Quest for the Wall - Day 3

October 13, 2011

(Post under construction - I'm in Montreal and don't have Dad's photo, but I thought I'd get most of it written)

The last day of our quest dawned wet and gray, with a southerly wind - but much warmer, a balmy 41°F as we got on the river. The three brothers each had challenged a 30-inch+ rainbow and had come away victorious. Could Dad make it a perfect foursome?

Rob and Tom fished with Gray Flytalker while Dad and Rick fished with Kate. All morning we motored from one run to the next with no sign of fish of any size. Dad was catching all kinds of fish - just little ones. Adding his first three together exceeded 30-inches, but that doesn't count. By lunchtime, Rob hand landed the only fish of size, a 27-incher from Middle Moose's Butt. Tom was fishing the spey (his new Inuit name, Shoots Line Far), but even with the added casting distance had not encountered any fish.

By early afternoon, Rick was getting frustrated. A couple bumps from small fish was all the action he had seen that day, while down on The Fingers, Dad continued to haul in the little guys, hence, his Inuit name for the day, "He Who Catches Little Ones." At least he was catching something! After beginning to doubt the black fly he'd been fishing all day, Rick finally had a bump. He gave it a little line and and was rewarded a hook-up on a fat 22-incher, large enough to be considered a fish. A few minutes later, Dad finally hooked something big. After a good fight, he brought a 27-inch rainbow to the net, not wall-worthy, but worthy nonetheless.

Just a few minutes later, Rick, fishing the black fly with a new-found confidence, saw a chrome slab roll on his fly at the bottom of the drift. Seconds later he was into his backing. Good fish! After working his way down to the boat, Kate netted a monster 30-inch rainbow.

The afternoon fishing had picked up for Rob and Tom also, who landed fish of [insert information here]. However, time was running out for Dad's quest to join his sons on the Wall. The wind began to pick up for the last hour or two of the day and raindrops fell on and off. Kate worked hard to walk the boat where Dad could fish the prime water, but none were to be found. As the day closed, we fished one last run at The Islands, where Rick brought a few 12 to 20-inchers to hand under the watchful eye of this bald eagle. But no more big fish.
As we headed back to the lodge, we considered the good news - three from our party of four had succeeded in the Quest for the Wall. The better news - Dad will have an excuse to return to Bear Trail Lodge and continue his quest for the Wall.