This Saturday and Sundays warm sunshine heralded the first fabulous bright and warm days of spring weather on this weekend so it was not hard to enjoy the fishing! With the warmer weather the prospect of spring freshette bringing up the waters of local rivers suggested a trip to the Squamish River Valley before the rivers rose too high. With all the trees now in full leaf there was a green and blue energy that was infectious and inspiring with the scenery.
The water clarity was still great in the morning and there were lots of salmon fry in all the shallow side channels so minnow patterns that imitated the fry were the choices of the day. The first few hours were slim pickings in terms of finding fish with three bull trout at the first hole and run. But persistence was the name of the game and the next run yielded two small fish and then the rod bent hard as a very nice bull trout hammered the fly in a deep run.
A good tilt followed and the fish in the 21 inch range came in towards the net making for some great photo ops. In case lightning might strike twice, where there is one fish perhaps there were two and a few casts later another 19 1/2 inch bull hammered the minnow pattern and the battle was on again.
As the sun rose higher, it was obvious that the snow and glacier melt was beginning as the water began to cloud and visibility for the flies meant you had to work harder to put the fur and feathers withing sight of the fish. The trick was to get the fly so it would sweep just above the rocky bottom. Most fish hit on a fast retrieve leaving no doubt of their intentions.
Little did we know that another change in venue would lead to the biggest lightning strike of the day! A creek coming into the main flow provided a nice blended run with a riffle in the center of the main stream and a sudden splash in the middle indicated that there were fish likely picking on unsuspecting fry. The first run with an intruder pattern did not bring a response so the switch was made back to the trusty weighted minnow pattern. The first few swings through the hole came up empty. With the sun starting to swing deeper into the western horizon I let the line sink deeper and with short quick strips started to retrieve the lure. After only two or three strips it felt like an anvil had been tied to the end of the rod as the tip bowed hard and a flash of silver sparked from the green water. The rod arched even harder and line began to peel off the reel. My first impression was a steel head but there was no silver bullet rocketing into the air, so I figured I was into a monster of a bull trout!
Gabe sensed my enthusiasm as I called for him to bring the net. After a dozen or more hard runs we tried to get the big bull into the net. I had to laugh ( a good kind of laugh) as the tail and adipose fin hung out over the lip of the net. I could sure use this kind of problem more often! So ended a great day on the river! Till next time, tight lines!
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