It’s good to have a hobby. In the case of the Captain, fly fishing is no longer just a hobby, it’s … well … to use his father’s words, “an obsession.” But when you’re obsessed with something, and you do it a lot, you get to be good at it. Fishing from the beach in the fall when the cohos are hovering nearby, is one of the big thrills of the Captain’s life.
Here is a coho, thumbing his nose at the Cap, just after the line has been laid. Chances are good that this very salmon might swim near where the Cap has gently landed a fly he has tied. The coho won’t be able to help himself. He’ll snap at the fly and then wonder why he is being dragged slowly towards the shore, no matter how hard he fights to swim the other way.
But things are not always so easy. Sometimes the Cap arrives at his favourite beach to find that it is already occupied. It’s a family having a picnic. Mama Bear is near the shore, easily turning over 70+-pound rocks with one flick of her wrist, to expose little rock crabs that scurry for cover after they get over the shock of the sudden daylight. Mama Bear grunts for her two cubs to come have breakfast. See the second cub way over on the right, by the big log?
This day, the Cap putters on a little farther in his skiff to find another beach. Mama Bear can get a bit tetchy over unexpected company coming near her cubs.
The Cap gets up very early to take his place on the beach, but apparently bears get up even earlier, and since they are bigger than he is, he abides by the well-known saying, “Discretion is the better part of valor.”
September 23, 2020 at 1:49 pm
I’ve never tried Coho, but they must be dandy eating. Wait, they are a Salmon, right? Then I may have! Fish, yum, seafood, oh heck no!
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September 23, 2020 at 2:49 pm
Yes, coho is salmon, and very good it is too.
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September 23, 2020 at 2:19 pm
I didn’t see the second cub, until I read the post…he’s tiny. Wise move by The Cap!
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September 23, 2020 at 2:48 pm
Yes, I think so too. And always have a can of bear spray on your belt.
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September 23, 2020 at 4:53 pm
Definitely!
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September 23, 2020 at 3:08 pm
I’ve never been into fishing, but Mary is.
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September 23, 2020 at 4:17 pm
Living on the coast, it’s right there.
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September 24, 2020 at 7:38 am
Of course! 🙂
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September 23, 2020 at 5:26 pm
Coho. Yum! Great photos. 🙂
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September 23, 2020 at 8:32 pm
We sure like it. But I think the Cap would rather catch than eat them, and he loves eating them. (Obsessed!)
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September 23, 2020 at 8:08 pm
Hey, if the bears get their first . . . or second . . . or third . . . it’s good to find another spot. 😉
It’s good that he gets to enjoy his hobby in retirement. Do you get a lot of fresh fish meals?
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September 23, 2020 at 8:31 pm
Enough, yes. We like fish, and the Cap has fun catching them.
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September 23, 2020 at 11:55 pm
I wouldn’t want to go fishing with bears around. Nice pictures!
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September 24, 2020 at 9:08 am
I know! I feel the same, but I would love to have been there with my better camera to get pictures of the bears.
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September 24, 2020 at 9:56 am
How amazing to live with all that wildlife! Great picture of the sun on the flying line. Happy Fishing.
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September 24, 2020 at 10:04 am
That is one of Ken Thorne’s photos, used with his permission. He is a wonderful photographer.
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September 25, 2020 at 5:29 am
Big fish and mighty bears, wow. You have the wilderness right on your doorstep. Good luck for fishing!
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September 25, 2020 at 9:51 am
Lots of bears, for sure. The Captain is going to spend a few more days fishing and then it will be time to switch gears and do some chores around home, winterizing. I hope he can keep out of the way of the Mama Bear and cubs.
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September 26, 2020 at 12:14 am
Yes, as cute as the little ones look, mom will surely be very angry if you get too close to them.
Winter will surely start earlier for you than for us, isn’t it? We are living at 50° northern latitude, but since the Gulf Stream supplies Europe with heat, the cold time of winter usually does not start until the beginning of January.
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September 26, 2020 at 9:28 am
We are about the same latitude. The Canada/US border is the 49th parallel and we are just north of it, but winter for us means wind and rain, and that often starts in October. By November we could even get a skiff of snow in the hills and it gets colder from then on. We usually get a bit of snow, and then it melts in the rain (because we are on the coast) and this pattern repeats all winter.
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September 26, 2020 at 5:17 am
These photos capture the beauty of fly fishing. Good thing the Cap stayed away from mama bear!
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September 26, 2020 at 9:25 am
He has his bear spray with him, just in case, but he doesn’t seem to be as nervous about bears as I am. I love seeing them at a distance, but close up, they terrify me.
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September 27, 2020 at 6:31 am
I didn’t know there was such a thing as bear spray. Hey, he’s prepared!
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September 27, 2020 at 10:26 am
Oh, yes! I’ve been carrying a can of “Bear Guard” (pepper spray) for years when I’ve gone out for mushrooms. I wouldn’t wander around in the woods without it.
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September 27, 2020 at 1:51 pm
Good idea!
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September 27, 2020 at 2:03 pm
I hope he came home with a few given the bears and all.
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September 27, 2020 at 2:52 pm
A few, yes, thanks.
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September 28, 2020 at 8:55 am
What a fun hobby. Black bears–not too dangerous? Not like Grizzlies? I like his rule about discretion!
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September 28, 2020 at 10:28 am
Coastal black bears usually run away, except if you surprise them or if they have cubs. Grizzlies are a different story. Even the black bears on the mainland need to be treated with caution as they are more predatory, not having salmon rivers to satisfy their “hunting” needs. Until several years ago, we didn’t have grizzlies on Vancouver Island, but since the bear watching business started up on the mainland inlets across from the island, and the luring of grizzlies (illegal baiting) began, we now have the odd displaced grizzly swimming from island to island from the mainland to Vancouver Island and taking up residence here (much to my mushroom-picking chagrin).
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