An Ill Wind?

I had a chat with my dad this morning and, as usual, it wasn't long before the discussion turned to Atlantic Salmon fishing. He reminded me of the time he had some fun with the boys at Banting Lake Lodge near Gander, Newfoundland.

One breezy evening, he and my brother, Dave, went with their guide, Rocky, for a bit of fishing after supper. It's a quick boat ride and a few steps to the Bench Pool where Dad likes to fish, but another half-mile hike over rough terrain to reach Surveyor's Pool. 

"D'ere's always more fish at Surveyor's. What d'ya t'ink, Harold? D'ya mind if I takes Dave up to Surveyor's fer a few flicks?" Rocky asked.  

"Go ahead, boys. I'll be fine here. I can sit on the bench and rest if I get tired. Don't worry about me," Harold replied. 

They had just disappeared around the bend when Harold raised a salmon, and a few casts later, had the fish on his line. Landing it was a bit of a problem, though - the net was leaning against the bench, forty feet from shore. Harold thought to himself,"If I try to run up there to get that net, the fish will get off." He decided his best option was to try to beach the grilse. And that's just what he did - no mean feat on that rocky shore! Harold tagged the fish and hung it on an alder branch near the bench.

By and by, Dave and Rocky returned from the "Honey Hole", empty-handed, to check on Harold. "Any luck?" they inquired. 

"Well it was so windy, it was hard to cast," Harold complained. "But I did have a bit of luck! A grilse leaped clear of the water, just when a big gust of wind came along. It blew him right up into the alders, there," Harold pointed to the fish.

 "Jeezus wept!" Rocky said. "Here we was feeling' sorry for ya. Come back to check on ya, and find you wit' a fish!" he grinned. "Poor Dave didn't get more'n a few casts. Now dat we knows y' kin handle yerself, we'll dodge back and give 'er another flick, if yer okay wit dat, skipper?"

 "I'm fine," Dad laughed. "Go ahead. I'll be here when you get back. I might even go out and try for another one!"

Once more, they weren't gone but a few minutes when Harold hooked a grilse and, having remembered to take the net down to the shore, soon had two fish hanging in the alders. When the boys returned, empty-handed again, Harold was sitting on the bench waiting.

"Had enuff, Harold?" Rocky asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I got tired of fighting that wind on every cast. I thought I'd just sit here awhile and wait for a big gust to blow another one up in the trees," he gestured toward the alders.

"Lard thunderin', Jeezus!" Rocky cried. "Two fish!

"Well, you know what they say," Dave grinned, "It's an ill wind that blows no good."

Good Luck and Good Fishin"

RP

Photo by Dave Dobson

Banting Lake Lodge

One of the dumbest things I've ever done was to videotape over a great piece of angling footage. It happened at Banting Lake Lodge in Newfoundland. I had borrowed a video camera and tripod for the week-long trip and this was my first experience using one. The beginning of the week was rough - hot as hell, water low and tepid. We fished like demons, nonetheless, from dawn till dusk, and one morning, towards the end of the week, I woke to hear Rocky, the guide say, "Harold's got one!" It was about 6 AM and, sure enough, there was my dad at the Top Pool well into a feisty grilse with the whole camp still snoozing. Seeing him land the first fish of the trip really got my Mojo going, and I couldn't wait to start fishing.

I tried the Middle Pool and soon raised a salmon. In fact, I raised him five times before I put down the rod, trudged back to the lodge and got the video equipment. With the camera all set up, I continued fishing. Ten times I raised the fish before he took the fly, and I got the whole thing on tape. It was a five lb grilse - pretty much as big as they get, for a 63 cm fish. Later at the lodge, we watched the footage and everyone said it was the first time they had ever seen a salmon take a fly on tape. I was pretty proud of myself, as I rewound the tape, cueing it up to watch once more.

About that time we heard a plane approaching. I put the camera down and we all hurried outside to see who was flying in. Then, I it occurred to me that I should get a few shots of the plane landing, so I went back for the camera and, without giving it a thought, recorded over most of my precious footage. Afterwards my brother, Steve, who works in the television industry, pointed out that there is a small switch on the cassette that locks it to prevent accidental erasure. Damn! I was wishing my leg was long enough to kick my own ass! Anyway, here is some of the footage just before the salmon grabbed the fly.