9-10-03 - The predawn was amazing as our caravan rolled towards camp!

We brought up the rear...quite a site with all the SUV's ahead!

Treckin' down to the water!

We quickly fanned out...

GORGEOUS!

Unfortunately, this fish wasn't FAIR. However, at the request of a taxidermist friend I took some shots...just in case I didn't get the opportunity later.

God, Pink Salmon are beautiful!

Tim S. layin out some nice casts to relatively uninterested Chinooks.

THANK YOU to the Michigan guys who gave Tim and I a lift back to camp!

NIGHT FISHIN ROCKS! My first time doing it...if you look closely this is FAT and Chief doing a little spotting along the shore. No fish!

The Moon and Mars rise over camp.

9-10-03 - Canada, Part I - Pinks Pinks PINKS!

Waters Fished: Garden River
Fish Caught: 0 fair
Outing Date: 9-10-03
Weather: Clear & Sunny
Air Temp: 70's dropping to about 40's - 50's at night
Water Temp: Didn't Take it
Water Level: LOW
Water Color: Clear
Fish Species: Pink Salmon, Chinook Salmon
Pattern Fished: All Sorts
Pattern Color: you name it
Fishing Quality: We're too early!

Finally, almost a month after the fact, I'm sitting down to write four days worth of reports for the FAT Canada trip. They'll be short, sweet, to the point, and I"ll let the pictures do most of the talking!

We all left Bass Pro Shops in Gurnee around 7:00 PM, and drove all night. A couple quick pit stops for gas, a stretch of the legs, and by about 3:30 AM we crossed the border via the International Bridge at Sault St. Marie into Canada. I love looking at St. Mary's Rapids at night...very spooky!

It was still dark at 6:00 AM, some of us were sleeping, some restless, all waiting for the Tradin' Post to open for licenses and other goodies. Finally, probably closer to 6:30 AM, we got in and got out. Bumped into John Giuliani again which was a real treat...I was looking forward to sayin' hi since our last trip in July.

Another hour or so of driving and we made it to camp. Everyone went down to the river...we were hoping for the best but feared the worst...were there fish?

The quick answer, NO. Now, all sorts of rumors had been circulating at the time about nets blocking the river downstream on the Indians land...I still to this day have no confirmation or otherwise on this rumor. However, we did know that it hadn't rained since we were there in JULY! That's a long time to go without rain! Folks who'd been on the Garden before filled me in that water levels were very low. If you ask me, low waters and low flows would be more likely reasons for no fish.

So what to do? After setting up camp, we all went our assorted ways and started fishing. One group of us went downstream a couple miles and did some scouting...good news...we found a few chinooks right away. I ended up quickly heading downriver a few bends, ran into some anglers working their way upstream from Michigan, and found some fish grouped up in a deep oxbow.

Cast after cast, I got a lot of interest but NO STRIKES. Mostly pinks were holding in the tail end of the pool...I have all season to fish for Chinnies...bigger Lake Michigan Chinnies in WI...I was in Canada for the Pinks!

Well, Tim S ended up makin' his way down too, and we both really concentrated on this pool. NEITHER of us faired any...I ended up with 2 fouls. Using those X-Point Daiichi hooks means that once the hook is in...it's not coming out, so both fish were landed, the first photographed, and of course, with naturally-reproducing populations, ALL FISH I personally landed would be let go this trip.

After wasting just about all of our afternoon, Tim and I turned around to head back up, but everyone else was gone. LUCKY for us a couple of VERY NICE, VERY FRIENDLY MICHIGAN ANGLERS (yes, they can be nice, considerate, friendly, helpful etc..) let us hitch a ride back to camp.

After a stunning dinner we headed back out for a bit to try the night bite. One big problem though, still no fish at camp! So nightfishing was shortlived, better to turn in and wake up early!

  MP