The Afternoon Nap
By Chris Chin, Bay Comeau, Quebec, Canada
Salmon fishing in late June or early July here can be
a pretty demanding experience. Legally, one can fish
starting one hour before sunup, right up until one hour
after sunset. Let's see, on June 24th, the sun comes up
at about 04h39 and will set around 20h43. Add an hour in
the morning and another at dusk and you get over 18 hours
of fishing time!
Consider that I'll be banging on your cabin door 45 minutes
before we string up and you'll realize that you won't
be seeing that pillow for another 20 hours.
Many folks, especially on their first trip or at least
on those first few days of the season will just beat
themselves to death, fishing literally from sun up 'til
sun down. After a few days, they seem to become walking,
zombie like casting machines.
Many Salmon Guides out here actually schedule the mid day
break. They'll meet clients in the wee hours of the morning,
fish until noon. Drop the clients off at their lodging for
a rest and pick them up again to finish out the day.
On our home waters, we prefer to simply sack out somewhere
along the river. As my friends or guests will often trot
back to the cottage for lunch and a rest, I like to use
the time to scout out a pool or run, maybe tie up a few
flies or leaders, then rest a moment before starting up
for the afternoon.
I guess one could say that I'm quite adept at grabbing
a quick nap almost anywhere. There are a few sofas and
lounge chairs hidden up and down the river to stretch
out on. One can also find a nice perch on a picnic table
(Classic technique is to keep the outboard foot on the
ground to keep from accidentally rolling off of the bench).
Probably the #1 all time favourite spot to catch a
few Z's however is on the beach.
Now our beaches are often made up of grapefruit sized
river rocks. It is however quite surprising to visitors
just how comfortable you can get. (Isn't that right Jed?).
There are fewer mosquitoes on the beach too, so with a
fishing vest as a pillow and your hat brim pulled down
to cover your eyes, one can recuperate for a few minutes.
(Funny how the almost imperceptible whisper of a rise
will jolt you out of your sleep though.)
David showing excellent technique on the Caney Fork – (Photo Donna Hudnall)
So take your time and enjoy the day. After all, this is
supposed to be fun and relaxing. The native trout and
salmon have been in these waters for probably close to
10,000 years. They'll still be there in 45 minutes after
a short nap. ~ Christopher Chin - Bay Comeau, Quebec
About Chris:
Chris Chin is originally from Kamloops,
British Columbia. He has been fly fishing
on and off ever since he was 10 years old.
Chris became serious about the sport within
the last 10 years.
"I'm a forest engineer by day and part time
guide on the Ste-Marguerite River here in
central Quebec. I've been fishing this river
for about 10 years now and started guiding
about 5 years ago when the local guide's
association sort of stopped functioning."
Chris guides mostly for sea run brook trout
and about 30% of the time for Atlantic Salmon.
"I often don't even charge service fees, as
I'm more interested in promoting the river
than making cash. I like to get new comers
to realize that salmon fishing is REALLY for
anyone who cares to try it. Tradition around
here makes some of the old clan see Salmon
fishing as a sport for the rich. Today our
shore lunches are less on the cucumber sandwich
side and more toward chicken pot pie and Jack
Daniel's."
Chris is 42 years old as of this writing. He
is of Chinese origin although his parents were
born and raised in Jamaica. He has a girlfriend,
Renée. "She and her 12 year old son Vincent
started fly fishing with me in October 2002."
To learn more about the Ste-Marguerite River,
visit Christopher's
website https://pages.videotron.com/fcch/.
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