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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Gone Fishing

Fishing for TIBS.


I recently observed that watching minnows at the Cooling Boulder made me want to go fishing, so today  we went.   Fishing, that is.  You can go too, it's "free fishing week" in Ontario, no license even required. 
 Taking time off from working in the garden, doing shop work, cutting grass, and trimming weeds in the summer heat is a good idea anyway.   Off we went, fishing rods and all.

  T.T.T and E.T.S. happily stayed home  because when it's over 70F, it's too hot in the van for children, pets OR  pups.



One of our favorite fishing-spots is on the Kaministiquia (Kam-in-ist-ick qwaw)   river. That's where we're headed. You can call it the Kaministiquia (Kam-in-ist-eh-kwee-ya) too, or
if you're in a real hurry to get fishing, you can just call it the "Kam" for short if you like, we do.  It spells simpler
Remember the Kam,  the river that runs through Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park and features the beautiful  "Niagara of the North" ?  




Up the highway,  off on a side road, and down a trail.  That's how you get to the old fishin' hole.  Fishing on the Kam River, you can see some rapids.  We're fishing a quiet area from a barren rock outcrop of  the Precambrian Shield, the most stable piece of rock on earth.  Here we are fishing on the Kam River.

Fishing the Kaministiquia River  



 

See the rapids in the distance?

Was that a bite?  Nope.
Ancient Rocks & modern bubbles

 
 .....Was that another bite?  Nope.  Nary a bite, but we keep trying.
"Patience is good" says the muse.


                                                                   

Meantime,
 --we  studied ancient rocks and modern bubbles,








Canada Geese inspecting the Rapids





-Watched a  gaggle of Canada Geese in a line, (we think they were playing follow the leader, touring the rapids )
 (*There were quite a few more geese in the line, but the photo was taken with zoom lens  across the bay! )





Amazing clouds promising rain









-Warily watched huge clouds that were promising rain,




The Moth Drying On the Rocks after a Harrowing Rescue







-Rescued a drowning moth from all the hungry fish -- using a new,  exciting and innovative " fishing rod  extend-an-arm-to- rescue-a-drowning- bug" technique,







 River Foam with Sky







--Studied artistic river foam patterns mixed with reflections of sky, 











*Solitary  fishing with the Muse





And fished endlessly while the muse chatted with the photographer and  Mother Nature.
Wait!  Was that a bite?
...er.....Nope.



Bottom line, we  did not catch anything except  50 yards of deserted  fishing line with a  still-new sharp and shiny weedless lure  attached. That ought to remind someone to attach their line to the fishing-reel before casting the lure to the deep.   I had to smile about that one. We always bring home any discarded fishing line or other plastic trash discovered because it is a hazard to wildlife.
On this wonderful fishing expedition, "Rock fish",  "Grass fish",  "Snag fish",  and "Rotten Stick fish" were biting with every cast.
Whales, sharks,  800 lb. sturgeon, old boots  and alligators were not biting.  I'm just kidding about the alligators.

No wonder the fish weren't biting; there was not a mosquito to be seen. Not a blackfly in sight either! A perfect day for fishing it was. We even saw some fish that weren't taking our bait. 

A happy couple fishing next to us  had curious luck.  Somehow, they managed to catch a few TIBS. What's that you say?   "Tossed'im backs" of course!
  • a daddy Carp about 7 or 8 lbs  (Carp looks kind of  like a big sucker ) T.I.B. 
  • a Smallmouth bass about 6 inches long  not much bigger than the lure. T.I.B.
  • a  tiny Great Northern pike about 7 inches long, with a lot of teeth.  T.I.B.
  • a minnow-lookalike about 4" long ) T.I.B.
  • weeds, snags, and a lot of laughs!   (S.W.U.)  (Shared with us!) 
  •  What was the muse  using for bait?  Let's see...Solitude? Fresh Air? Happiness? Laughter?  It seems so.  We tried everything.  It's all well-intentioned sportsmanship.  We want the fish  to be happy and grow bigger before we catch'em and wear'em out hauling'em out of the water merely for a TIBS photo op.   Now that's sportsmanship.

Those huge clouds soon turned to rain. Raindrops started to fall. They were so big they made bubbles the size of a silver dollar hitting mirror-smooth water,  undoubtedly scaring the rest of the biters away.
We got wet.  No matter. We're pre-shrunk.  Without a bite, we  called it a day Wouldn't you?

Besides, in hindsight,  I wasn't skunked,  I'm up one lure. Well, not quite, it made up for the one lost in a fight with a sunken log though.
No matter.  Who wanted fish anyway?  .....er....we did....er...that was the idea.... 
So.....we had fish for dinner.  The supermarket kind.
   The great outdoors. Fishing the Kaministiquia River. 'Ya gotta love it no matter how you say it. 
  No wonder we like camping better.  I'm headed over to JustCampingOut  to see what Jim Bessey, our professional camping guru-- has to say about it.
I wonder if he, Lin, Nick,  and Layla the camping pup had fish for dinner, --or was it bacon'n beans sizzling on the old campfire by the trusty old Shasta? Let's go find out. 


Is that incoming I hear?



*all photo credits copyright 2012  W.L. Kukkee

19 comments:

  1. No catch????RK you needed to stay there in the rain, that's when they really bite!!! Next time eh? Sorry no broiled fish dinner. Would have been yummy with a glass of vino while listening to the rain. Ahhhhh.... VK

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    1. Oh, yew, Vk, that's what should have transpired, the fish DO bite when it's raining, but that's what happens on the wrong end of the day. It would have been delicious with some vino and good company, no doubt! "Cooked to perfection on the grill next time"...haha! ":) Thanks for dropping in! ~R

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  2. Your story reminded me of the one and only time I went fishing with a friend.
    I borrowed a line from her and we sat at a river's edge. Some 20 minutes later it was showtime. I got such a fright of the vibrating line that I promptly let go of it. The fish + line disappeared, never to be seen again.
    That was the last time she asked me along to go fishing.

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    1. Hi Conny, that would have been funny. Imagine if you had actually seen the fish....you might have gone ballistic...":) Thanks for sharing that cute story. ":) ~R

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    2. Ahhhh fishing ya gotta love it..even if you come home without them LOL

      One of my favorite quotes:

      "The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive, but attainable & a perpetual series of occasions for hope" John Buchan

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    3. hi Olivia! Truer words were never spoken. No matter what else is occurring in life, --when fishing, there is always hope, no matter how 'slim' the possibility is! You DO have to love it a lot when the mosquitoes are biting but the fish are not! ":)
      Nice to see you, thanks for commenting! ~R

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  3. Adventures in fishing without catching anything. I think I see sunshine in that.

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    1. Mike, around here, if I only went fishing to catch fish, it would be a sorry sport indeed. Great observation, there is much sunshine and peace of mind to be found in the great outdoors. A 'quality experience' comes to mind. Thanks for making that observation! ~R

      pst..er....a fish or two would help...":))

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  4. Well there you go, now I know what TIBS is! What a neat fishing week you have there, no license required! And you got some one-of-a-kind photos along the way. An Incoming to remember from Raymond :)

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    1. hi Christyb, we have a lot of TIBS, too small to eat! Some of the fishing types don't like specific species too. Once a year, we have our 'no licence required' week for family fishing, it is a great idea that should spread North-America wide! Not everyone can afford a fishing license, and some people only GO once a year so why buy a license for one day? Makes sense to me. Thanks for dropping in to share, Christyb! ":)

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  5. So jealous! I haven't gotten to go fishing at all this Summer. Although I think before we go on our Honeymoon we must get our licenses. I wouldn't mind fishing the Snake River after we finish our whitewater rafting.

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    1. Storm, you go whitewater rafting? That would be fun! I'm sure the rapids shown in my pics here would be 'pretty exciting' rafting to say the least! What kind of fish can you catch in the Snake River? We have pickerel (walleyes) pike, trout, smallmouth and largemout bass, suckers, carp, pumkinseeds(sunfish), perch, and the occasional catfish, -and the rare -and huge- sturgeon.

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    2. STORM! I missed that! You're getting married and going on a honeymoon too? Congratulations! (it only took a while to sink in....*sigh) May you and your chosen have a very long and happy life. Stay safe, enjoy the whitewater rafting,...and catch some fish too! ":) ~R

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  6. What a beautiful river and waterfall! Who needs to catch fish on such a lovely day? very nice photos too, make up for lack of fish, I'm sure. I'd call that a successful trip.

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    1. Yes, Glory! It is a beautiful river. I could not agree with you more, the tranquility, beautiful weather, fresh air, sunshine, lack of mosquitoes and beautiful photos more than make up for lack of fish! Even the rain that finally fell was beautiful, very large drops that made huge bubbles on the still water. Thank you for making that observation ":) ~R

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  7. Fabbo pix, Ray! Some days, I have no qualms about catching nothing except some peace and quiet. You had some cool things to watch and beautiful scenery ;)
    Red.

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    1. hi Red, I really have no qualms about catching nothing any day either, there are always interesting things to look at, pictures to take and so forth, but sometimes.....yup.... I WOULD like a fish. ":) Wendy does a wonderful job on her pics, doesn't she? Thanks for commenting! ~R

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  8. Ha ha sounds wonderful!

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    1. haha..it WAS wonderful! Hopefully next time I'll catch a fish and make it tasty too! ":) ~R

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