I was wondering why I spent the day washing my truck on the weekend because if things worked out I might get a day off to sneak back to the upper reaches of the Squamish River and the road was sure to be wet and muddy. Trucks, like boats and flyrods hold special places in their owners heart and my last truck was long in the tooth and finally had to go. As I headed to the dealership for the trade in I prayed the old one would make it to the dealers lot. It did and its potential successor was parked there off to the side. Sitting there, looking across the desk at the salesman, I must have looked like one of the hardest nosed bargainers he had seen all week. He had asked for some more fees and stuff. Truth was though, like most people there is sometimes just too much month left at the end of the paycheque so I just sat there staring at him for about five minutes not saying a word wondering how I could expect to get upriver if there was no spirit left in the old girl. Finally I upped my bid a few hundred bucks. He left with a sweaty brow to run it past the mystical wizard in the back room that blesses the deals with their magic wand. I'm not sure if he didn't think he was going to be consumed with fire as he walked into the back office.........A few minutes later he came back, obviously relieved, and the deal was done.
So after doing a good job washing it on the weekend I headed to the upper Squamish in the rain. I stepped out of the truck determined to check out a new fishing hole and after I pulled on the waders it was time to smell the flowers and toss a fly into a very promising looking run. Being the last day of a long weekend it was pretty obvious things had been worked over and the fellows walking down the beach said they had landed a few steelhead so I wondered what the hole still might hold.
So after doing a good job washing it on the weekend I headed to the upper Squamish in the rain. I stepped out of the truck determined to check out a new fishing hole and after I pulled on the waders it was time to smell the flowers and toss a fly into a very promising looking run. Being the last day of a long weekend it was pretty obvious things had been worked over and the fellows walking down the beach said they had landed a few steelhead so I wondered what the hole still might hold.
I let the crew in a drift boat, well, drift by, looking a little soaked and gave the hole some more time to cool off. Sitting on the beach just letting the river sound rise up into the mist I tied on a new rendition of my minnow pattern that I have been working on. So far it has landed coho, steelhead, bull trout and cutthroat trout. On my second cast into the water just upstream of the hole it hit pay dirt and a very nice bull trout started the day off right. (Click here for the tilt)
This was not the only fish of the day but the rising water made wading to some of the casting spots a little tricky so I am always glad my fishing vest is a floater (Please take that as a hint, those of you who do river fish wanna make it home at night). Another run held about a 2 and 8 pounder bull trout who were very camera shy and made good use of the barbless hook. The final hookup of the day only let me know he was down there so i'm not sure what it was.
Eventually I hauled my butt back into the truck and as I turned the heater on I could hear it ask if I had landed the big one? "Nope", I said, "But what a fantastic day" And then I realized why I had washed my truck, it's cause fresh mud looks so good on a white background!....tight lines.
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