Never pass up an opportunity to make a difference
Once in a life time opportunity ?.
I left the office an hour early today to get some phone calls done on the way home. Being a true 21st century road warrior, I know the cellulaire service will cut out when I cross a certain bridge so I pulled into the boat ramp on the north side.
As I finished I was listening to some provincial desk pilot explain to me all the reasons that he COULD?NT resolve a problem I noticed a young lady and what appeared to be her 10-12 year old daughter sort of fly fishing off the boat ramp.
The more I watched, the less I listened to the fellow on the other end of the line. These two ladies could cast about 20 ft about half the time. I was intrigued.
Cutting the blabber baby off with an excuse (tell me how you are going to do something, not what you can?t do! ), I climbed out of the truck to have a look.
I passed by their car (attached to a tent trailer) and made sure their permits were in full view. The canoe was missing from the roof rack, so the scenario wasn?t hard to figure out.
I introduced myself and asked if they were having any luck. Sure ?nuff, they had been abandoned by hubby and the older son who were over a few hundred yards hauling in walleyes with spinning gear. They had pulled out the fly rods to give it a try. (they'd been WATCHING dad and son fishing for a couple years now.)
Before my divorce, these were my home waters. A lake 46 miles across, fed by 5-6 major rivers, ? all producing a nice population of land locked Atlantics, Pike, Walleyes and Perch.
I had a box of flies in the truck, so I lengthened the leader on the young girl?s rig and tied on a nice Royal Wulff (#14). She said she couldn?t even see it, (and I thought of Mike M?s flies http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif).
I told her she wouldn?t need to see the fly, just approximately where it was drifting. I moved the two of them to the other side of the bridge and set the younger of the dynamic duo out to cast to a hole where I knew the Land Locks like to hide (waiting for water levels to come down so they can make their way up to the spawning beds about 15 miles upstream).
Three short casts later and her offering disappears in a splashy explosion that only Salmo salar can make. The bulky bull turned and set the hook all by itself then turned for open water.
Lordy thank you that the shop that set up her trout rod had put on quite a bit of backing. The look on here face was worth missing 3 phone calls as it took her another full 8-10 minutes to literally muscle the salmon back to the beach.
I wish I could have been there to see the look on hubbies face when he finds out that they?ll be having fresh salmon for supper http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif
I wonder if I made a difference today ?
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Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
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