bogan and up the hill to the camp and we talked to Brad's uncle and cousin for a bit. They invited us for supper (thanks fellas!) but we had to get back to the camp as Bill was on his way up. Billy arrived and we had a few sodas and a good evening of laughter as we always do.... there's no place like the Den during fishing season ;-)

Our plan for day 2 was to fish the MSW at a pool close to the camp. We didn't have any luck on day 2 but we fished a pool that I haven't taken the time to fish before. It wasn't my favorite pool to fish but it wasn't bad either. I spent much of the morning chatting with a veteran Miramichi guide of 50 years on the river. I'm terrible with names and should almost carry a notepad around for details like this but alas, slackness or laziness prevailed and this gentleman will remain nameless for this report... He had some questions about 2 handed casting so I did a little single spey casting session for him. Casting in ankle deep water with lots or room makes things look pretty easy and he was impressed :)

After a pass or 2 the morning was gone and then some -- it was a LONG pool... So back to the camp we headed and Brad had to head for home as he had plans for a hike over the long weekend. After a snack and drying off, Bill and I decided to head out for another nearby MSW pool. We managed a pass and a half before deciding there wasn't anything going on and headed back for home. On our way out we ran into one of the Hooké lads https://hooke.ca/ , Derek Martin and had a great chat about C&R and the recent ASF/NBSC request for anglers to release their grilse. We both agreed that it was the least people could do to help our salmon out... It's concerning that if we have decent returns this season, many people will forget about the dismal low returns of the 2012 season and the impending changes coming to the Greenland fishery... Just because we're hooking fish and seeing fish doesn't mean things are hunky dory ... big changes are needed to our regulations and attitudes need to change ... atlantic salmon are a finite and fragile resource and they need our protection if they are to continue to be on this earth in places other than open net pens... It was great chatting with you, Derek!

Billy given 'er on the river:

So Billy and I headed home only to find Dad and Joe had been busy beavers and put a few sheets of siding on the camp, nice work!

So another good evening at the camp and we headed for home on Saturday AM. It was a wet and cold trip but a good one! Of course, I can't think of a trip to the Den that hasn't been good :)