Sept 25

Zinggg, the thin line spun off the reel. I could sense it more than feel it. He was there beside me, my fishing buddy. There was a fog in the air and I could sense my breath in the mist. I couldn’t see it; I started to reel in the line. The lunker was out there. I was pulling in the line, excitement building.

“How I wish, How I wish You were here,” Pink Floyd interrupted my reverie. It had felt somehow unreal. As I peeled open my eyes I realized it was. I turned my head, the alarm clock read 5:30 am. I groaned and rolled over.

Anticipation and anxiety rose inside me. I had a tour in two hours, it was time to move. Krista rolled over as well. She was headed to the gulf islands at 6:00 am. Our day began before the sun rose from its slumber. I felt the anticipation of a fishing tour and the anxiety of wanting to succeed.

The wind was moving the trees and sending the flags into a subtle frenzy. Rain drizzled down and the clouds threatened more. I headed for the launch hopeful that the weather would hold off, hopeful that we wouldn’t have to shelter from the storm. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I went to meet my guests for the day.

I was taking a lady and her father fishing; she assured me that she loved fishing and rain or shine we were going to go and try to catch a lake lunker. We launched the boat and put up the roof. My Nineteen-foot fibreglass fishing boat has a nice full roof that enabled us to shelter from the rain. The lake was calm and the air was crisp and moist, it was a good day for fishing.

Katrina was from Golden and her father was from Ontario and they came to Kelowna for some valuable father-daughter time. I felt privileged that they chose to come on a fishing trip with me. I looked forward to the day regardless of the weather.

Golden is a beautiful scenic spot in the Columbia River valley in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. I love the scenery of that valley whenever I drive down highway one. What does someone do in Golden for a living I inquired of my fishing guest? What is there to do in such a remote and rustic location?

Kat Wonders is her YouTube channel, she is a professional YouTuber.

YouTube is another new innovation in the last ten years. I am sure that no one would have ever thought that YouTube would be a way to make a living. Now many people pursue their dreams and their livelihoods connecting with people on YouTube. Kat has created her own career that has enabled her to live in an amazing place and raise her kids. I felt a sense of appreciation for her success and her fearlessness to put herself out there and succeed in the virtual world.

I also felt a kinship from her and her love of fishing. As we pulled away from the boat launch my Campion Explorer 552 didn’t sound like itself. It was not running the way I expected. Kat heard it too, she didn’t seem too worried as I turned and fired up the trolling motor.

We breathed in the beauty of the morning and started to let out a line. Patience is the biggest attribute of a good fisherperson. We sat and relaxed in the morning rains, waiting for our rods to jiggle and our pulse to race.

Then it happened.

She was watching the rod with the downrigger on it. She knew enough that sometimes the clip doesn’t release, sometimes the fish is too small. Kat called out “I think there is something there.”

She released it from the downrigger and handed her dad the rod. “Here Dad I have caught lots of fish, you bring this one in” I could tell he wasn’t certain, as he reached for the rod. I sat and watched them connect, her anticipation, his nervous excitement. Together they brought in our first fish of the day.

A nice size Kokanee came to our boat and we all celebrated their catch. I turned to Kat and asked her if she wanted to fish for Kokanee. They seemed to be biting.

She shook her head, “let’s got for big ones!”

I laughed and agreed. We continued on trolling the cliff face opposite Paul’s Tomb just north of downtown Kelowna. The weather calmed and we soaked in the moment, we shared a love of nature and a love of the lake. We shared stories and the moments passed waiting for another strike.

She saw the rod move again and said with hopeful anticipation that maybe we had another fish-on. Kat broke off the line from the downrigger and proceeded to reel it in.

This time there was nothing. So I started to release the line and let it back out. I went to fast, rushing things is not what fishing is about. A rats nest occurred in the reel, when she reeled in it was loose, then I let it out too fast and we had a mess on our hands. I guess we were fishing for Kokanee after all. I switched rods and put on a flasher and wedding band. I let out the line and handed it off to Richard, Kat’s dad. He held on to the rod and waited.

I went to work on the mess that was my reel, I tried to save it, tried to save the line. Then Richard grinned and exclaimed he had a bite. I love the feeling that occurs when someone is reeling in a fish, especially someone who doesn’t fish very often. Like little kids we all connected as he landed a little Rainbow Trout. Kat smiled and let it go, telling it to grow bigger and come back another day.

There is purity and simplicity in fishing. There is a connection with nature and each other, a release from the pressure of life. We ended our adventure by pulling our lines and finding a squaw fish had decided to take one of our lures. We released the bottom feeder and celebrated the success of the morning. The wind had increased and I fired up my Volvo Penta motor, hopeful it would run well enough to get us home. We carved through the waves and headed for the dock. I was conscious of the theme of my summer. Besides mechanical problems, it was time to shelter from the coming storm, again.

My soul, my very being felt better after spending a morning on the water. I said goodbye to my intrepid guests and journeyed home. Satisfied that I had time on the water, I felt rejuvenated by my time fishing. I will continue to do my best to stay connected with nature, to enjoy our wonderful world. I will continue to breathe in every moment I can.