Compiled by Adam Fornear
Last month I floated the Brule River with a buddy from Duluth, and brought along the fishing gear. The mission was to catch at least one steelhead trout…that’s all…just one. I met my buddy Scott at the landing on a late Saturday afternoon, we both agreed that we would probably be getting off the water in the dark and we were both cool with that. After loading up the 17’ Old Town Penobscot (a classic wilderness river canoe) with three fly rods, tackle bags, and an extra lifejacket, we began searching for the best runs to hunt down some steelhead. For the next two hours we would jump mergansers, bufflehead, mallards and wood ducks. So sweet.
The routine was simple. Find a deep run with a definable seam of current butted up against some flat stagnant water. Get out of the boat, drift some flies through the run and push down stream. It was a beautiful evening to be on the water (let’s be honest though, it’s always great to be on the water). Three hours later we finally came across some juicy looking steelhead water. We parked the canoe, drifted some flies and soon thereafter Scott hooked up with a nice steelhead! The battle was on. The steely ran up stream, downstream and across the river. The rod was doubled over and the drag was screaming at times. I’m pretty sure that if you were outside that day, at that moment you probably heard the two of us hootin’ and hollerin’…It was awesome! Finally, Scott was able to land the fish, grabbed one photo and quickly released him back into the river.
Fornear’s got flow like the Brule after a heavy rain! Nice Fish!
The sun was getting real low in the sky and we’re still hootin’ and hollerin’, so we thought we should keep on pushing downstream. There we were, paddling pretty fast through some good current, laughing and happy as can be that we landed a steely when all of a sudden, the canoe comes to an abrupt stop and actually pushes back up stream! We both fell to the floor of the canoe, Scott yells “I dropped my paddle!” and I respond with, “I did too!” There we were in some moving water and our only two paddles were drifting downstream faster than the boat. We immediately start paddling with our hands, still laughing hysterically, trying to catch those paddles. Finally, we caught one paddle and then the next, and then we started to tell each other what happened in between catching our breath from laughing so hard. So, somehow, we slammed directly into a rock in the middle of the river putting a huge dent in the canoe. The funny thing was, I had three extra paddles in my truck. We both always paddle with extra paddles. That’s what you do. Not to brag but we are both accomplished paddlers, Scott is one of those guys who goes over waterfalls in kayaks and I’m a trip director for a pretty sweet camp. We always bring extra paddles…. And this night we didn’t. But next time and every time after, we will always have an extra.
While a tad bit embarrassing, I wouldn’t change a thing about paddling the Brule that night. It was a beautiful fish; the perfect rock and belly laughs that could be heard around the world. Like I said earlier, it’s always great to get out on the water.
Even though The Arrowhead is going into hibernation for the next three months, please keep on sending any news of the camp family. Thank you for your contributions, and I look forward to sharing updates with you after the summer. Summer’s coming…See you soon!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW Manny Ruiz (New York) is playing baseball for two different teams this spring. Pitching for one and shortstop for the other.
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE RECENT ENGAGEMENTS go to Nicky Laskin (L.A.’99-’03,’05-‘09) and Lindsay Theirl (L.A.).
WEDDING CONGRATULATIONS go to Max Sapiro (Denver/Park City ’02-’07,’09-‘12) and Heather Cook (Park City).