The Perfect Cast By Chris Chin, Bay Comeau, Quebec, Canada
Cabin fever hit 102 degrees this morning as I have the Flu.
Trying to hammer out a recommendation for the Brass has me
cooped up in the office, so my little sanctuary is an occasional
day dream back to days on the river.
When I rewind through past seasons, I realize that those “perfect”
mental pictures of casts and presentations are all of other folks
I have had the pleasure of fishing with. Actually, those few times
that I’ve seen videos of myself fishing or casting, the experience
was thoroughly disheartening.
A few standout images that are burned into my brain are those
close-in casts. Like technical casts. Out and up, then curved
under the overhanging branches to that lurking bruiser. Also:
Boris roll casting an unimaginable length of line out past
the boulders on the #9 to a pod of sea run brookies.Jed, lofting an overhead cast into a blown out salmon river
on an overcast day.André J shooting two thirds of his line on one double hauled
cast to a deep holding trout at dusk on the #23.Joe M. dropping a #6 dry on MY side of the river from 85 feet
away. I ask him to drop it about 6 inches farther downstream
next time…and he does.
There are countless other images whirling about somewhere in
my memory, but the flu meds are sort of blurring them for now.
The last image I can really come up with is of a dear friend.
On a quick stop-over for water this past fall, I ran into
Serge Vincent and Paul B. on the #23. As Serge was diagnosed
with ALS a year ago, his health and mobility has declined
rapidly. I knew they were there, so I scooted down the bank
to say hi. Serge was sitting on a folding stool and casting
ten feet out to a school of trout.
His casts were methodical and controlled. They were perfect.
In the fading light Paul mentioned that they should get a move
on soon. Serge wished for a few more casts.
I had to run, but as I looked back down to the pool, Serge
was still there getting in “one last cast.” A perfect cast.
If you would like to know more about Serge J. Vincent, he has
set up a small web site at:
www.sjv-sla.qc.ca/home.php
~ 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,
René. “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/.
Originally published January 29th, 2007 on Fly Anglers Online by Chris Chin.