Season's Reflections

Fall is a bitter sweet time in my little corner of East Idaho.  On the one hand there is so much to do outdoors that there is never enough time to do it all.  On the other hand is the lingering notion that winter is almost upon us, and while there is still much to do outside, it is not the same.  Regrettably, my fly rod ends up being stored until April, or whenever the ice breaks and the temperatures warm up.  I have often thought about what I can do during the winter to pass the time and get ready for the spring.

I know many men tie flies.  I used to do that in my younger days, but with flies being relatively cheap and time the precious commodity that it is, I rarely tie my own.  What is interesting, though, is how fly tying has caught on my two of my sons.  I took Will (age 10) and Matt (age 7) to an outdoor expo last year where a seasoned fly tyer was volunteering his time to teach kids the art of fly tying.  My boys loved it!  Even my 5 year old daughter wanted to join in on the action.

Ever since that experience, my kids have been very excited to tie their own creative versions of flies they see in the catalogs I get.  So as I prepare to put my rod away for the coming winter, I will pause and reflect that this is not a time to dread, but rather a time where I can sit with my kids and give them one-on-one attention while the snow falls.  Then by april they will be begging me to get out of the house, and if I am lucky, they will want to come too.

Fishlander Pontoons End of Season Blow Out Sale

Fishlander Pontoons and Custom Tackle is having their 1st ever End of Season Blow Out SALE. Buy as a Christmas Gift or save it for the spring. Sale starts today while quantities last.

9' Egret Introductory Price - $ 539.99 End of Season Blow Out SALE - $439.99
9' Heron Introductory Price - $479.99 End of Season Blow Out SALE - $379.99
9' Osprey Introductory Price - $569.99 End of Season Blow Out SALE- $469.99
9' Hawk Introductory Price - $649.99 End of Season Blow Out SALE- $549.99

Check our Website for Boat Specs - www.fishlanderpontoons.com

SALE pricing will not be reflected on the webstore.

9' Egret - $439.99

9' Hawk - $549.99

9' Heron - $379.99

9' Osprey - $469.99

Email us at admin@fishlanderpontoons.com with the model you would like to purchase and we can take the order over the phone. Shipping to is only $75 anywhere in the continental United States and Canada. Visa and Mastercard accepted.

Fly Fishing on Hosli and Pennask Lake Part 2

It's not very comfortable sleeping in the truck. We wake up at about 6am to start our day. We brushed, we washed, put the tender and the belly boat away and packed up to make Pennask by 10am. We were about 1.5 hours away from Pennask Lake.

There is one thing that is missing from the forestry roads - signs. Every road leading out of the site looked exactly the same. We didn't want to go back the same way we came because of the many obstacles that we faced coming in. Bill remembered another way so we decide that is the way we were going. 

We meet a huge puddle so we go around it. We run into a fallen tree so we chopped through it down with a hatchet. We then end up in even worse terrain. We had to go back to where we started. So we reverse in 4 low. It was actually easier going in reverse than it was going forward.

It took us about 2 hours to get out of the forestry road towards the main highway. We were both exhausted but were glad that the forestry road was behind us.

The directions I received from the Internet were un-clear. There were no street signs in those forestry roads. There were nobody around. So we follow the directions as best we could. We end up driving all the way up a mountain. The view was spectacular. To be able to see lake after lake and tree after tree, it was nature at its best.

It was definitely the wrong way. We back track and get back to the starting point. We try it again and found ourselves further and further away from where we think the lake is. My cell phone was jumping in and out of service so it was no help.

Bill all of sudden stops and runs out of the truck. He finds a mushroom on the side of the road. He tells me that in his country, these mushrooms were very rare and taste amazing. It makes a great schnitzel. As we drive on, we find many more of these mushrooms. So we continue on and picked about 8 lbs of these things.

We were getting a little bit impatient. Yes, the mushrooms were fun to pick and Yes, the day was beautiful. But we want to go fishing and meet these fly fishermen that could be potential clients. We have a box full of goodies to show and a few prizes to raffle off.

I give Chris a call to get some better directions. We try and try and finally after a few more hours, we get to the road where it leads to the lake. We thought it would be an easy ride but boy we were wrong. We thought the road leading to Hosli Lake was tough, the road to Pennask was even more treacherous. It was down hill leading to the lake on a side of a mountain. Huge puddles, rocks, tree trunks and fallen branches were scattered through a downward descent for about 900 metres or so.

We finally make it. It's about 130pm in the afternoon. We meet the people of the Lonely Loons Fly fishing Club and showed our goods. We go some really good responses from our products. I wished we had the pontoon boats. We ended up chatting it up for about 45 minutes before I was offered to try this man made tender. It looked great. Bill wasn't feeling very well so he decided to stay in the truck to rest while I fished.

Fishing on Pennask was fun. There were so many fish in that lake. They were very small though. Most of the fish were caught earlier on but there were many fish jumping all around me. As this is my second time fly fishing, I only caught one. It was on a Buick 52 dry fly. Only a 7 inch rainbow. Oh well. It was fun none the less.

As it was getting late, we decide to get the draw over with. We gave away a pair of polarized sunglasses, a medium sized fly box and a pair of Digital Video Recording Sunglasses.

As the day draws to a close, we decide to head back to Vancouver. This trip definitely inspired us to Think Adventure. 

Fly Fishing on Hosli and Pennask Lake Part 1

The Adventures of Bill and Joe

Pennask and Hosli Part 1

We were invited to the Lonely Loons Fly Fishing Club event at Pennask Lake at the end of July.  Chris Mapson was our host and he was very eager to meet us. We left Burnaby at 330am Saturday Morning hoping to get to our first destination, Hosli Lake. We plan to camp out 1 night and head to Pennask Lake by 9am Sunday Morning. We were using the BC back roads maps and located Hosli Lake. It looked pretty straight forward and it even mentions that the lake was 2 wheel drive accessible.  Because our shipment of pontoon boats was 1 week behind, we had no choice but to bring a belly boat and a tender. 

I was looking forward to this trip for a long time. Bill tells me stories about how large the trout he has caught at Hosli Lake and how amazing fishing can be.  The drive was very smooth. The weather was great, as there was not a single cloud in the sky. It’s great to be outdoors in the early summer.

After about 4 hours of driving, we decide to stop by the Roche Lake Resort to drop off some of our brochures to the owner. The resort was very busy because of a Wedding that was booked for the afternoon.  The owner didn’t have too much time to speak with us but accepted the brochures and business cards. The fishing, I was told, was amazing and 3-4lb rainbows have been pulled out on parts of the large lake. We then head on to Hosli.

I have never heard of Hosli Lake. Apparently, it is one of thousands of remote lakes in BC. As we turn into the forestry service road that leads towards the lake, I was thinking that we will make it to the lake in good time so we can have lots of time fishing.  Boy was I wrong. The road was treacherous. I haven’t been on such a bumpy and unforgiving, road before.  We faced challenge after challenge. There were large rocks, big boulders, and troublesome branches to clear. There were huge pot holes, giant puddles and unbelievable drop offs that made driving a nightmare. I had to get out a few times to help Bill navigate through some troublesome obstacles. Ruby (the name of Bill’s truck) did an amazing job. She got roughed up a little bit with some scratches on her body and a couple of bent skid plates but nothing too serious. We took the wrong turn and had to drive backwards to get to the right path.

After about 1.5 hours of crawling through the horrid forestry service back roads, we get to Hosli Lake. I would have to say that using the word serenity to describe the setting is an understatement.  With the exception of a few ATVs and motorbikes roaring in the back ground, the peacefulness of the lake was like a pleasant dream. There was not a person in sight; there were risers all over the lake and a few sudden unexpected shrills of a loon. The loon will prove to haunt Bill for a very long time.

Getting ready to fish Hosli Lake

We get some energy by having some beef jerky and get setup for a day of fishing. It’s now about noon and we are looking forward to a day of fishing. There are some clouds overhead with the sun peaking in and out from them. I set out on the tender with a small 40 thrust trolling motor and head out. A tender is not the most comfortable boat you can be on but I manage. 

As a beginner fly fisherman, casting the line is a bit of a challenge. I am using floating line with a sinking tip. I try different flies to see if the fish will bite. I find that my approach and my presentation of the fly is not to par. I think I am scaring the fish. I try trolling with a leach but that doesn't work either. Fish on!

It wasn't me. Bill is wrestling with a massive rainbow. I am very excited so I b-line it towards his direction.  He keeps yelling, while fighting the fish, that this is one of the largest rainbow he has ever caught. The smile on his face was like a little child opening his first present on Christmas morning. I see the fish. It was massive. It was about 10lbs. The fish surfaces and then suddenly, the loon pop up beside Bill. Bill yells at the loon and swears at it but all the noise was futile. The loon dives and spears the fish. The fish was bigger than he was. Bill’s disappointment was echoed by his loud screams of profanity.

Luckily, Bill recorded the whole ordeal with his Tigon Vision Sunglasses. It's really a dandy device. It records in High Definition and the picture quality is amazing. No more, reaching for the camera or relying on somebody else to record the moment.

It's about 3 o'clock now. I am frustrated to a point where I needed to get some food and some rest. Being on the tender for long periods of time is very uncomfortable. As I head back, I hear Bill yelling again. He got himself another Rainbow. I zip towards him to see what he has caught. It was a 4 pounder. Not as big as the one that got away but still a good size fish. As he was landing it, the loon was lurking and dove for the fish again. This time he failed and Bill got to land a very good catch.

As I watch him in envy, I decide to do a few more casts and head back to shore. It was getting dark now. 2 more fish were caught and Bill comes back to shore to get ready for dark.

In a remote setting like Hosli, there is no artificial light anywhere. Gazing into the sky you will find all the details the Milky Way  has to offer to the naked eye. It is absolutely stunning. It makes me think of how small and insignificant we are in this universe and how there are billions upon billions of galaxies with each galaxy with billions of stars.

We build a fire and try to keep warm. We didn't bring a tent so we slept in the Truck . We had a couple of sleeping bags and we were soon snoring away. 

How I Became Hooked

My oldest son recently turned ten and asked for a fly rod for his birthday.  Naturally I was overjoyed at this and had fun picking out a rod and reel combo for him to use.  In the process, I started to remember how I got my start in fly fishing.  Unlike my son, my father was not a fly fisherman.  In fact, growing up we always teased my father about his inability to catch a fish.  He just couldn't do it.  So whatever fishing knowledge I have came from my grandpa.  When I asked him about fly fishing, he was more than up for teaching me the basics.

Grandpa lived (and still does) in Maryland, which was about a day's drive from my childhood home in Ohio. During a summer visit, he pulled out his old fly rod and taught me the basics of casting in his backyard.  I literally stood on his back porch for hours practicing my cast.  10-1-10, over and over.  Occasionally he would come outside and make some corrections to my technique, but I was enthralled by the rhythm and cadence of casting.  I envisioned monster rainbows sipping dry flies from the surface of the lawn and by the end of the evening, I felt I had perfected casting.  Clearly, I was a a teenager at the time!

The next day we headed into the mountains where I could try my hand at catching fish on a fly.  The water was clear and cool and I was immediately taken by how I could see the trout darting around the riffles and pools.  I tied on a dry fly and began to cast.  Unlike Grandpa's backyard, the stream was covered by a canopy of branches which seemed to attract my fly.  Over and over I would have to pause and untangle my fly.  Grandpa was content to leave me to learn by trial and error as he methodically worked the pools up and down the stream.  Although it was many years ago, I remember finding a deep pool and looking down at the rainbows lying near a steep embankment.  i would cast my fly near them, but they did not budge.  And I was hooked.  For some reason, the notion that this must be the hardest form of fishing made me want to succeed all the more.

I was skunked that day, though Grandpa was not.  That Christmas I received my first fly rod, a Cortland.  I took that fly rod all over south western Ohio catching bluegills and a few small bass here and there.  Later, it moved west with me as I began college and eventually settled in Idaho, though by that time I had already replaced that rod with something newer.  Now, I have the good fortune to pass this tradition along to my son, who will hopefully have the good fortune of seeing large trout mock his attempts at presenting a dry fly.