Rock Island Fish Camp.

[Mahigeer]

Rock Island Fish Camp.


Still Sunday…….

I arrived at the camp around 6:15 PM. My “driving” made it possible to get there before dark, as I intended.

I was greeted by Dave Jr. and when asked “how are you”, I related my anxiety filled thoughts about the signage.
He was concerned and later in the week he took care of it.

A delicious spaghetti diner and salad was awaiting me. All was well with the world.


1-I am here at last. Let the fun begin.


I was told that a group of (21) anglers had left that morning, and that I had the camp to myself for a few days.


2-I believe the name came from the several rocky islands on the lake.




3-A small rainbow greeted me upon arrival.



4-A Kamloops trout has just broken the surface water feeding on an insect. A slight drizzle is happening too.



5-The rainbow got more visible later.



6-There was a fairly new built “washroom” building with shower facilities. Two are for men and one for ladies and staff. In Canada, bathrooms are called washrooms. Eyy.






7-The interior of the dining room; where all of the meals were served.






8-One of the three dogs that were on duty at all times.




9-Later in the week he caught a rabbit.



10-My cabin was named “RAY LING”………..




11-………can you guess why?



12-This is inside of my cabin. I chose the American plan, which included meals. However, other gusts that were from nearby towns prepared their own meals.
The water had to be boiled for at least for five minutes. I only made Persian tea in my cabin.







13-I chose this bed next to the window since when I first got to the cabin, it was hot. Later I found out it was the least comfortable bed in the cabin!
I should have done the Goldilocks test.



14-Back of my cabin.



15-This was my view of the main lake from my seat in the dining room during the meals. Not too shabby, right?



16-One of the several log cabins that were in the camp.



17-There was a dock with free rowing boats for the guests on the main lake.




18-It must been raining farther up, that a small rainbow showed up in the sky.



19-Grandfather in the blue shirt with son and the granddaughter, who own the camp.


Along with Melissa, who prepared the excellent meals, these were the hosts with the most. They made sure all my needs were met and some.

Rock Island Fish Camp--- http://rockislandfishingcamp.com/index.html



Monday, July 18, 2016


We had some rain the night before, and made everything look fresh and clean.

A father and daughter came to stay for four nights, but fished different lakes as I. It was nice talking to them.


20-There will be many pictures of lake/s in this report.





21-Rowing on the Rock Island Lake. The camp in the distance.




22-Although no picture will convey the feeling of being there, it is the best next thing.





23-The fish smoker cabinet. It seems it had seen many hours of smoking.



24-The yellow bottom was indication of less depth from the distance.




There was a power generator that ran from 6:30 PM to about 10:30 PM each night. There was one light in my cabin, and no outlets. The chargers were plugged in at the dining room to charge various batteries.
Once the generator was shut off, it was unbelievably quite. The same quite was experienced during the day while I was on the different lakes.

With exception of occasional loon song and the whisper of the electric motor there were no other sounds.




I took a rowboat out all day without an electric motor and spent the whole day on the main lake.
I used a Mepps lure on a spinning rod and setup three fly rods. I caught a nice trout with the lure, but the hook was barbless and the fish got loose right before landing.

Later I caught one with the fly rod.

25- My first catch of the trip. A Kamloops trout. A wild native spices.



It was not easy to row all day, so during the rest of the trip, I rented the motor at $20.00 CD per day.

Tired but contented, I was at the dinner table promptly at 6:00 PM after the bell rang.
Each day at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM promptly the bell would ring to let the camp know food is being served.
During the last three days of the trip, I would take the motor boat out and troll for trout after dinner. It did not get dark till about 9:00 PM. It was a very productive fishing.
I even did some dry fly fishing since there were so many fish rising to the surface. However, perhaps due to my choice of fly, I only hooked and lost one fish.


26-The food was five stars every day. On the upper right hand is a Turkish appetizer. I took the ingredients and emailed the recipe to her.
I was going to show her how to make it. She had already made some perfectly by dinner time.



27-Even the deserts were all homemade.



28-It is time to rest and contemplate about the past few days while getting mesmerized by the flames.



29-To your health.


Mosquitos were not in the cabin to bother me as I kept the door closed. Outside, as long as I was enjoying a Cuban rejects I was immune to the bugs.




Tuesday, July 19, 2016


30-Next morning this delicious breakfast was waiting for me at the dining hall.



31-Every morning the ingredients to make a sack lunch was provided, so I did not have to go back to the lodge for lunch.


Since I was alone in the camp and no other guests to look after, Dave Jr. was able drive me 20 miles to another lake. It was a rainy day, but that was not going to stop me from fishing.
We set up the pickup time at 4:00 PM and Dave left. About 10 minutes later, I noticed that I had forgotten to wear my wrist watch. Since it was rainy and cloudy day, sun would not be useful to approximate the time either.


32-This was type of the trail area that one had to negotiate to get to another lake.



33-The trails were marked with color ribbons which were very helpful.




34-One of my best items that I took was a hair net that kept the bugs away. I should have worn my gloves as well. I got many bites on my hands, though usually mosquitos do not attack me.



35-After of about 40 minutes of carrying stuff though a muddy trail, I finally saw the lake through the trees and was happy.



Upon arrival at the lake I saw a rowboat in the water, but no ores in it. Well, I had some choices, none of which were great.
Fish the shore until it is time to go home, or just hike back 20 miles plus the length of the trail.
Then I decided to look around, and Walla….I found the ores under a tree. Hurray.
Now what to do about the time keeping? Then it occurred to me that my digital camera records the time of a picture when it is taken. Fantastic.
Things are looking good except the rain.

So I started to row and fish. I caught one fish with the lure and two with a green leach pattern fly.

36-This clamp and rod holder was also a very useful item to have there.



37-This was the second lake that I fished, called Copper Lake. It rained all day until it was time to go home.








38-Although my dream of fishing from a canoe was not realized since it was not practical, I got to see one.



39-My first fish caught at the Copper Lake, British Columbia, Canada.



40-I pumped the stomach of most fish that I caught and tried to match the hatch.



41-Rain on the camera lens has made some of the pictures not the best.



42-Weather got better as it got later in the day.








43-Even though this lake was very isolated and remote, I did not see any gnomes, but saw some possible homes for them!



44-I was cold, wet and tired of rowing and sitting, so I got out to have lunch and stretch my legs. However, it was better to row to keep warm.



45-Later I caught more fish, but did not keep any.



46-Lovely flora.



47-I decided to walk the road toward the camp to intercept Dave, who had dropped me off and was coming to pick me up.



48-On the way I encountered some barriers. Too bad they were not ripe for picking.



49-Upon arriving at the camp a delicious dinner as usual was waiting for me.



50-One of the dogs who knew how to make you feel that you have to feed him.



I started fire in the wood stove/heater and hung all the wet stuff in front of it to dry. The fire made the cabin warm a toasty all night.



TO BE CONTINUED

[jorluivil]

I'm Speechless

OK, maybe not speechless.

This place looks amazing