After a long winter of what always seems like forever, April 1st arrived, and that was a perfect day to hit the ES2 watershed in Central Alberta. We had an abnormally warm February and March in 2021, so this meant the rivers were probably going to be fishable on opener this season. No better way to get the season started than with a couple of my favorite people Tim Hepworth his daughter Wren, and our furry friend Harper Collins, a german short haired pointer who is always up for a good stroll down the river. We had big ambitions, as I am sure every does when they make a plan to go for a drive and hit the river. Lots of possibilities awaited us, in our adventure driven fantasies. Perhaps, this is the trip where we get some of the biggest bull trout we have ever seen, and why not get one of the brown trout that only few have ever seen out there. I guess you could say fly fisherman are eternal optimists, and I am ok with that! The drive out was a few hours from where we lived, and this time we were going to explore a new stretch of the river we hadn’t seen before, because we you do this, you get rewarded, right? Let us be dreamers, for the time being! We decided to take our 7wt Orvis Helios 3d , as we had little hope for any activity other than throwing some streamers, or maybe bouncing an indicator. We were destined for aggressive fish, so streamers it was! The weather was typical spring, and with a bit of sun poking through the clouds, we got a little heat, but not enough not to bundle up. After spending several hours, hope evaporating quickly and our arms getting sore, we decided to call it a day and head back to the truck! This time we packed a hot shore lunch, which required a little to get going! Sometimes having a quick shore lunch bestows perfection on the day, but today, we need something a little more hearty and warm to make this happen! This is always the time of the year, where I’m not totally sure if we should be wearing our orvis ultralight waders, or its still the season to be in the Orvis Pro waders. Difference is pretty much how much dry land hiking we will be doing, versus standing in the chilly waters! Before we got into roasting hot dogs, and cooking marshmallows over fire, I suggest whatever you decided to wear, you get out of them, cause hot items and waders don’t marriage well!
Although we saw no fish, we were reminded that fish don’t make a perfect day, but the people you spend the day with do! Get outside more, and don’t worry about the results of catching fish, you’ll enjoy more days on the water. - Dana Lattery Love People Catch Fish |
Archives
December 2024
Categories |