Fall Salmon At Last

Yesterday we went out fishing in the morning with cousin Al. We were all fishing for the fall salmon. The river looked perfect. The morning air in the woods smelled like autumn. We soon found out though fish weren't interested in lures. Joe switched to night crawlers right away and caught the first salmon, 20 inches, 3 pounds. I was too stubborn to try crawlers and kept catching twigs on my spinners. Lucky I didn't lose any, though I came real close more than once.

Now that Joe pulled his fist salmon of the season, he was itching to catch more. So after lunch Joe and I went back to the Big Hole. Joe with his night crawlers caught 2 nice rainbow trout, 1 was a lake run that was bright pink. Then he caught a bigger salmon, 21 inches, almost 4 pounds. This one fought and took some line and jumped. It was exciting to watch. Me, I kept trying with my spinners of every color, even digging into Joe's tackle box. Fish weren't after any lures. Finally Joe convinced me to try a night crawler, but I soon found it required some skills. I ended up in a snag. All in all, I still didn't lose any of my lures and got to taste a fresh salmon. A good day fishing!

Trout season is coming to a close at the end of the month. We both have this Friday off for the one last day fishing on Apple Creek. I really hope to catch a salmon of my own.

Last Weekend

Last Friday I made some sushi rolls with the cooked trout from the other day. They looked pretty with some roe. My Japanese lady friend J made the inari sushi.

Since the river was still high from rain we had, we decided to take a break from fishing on Sunday and took a drive to Canyon Falls. It was a good idea to check out the falls when the water was high.

Falls almost had as much water as during spring run off.

Well, we couldn't completely forget about fishing... we took a quick fishing trip in the afternoon. Joe caught a nice 12" brook trout that was picture worthy. The trip helped with our fishing fever, too.

Fish God Smiles Upon Joe

Last Saturday Joe got soaked fishing in the rain and only caught a couple of small fish. Fish God rewarded him on Sunday, however. My only complain was that fish were not hitting on spinners at all, but on night crawlers only.
In the first picture is Joe's first 14" brown, right after an 11" rainbow.

Meanwhile I tried many different lures, but fish hardly wanted anything to do with any of them. Then later Joe pulled out another brown, even bigger than the first one, on the crawler. It turned out to be a 16" lake run brown that has come up the river to spawn.

A very nice surprise. She weighed 2 lb. That means salmon are not far behind. With all the fish Joe caught, we had a nice last-minute get-together with a couple of friends who enjoy eating fish as much as I do. I still wished I had caught at least one of the fish on the platter!

Fall is definitely here. Our grapes are starting to take on some color. We are really hoping they will be ready for jelly making before our trip to Japan.

Finally, my logo design is up on the sign for everyone to see. We haven't seen it yet, but it lights up at night, too. Pretty cool.

Chasing a Monster Brookie

When another fisherman/ a friend shows you a picture of a big fat 15" brook trout he caught and tells you where the river is, besides the spot is only 5 minutes from your house, you just have to go check it out. Pronto! That's what we did last Sunday afternoon. Carp River is no secret among local fishermen. In places the Carp gets shallow and slow, so naturally Joe was surprised to hear such large healthy brookies exist in the river. Another thing about fishing an unfamiliar spot was to figure out how to access and cross the river, tangled by branches and tall grass, taking uncertain steps.

Aside from catching a few small warm water fish, such as chubs and perch, we thought the best catch of the day might be the cool looking clouds in the sky. Then we actually caught a few brook trout, barely legal sizes. Still, it was nice to see them. Fishing is always fun, but catching makes it even more enjoyable!

It was definitely an adventure, full of unknown, mystery, and anticipation for a big catch.

A Week in Blurr

I (Kayo) had a very busy week. 10 delegates from the sister city in Japan were visiting, so I helped with translation for their morning activities plus my normal job Monday through Thursday. Yesterday I got to join their all day bus trip to Pictured Rock National Park and a cruise, which was a nice reward for my small contribution as an interpreter. The weather stayed very nice, and all delegates were wonderful. My mission is complete.
This morning it was really nice to go fishing to enjoy the quietness, though I know I made enough noise on the stream.

No fish! We could feel the breeze switching its directions as we proceeded the stream. Fish don't like the change of weather. It was a gorgeous morning in the woods nonetheless, and Joe enjoyed his last cigar.