To BC and Back!

This is my first Journal entry, so hopefully it goes well lol.  I will start by saying that my July was a whirlwind month, but well worth it!  I started off the month by catching some nice walleye on an outing to Calling Lake and Baptiste.  Now the one pictured below is not as big as Andy's 13+ pounder that he landed on the North Saskatchewan River a few years ago, but it put one hell of a bend on a light rod.  If its body had filled out for the size of its head, I can't imagine what it would have weighed!  Either way, it was a great way to start the month.

Nice Calling Lake Walleye

The next weekend, the guys and I headed out to Central Alberta for a Stag in my honour.  We did some fishing for Browns and Brookies on a creek, and drank a whole lotta liquor back at camp.  We had some great neighbours at camp that would keep bringing beer if Andy, Steve, and Nick kept playing tunes on the guitar too, which is always a bonus...the only problem was it was Boxer beer.  By the way, is that what everyone in Central AB drinks?  It sure seemed like it!  All in all we had a great time out in the woods, and it was a great way to send me off to marriage...which was the next thing to happen in July!

After getting married on July 23, my wife Tara and I went off camping to Southern BC.  Our first stop was the West Kootenays where we fished a small tributary creek.  Tara always seems to have great luck out fishing, and that day was no exception!  She caught all species of trout in the creek (Brook, Cutthroat, and Rainbow).  I landed Brookies and Cutts.  We were allowed to keep 2 trout each on that creek.  Being primarily a catch and release fisherman, I normally don't keep trout often; but when there are 10-12" Brookies in the creek, we were definitely keeping those for a fry!

After a couple of relaxing days on the stream, we headed to Champion Lakes near Trail, BC.  The drive was scenic as we took the winding road past Creston, the ferry across Kootenay Lake, and the hills past Castlegar.  Arriving at Champion Lakes, the weather was fantastic.  We did some floating around the lake on blow-up matress-type things.  Tara had a great idea to do some fly fishing off of them, so I said: "Sure, if you catch some, then I will do the same!".  Within minutes she had a few rainbows on, and I was out there joining her for some fun action on the 5 wt and intermediate sinking line.

The rest of the trip went well, with daily temperatures exceeding 30C, and no rain to ruin a great vacation.  It would take me awhile to write on the rest of the trip, so instead, I will post a few more pictures here for your enjoyment.  We still have a few more awesome trips planned for the year, and hopefully more great pictures come from them!