Fish Stories

My passion for fishing started at a young age. My two younger brothers and I would go and cast at whatever would bite. The lake that our family cottage is on unfortunately does not have many fish, so we were excited when our dad said he had rented a spot on a beautiful nearby lake. Exploring new waters can be both gratifying and challenging. We didn’t know when we arrived, but that weekend would turn out to be more on the challenging side!  After a few days of hard fishing and nothing to show for it, we started to get discouraged....

by Erik Barrus   For many folks whether they have been fly fishing for a week or 30 years there are a few places around the world that are considered a Mecca of sorts for fly fishing. Runnin’ down browns on the South Island in New Zealand, hucking streamers for logs in the rivers of Patagonia in South America, nearly walking on top of salmon while trying to land a big ol’ buck during the silver runs in Alaska; these are a few of the places that people dream about.  I have had the great fortune to take in the...

By Michel Carrier   I was five or six years old when my grandmother Irene took my brother and me down to Sisson Brook, a small stream located a few steps from the camp my grandfather had built in the forest of northwestern New Brunswick. Arriving on site, "Mémére" proceeded to cut down a few alder branches , to which she attached about fifteen feet of black fishing line (quite similar to the backing I now have on my salmon reel). It couldn't have been a more basic or rustic fishing rod, but we were in awe that she could...

by Erik Barrus My favorite place to fly fish in Montana is a small mountain lake called Cabin Lake up the west fork of Thompson River. The lake is rife with native westslope cutthroats that fight like you stole their lunch money. I have been going to this lake at least once a year since I was sixteen years old. I have camped there many times; seeing bears, mountain goats, moose, and mule deer. It truly is my favorite place in the world. Having lived my whole life in northwestern Montana I grew up in the woods; hiking barely-worn trails,...

Photo by Dylan Rakes    In this edition of Fishing Stories we have 2 poems by Thomas Watts dedicated to one of our favourite fish, the brook trout!   Untitled #1    No wonder brook trout are dearly loved & so they should be.   In a world with diminishing light, they remain shrouded in mystery & magic, their sides and backs are adorned with galaxies of distant stars & constellations.    Truly the last of the remaining magical beasts, that this world has to offer.   - Thomas Watts   Untitled #2   When my eyes grow tired of...