Messing with Mearns

                                       Patagonia's new sign a covey of Mearns

The million dollar question is how is the hunting in Mearns Land ?  well it depends on how you define hunting .
The Bird numbers are down from previous years  but there are birds,dry conditions have also made scenting conditions a  little on the tough side.  If you are looking for a place to run dogs, shot a few birds, enjoy the scenery and the great outdoors then you may want to consider a trip to Mearns Land, if you more concerned with  how many birds you kill then you may want to consider somewhere else.

            

                                       1year old Santa "Cruz"on point

  I have a bunch of young dogs I am working with ,so I have set  my limit at 2 birds a day as long as I am content with the find and dog work, the covey also  has to   exceed 6 birds , after all this is a "trophy bird " right ? it seems some of the other local hunters are also on the same page . The other goal I have set is that I am not going back to the same spots, so this is the year for exploration .

                                               End of the day

                                        Zane ,Covey and Roxy in action

Favorite Dry Fly Rod

I received an email  today asking advise on a small stream dry fly rod the advise given was this .
The Sage Z-Axis 81/2 foot 4 weight  IMHO is the best dry fly rod out there ,this rod can handle a large array of flies (Big foam flies to small parachutes ) it is acurate at long and short distance and presents flies  well.
The rod (all the Rods ) I own is a 4 piece travel rod so it fits underneath my rower's seat in my drift boat

I used this rod on small streams where I have to fish  streamers , nymphs and Dry flies with it ..all with no problem ,and I frequently use it as a dry fly rod while fishing from a drift boat .Because of it's medium- fast action the rod has the "backbone " to handle the wind yet  for the novice it is still very forgiving That's my top pick !

Road Warrior

Patagonia AZ
Lisa with Santa "Cruz"
Outside of Cabelas
Airing the Dogs




The trip from Cabri SK. to Patagonia AZ. takes 3 days , a lot of that time is spent solving the worlds problems via "self talk " listening to Satalite radio (a must for road trips ) airing the dogs and anticapating the next highlight of the trip .I have broken the trip down into journey legs and there hight lights .
Day 1 Cabri Sk to Dillon MT. Drive time 12 hours
Medicne Hat Alberta first Starbucks in 2 months , a grande Americano and please make it a 4 shots with a little room
Sweet Grass MT. US Customs . Clearing the confusion of being a Canadian Citizen with a US Green card driving a company truck with 15 dogs

Helena MT. a quick Starbucks stop (Now a Tall triple shot ) air dogs give Tom and Dana a call en route drool over the Missouri river .
Dillon MT. Check into the Comfort Inn feed and air dogs

Day 2
After airing dogs hit the Starbucks at the Safeway in Dillon , then non-stop to Idaho Falls where I hit the Starbucks again call Mike Haddix and meet him in Fort Hall where I air dogs and pick up Speck a male English Pointer .On the road I change stations , Outlaw Country , NPR, CNN and Fox the health care debate continues my self talk goes political as having had Health care in Canada I see nothing wrong with a Government program ,but the Republicans are against it , my dilemma is that I always voted Conservative in Canada ,yet a Government health care program is the US would be labeled as socialist by Conservatives in the US ,at the same time the Dem's don't want to address Torte reform , which should be a give in so My I tell myself that I would be an Independent in the USA.
As we get closer to Salt Lake the traffic volume increases but slows down ,seems they are always working on the roads Salt Lake City is one of those places that I can't wait to get through
We stop at the Cabela's in Lehi Utah, air dogs and go shopping leaving credit cards in the truck .
We are still on I-15 until we get south of beaver Utah then it is up and over the mountain and into Kanab Utah ,this trip we got there at 11 PM .We are 70 miles from Page AZ so I push on
Checking into the Comfort Inn at 12.30 am.
Day 3 Page Az to Patagonia AZ.
After airing the dogs I hit (you guessed it )Starbucks and start driving south to Flagstaff
I catch a few views of the Grand Canyon and realize that I am actually in Arizona ,thoughts turn to how long it would have taken to take this journey in the "old days" and How much "country " we covered going from the Northern Plains ,thru the Rockies ,into the Great Basin then down into the Sonoran Desert ,The drainage's that we crossed end up in Hudson's Bay ,The Gulf of Mexico (Missouri River) The Pacific Ocean (The Snake River ) and the Gulf of California via the Colorado River , back in the "Old Days" or prior to the Louisiana purchase France ,England and Spain all laid claim to parts of the area I drove thru .
Back to the road ,we stop in Camp Verde and air dogs hit Starbucks and gas up up ,This is it the final push to Patagonia ,we get thru Phoenix then Tucson and head south on Hwy #82 when I pull into the Alley the world's greatest wife , Lisa already has the gates open so I can back the trailer and truck into the Dog yard and unload quick hugs and kisses and we air the dogs I grab a cold Tecate ,Lisa has a glass of Red Wine toasts are made dogs are fed then it is off to the Wagon Wheel for Dinner and Drinks ... it is good to be HOME !

It's a Wrap

Our 2009 Canadian season came to an end on Nov 2nd , a last minute booking came in via DBO Client Rob Block who ventured out to Bird Camp for a couple of days of "Hunning".
Despite the Global Economic doom and gloom the shrouded the season , from a business standpoint 2009 was decent and brought us all back to the basics .More importantly
the rivers fished well the bird numbers where good and it was great visiting with both new and old clients alike ! Thanks to everyone that made it up and a big thanks to the "Gang "for all your hard work and effort !
DB

Halloween Comes Early to Columbia

For all intents and purposes, it's October in the West Kootenays. Pumpkins are in the bins at Creston. Shrubs sport salmon-colored leaves along the rivers. October Caddis fill the sky at sunset.

Octobers - otherwise known as Fall Caddis - are the caddisfly equivalent of Salmonflies. That is, huge, orange-bellied and hard to miss when they're in the air. Oh, and the big rainbows love them. When the female Octobers start dragging their behinds on the water to egg-lay, the trout take notice. Big time.

Aussies Simon and Peter discovered this firsthand the other evening. The final hour of fishing can only be described as frantic. The father-son duo lost as many big 'uns as they landed, but the ones they landed were hefty and strong.

Okay, now back to the future... It's still September, after all, and that means hoppers. Lots of them. Simon and Peter hooked some beauties on hoppers, too. Smaller Spotted Caddis are still around. In fact, the only bug missing from the Fall mix are Olives, and we'll start seeing them now that cooler weather and drizzle have arrived. Midges are about late-evenings, but why fish size 20s when you can fish Hi-vis size 8s?

Trust me. The Columbia is on fire. As in orange. We're still booking trips. Calling all Pumpkinheads... Chris

Elk & Fall - A Great Mix

It's been awhile. The reason is that the Elk River's been fishing great and we've been busy, busy. That's good. For us and for you.

Cool weather has finally arrived. October Caddis are about and orange bodies are fashionable. Baetis beckon. September is the month on the Elk and those fortunate enough to have nannies and flexible work schedules will be rewarded.

Try to get here before month's end and the national fly-fishing championships. Or be prepared to cheer and do the wave from the bank. I hear there are fan giveaways and I'm still trying to figure out if whitefish score. Vegas is setting the over-under. What fun.


Farther West, the Slocan has re-opened and is fishing well as water temperatures drop and the trout get interested. The Columbia is rounding into fall shape, which means awesome. Big 'bows on October Caddis and blue-collar caddis. BWOs. Swung streamers yield Godzillas now and then. More fun... Chris

Columbia Redeux

It's always great to see familiar faces year-to-year. It's even better when the fishing follows suit.

Keith landed a number of big rainbows last year in knee-deep water. This time was no different. More mayflies in skinny water. More L.P. Caddis patterns - visible as always - tossed through the evening and beyond. During one streak Keith hooked three big 'bows in as many casts.

We exited the water with a harvest moon hanging over the ridgeline and the first flashes of heat lightning over the distant peaks. If it gets any better please let me know when and where... Chris