fishing post #2 - a trip upstream

on one of the last days of the fishing season, i decided to try a little adventure and travel up one of the streams that feeds our river - it was a stunning afternoon to do so. i got the bob's special all loaded up and ready to launch (note the high water, this is when the river was blocked from entering the ocean - you can read all about it in kymber's post "take a walk down the beach with us and why the river was so backed up!".



and out into the framboise river i go!



my destination is marked in red "here" - you'll have to look at the pic full size!


time to do a little trolling on the way... in a canoe you ask?


yep, in a canoe! i paddle on the right side the whole time with a steady j-stroke and anchor the rod under my right foot and above the left rim of the boot on my waders so that the rod won't bang off the gunwale and chip the carbon fibre shaft. waders will be coming in handy later ;-)



okay now i am close to my destination so i have fun peeling in around a reed bed that is covered by the high water, foot and a half deep, no problem for a canoe!!



stunning pic of the entry pint to the stream!


and further up the stream i go, around the bend comes the first challenge..



but before that, here is a pic from behind, not the river anymore to be sure!


ahhh, the first challenge, ripply rapids, very rocky and shallow so i disembark and pull the canoe along..


now i am back in the water, but you can see that there are more disembarks ahead.. i'm having a blast!

trees overhanging and land i'm sure most people never see..


this shot is blurry but i had to show y'all the maple that makes a complete arch over the stream, had to duck for this one!


paused at the gravel bar to soak in the beauty of it all, this is not a well traveled area at all, no paths to the stream and the only way to get here would be to canoe up the stream... there aren't a lot of canoes in cape breton! (oh yeah, caught a few trout in the pool to the right)


more gorgeous stream to traverse, i'm a famous coureur des bois! (well, in my own head anyway)



just past that rock is where i turned around, it was starting to get dark..

i caught a LOT of these tiny brown trout. i kept this one as he was badly hooked. i thought they were all parr (yearlings) because of the markings, but when i cleaned him he was full of sperm. i think they are all stunted or a weird midget type of trout. i have research to do.


on the way back i let the canoe go first in the shallow sections, holding on with a rope and letting the current do it's thing.

back on the river - a nice shot of where i had just been, was nearly pitch black by the time i got back to fm!!



hope you enjoyed a trip up a little-known stream. i will be scouting it for deer tracks next summer before hunting season!

cheers!