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After flyfishing…
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Reeling
in Rainbows
Beginner's luck at fly-fishing
Text and photography by Anita Draycott
I've got hurtin' songs on the radio and mud on my windshield.
I'm deep in cowboy country at Douglas Lake Ranch, near Kamloops.
B.C. We're talking big country here. Douglas Lake Ranch, Canada's
largest, covers half a million acres and sustains about 22,000 head
of cattle.
But I didn't come for the cows. I came for the famous, feisty Kamloops
Rainbow trout and my first attempt at fly fishing. Douglas Lake
Ranch has eleven private lakes and two of them, Minnie and Stony,
are considered trophy lakes. To say you snagged some rainbows here
is like bragging that you played The Old Course at St. Andrews,
or aced someone at Wimbleton's centre court.
My guru is 23-year old Tyler Bateson who seems a tad young to have
the title, fly master. But Tyler's been fly-fishing in this neck
of the woods ever since he can remember and he knows his stuff.
"On a good day in May or June, you can pull in 40 or 50 fish, some
weighing up to eight pounds," he assures me. We're standing on the
deck outside Stoney Lake Lodge and I'm getting my first casting
lesson. It's going to take some practice before my casts resemble
anything like those in A River Runs Through It.
"Casting is all about rhythm and timing," says Tyler, whose graceful
loops are landing exactly where he wants them. "Women are often
better than men because they don't try to muscle the reel. One of
the best casters I've ever seen was a four year-old girl." Before
heading down to the dock, Tyler puts on his shades. "Never go fishing
without sunglasses to protect your eyes," he says. "I've had hooks
in just about every part of my body. Fortunately, for both anglers
and rainbows there's a no-barb hook policy at Douglas Lake. There's
also a catch-and-release policy so you take home only your memories
and perhaps a photo of the big one.
A serious fly-fisher wouldn't even put a line in the water until
he or she had studied the lake and turned over some rocks to see
what bugs were in season, Tyler informs me. To be successful at
this sport, you have to be a bit of an entomologist and biologist.
Fortunately for me, Tyler has done his research. Today the fish
are swimming deep so all we have to do is troll, no fancy casting
required. Tyler heads the electric-powered boat out toward a small
island where the rainbows were biting yesterday.
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The church at Douglas
Lake |
I've got our lunch hamper, Tyler's got his gray plastic briefcase
containing over 1,000 hand-tied flies. The flies are miniature works
of art with intriguing names like damsel nymph, girdle bugs, pregnant
shrimp, egg-sucking leach and ice cream cone. Apparently, there
are two classifications: the realistic ones that resemble eggs,
larvae or bugs in various stages of development and the flashy attractors
intended to antagonize the trout and make them snap at them. Today,
it seems, is an attractor day so Tyler recommends I start with a
red wooly bugger. It's red and silver and looks like a scrap from
a disco dress. After about fifteen minutes, Tyler's graphite reel
bends dramatically. He's got one. It gives him a good fight and
eventually he nets it and brings it into the boat. Out comes the
barbless hook. From his multi-pocketed vest Tyler pulls out a mini
turkey baster for pumping out his catch's stomach to study what
it has ingested. He squirts the contents onto the bottom of the
boot. (This seemingly painless procedure isn't as objectionable
to either me or the fish as you might expect.) Seems this fellow
hasn't had much to eat lately, so we'll stick with the flashy ties.
Tyler suggests I try my luck with a new one, an olive green, bead
headed wooly bugger. It works. There's a tug on my line. Tyler instructs
me to keep the rod tip up and reel in fast. As the fish gets closer
to the boat it seems to get a shot of adrenaline and takes a dive
underneath. Overhead a giant bald eagle surveys the action. Now
Tyler's got a bite. This is exhilarating. After much splashing and
laughing, we manage to land them both. Mine, I might add, was the
larger of the two, weighing about three pounds. We took the appropriate
"brag" photos and then released our catch. Over the course of about
two hours, we landed five trout and counted about four more that
got away.
Now that I've tried fly-fishing there'll be no more lures or live
bait for me. Give me more action and less mess. No squishy worms
to thread on a hook and no fish to gut are fine by me. For a novice,
catching a few fish was a thrill. But I can imagine the real passion
comes when you've studied feeding habits, tied the perfect fly,
made a graceful cast and outsmarted the fish. The sport can be as
simple or complex as you make it.
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Flymaster Tyler
Bateson at Douglas Lake |
Back at the lodge, some guests were having a pre-dinner soak in
the hot tub. I snuggled onto the leather sofa in front of the massive
stone fireplace and became engrossed in some old ranch ledgers dating
back to 1889. "A side of bacon to Old Sophie, tobacco to the Indian,
moccasins and blankets to Young Sophie, a bag of flour to the Chinaman…
" Politically correct they were not. Ranch life over a hundred years
ago must have been tough. Not so for its guests today. Stoney Lodge
prides itself on its cuisine and its selection of Okanagan Valley
boutique wines. Robert, the lodge manager, will happily recommend
the ideal vino to complement the homemade ravioli stuffed with wild
mushrooms and the mustard-crusted rack of lamb. Perhaps a dessert
wine to round off the chocolate mousse? This is my kind of roughing
it.
I said my goodnights and hit the sack early. Tomorrow, bright and
early, Tyler is taking me to the much-coveted Minnie Lake where
the fishing is supposed to be so good Tyler swears he's seen three
rainbows jump straight into a boat. How's that for a tall tale?
Can't wait to tell you about the big one that didn't get away.
When you go
A working cattle ranch since 1884, Douglas Lake recently opened
inaugurated fly-fishing and riding holidays. The variety of accommodations
includes cabins, ranch houses, RV and tent camps, yurts and the
Stoney Lake Lodge. Rates per night vary from $16.50 for a campsite
to $289 for the fly fishing package, including all meals, room and
fishing, at Stoney Lake Lodge. You can also go on trail rides or
tour the Home Ranch, including the feed mill, calving barn, general
store and cowboy cookhouse. For more information call 1-800-663-4838
or visit www.douglaslake.com
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