Today is Remembrance Day and I hope all of you have taken a moment to pause, remember and reflect.  The sacrifices of the many have allowed us to live and enjoy the freedoms and opportunities which abound around us.  This includes having the day to enjoy with family and friends and partake in the many outdoor activities this beautiful country has to offer.  Today I just thought I would share a few of those from our family and friends activities today.

 Today was also a great day for outdoor adventures and I was lucky enough to spend the day with my sister Elly in pursuit of the wily and feisty chum salmon on the Squamish River.  The pounding heavy rains early this week put the river into flood pushing the gauge from a fishable 3.4 m to a dangerous 7.2 meters.  Luckily it started to dry out on Thursday and the gauge started to turn around to head back down to the 4 m markby this morning.  

While the forecast called for more rain we decided to take the optimists route and head for the river.  If we got their early enough then perhaps we might have a few fishable hours.  Turns out it was a very good choice!

We were encouraged to see fish rolling in the Mamquam River which is something I hadn't seen so far this season and that meant that the main run would still be firing on all cylinders in the Squamish as well.  The higher water had re-jigged my favorite channel, the little island was no where to be seen and the big log that created a nice back water was pushed into the shore.  However, the first cast proved to be money and the fight was on.  

​Elly hadn't picked up a fly rod in a while but she was a quick study and she soon began hitting some really nice fish.

The fish were just out of salt water and had a chrome gleam which you could see just after they inhaled the fly and rolled under the surface.  Elly's rod bent pretty hard on a number of great fish with head shakes and ripping runs that sometimes ran circles around her as the battles raged on and on!  The wind kicked up once and a while which made casting a little daunting but she persevered and once hooked, very few fish escaped her..!!!

As the morning wore on the tides started to flood and good numbers of fish began to cruise by.  The water had been colored but cleared up a bit, just enough to make the flies readily visible and the chum good and aggressive.  When I asked Elly how many fish we landed in the four hours we fished she gave a very measured and professional fisher woman answer, "somewhere between 15 going on to 30".....which quite frankly I had to agree with.  What's the point of counting when you are having soooooo much fun!

​Not to be out done, somewhere in one of Elly's battles her cell phone began to ring.  (now cell phones should be outlawed while fishing except so as to be used to send pictures of big fish to your little brother who isn't out there with you for the sole purpose of making him jealous.)  Back to the phone ringing anyways, there was an attachment to the text on Elly's phone which was a photo of her daughter in-law  Cassie, posing by yet another fine Mule Deer buck she had just harvested. (She seems to do this every year.) So between fish battles, more pictures of fish and deer were exchanged.

So I thought this was turning into quite the adventurous outdoor day when I got yet another text with a photo of another great Muley buck.  This one was harvested by Mike, who is the eldest son of a good friend of mine.  

​For good measure I've added mine and Gabe's into the mix as well.  Turns out today was a really good day for fishing and an unlucky day for the bucks, but the freezers will be full!

So today was a day to be thankful, enjoy family and friends, the great outdoors and all the blessings God has bestowed on us as we enjoy the fruits of the land....truly, a day to remember!  Thanks to all my family.......(and John and Barb for the pictures of the apples they harvested today, just don't eat all of them apples in one day!)  

​Tight Lines everybody.

It's been a long while since I posted an update so I thought I would drop some pictures and updates.  September was time off in the south east Kootenays for lots of attempts at and a few encounters with bull elk.  With the hot weather at 34 Celcius at the start of September it made for challenging bow hunting.  Gabe put out a lot of effort to chase down some elk and dragged me up and down more mountains than I ever thought I could climb.  As it turned out, on a fine sunny morning I managed to spot and harvest a fine 4x4 mulie but the elk were tough. 

Gabe and his buddy Mike were a great help.  Most of all by packing in a 6 pack of cold Coors Beer to celebrate and quench thirst on a hot day.  We clinked tins in celebration and then went to work loading up the backpack.  Gabe shouldered the bulk of the load which I really appreciated.  Of course I was packing out the "massive" antlers so I did my share and a second Coors at the truck made the day perfect!

The best thing about hunting in the east Kootenays is that it is never far from some great trout fishing.  The Elk Valley is home to some excellent West Slope Cutthroat trout fishing in the Elk, Fording and Wigwam Rivers.  While the elk would give me the slip in the mornings, the cutthroat were not so lucky in the afternoons when the sun had warmed up enough to get the hatches going.

In September the Caddis hatches would get the trout eager to rise to the surface and most pools held one or two or in some cases up to 7 fish.  While not the same size and power as west coast salmon, they provide a spirited diversion.  Since I was fishing about 20 km upstream of Elkford the possibility of rubbing noses with either an Elk or a Grizzly is always a possibility so some 30:06 insurance carried on the back is always a good idea.  

On the other hand, getting back into the bush can pay off and Gabe filled his tag with a nice Muley so steaks, roasts and sausages are in the near future.  At the end of every good hunt it's great to have a Starbucks to get the caffeine level back up to par.

As far as fishing goes, the sockeye was a wash out this summer but coho, springs and chum are now in most systems.  This is turning out to be a banner year for chum and the Squamish, Vedder, Stave and Chehalis are all producing well this year.  Flies for chum are in the dark purple, blue or chartreuse range.  Coho will perhaps take a chum fly but silver, chrome and blue are good bets.  If you have the right color presented in a drift just above the river bottom on a short (12 inch to 24 inch) leader then the possibility of 20 or more chum in a couple of hours is a real possibility.