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Paul Brandt's Lifestyle Section (Fishing)
Paul was recently asked to help with National Fishing Week. Here's an article he wrote, special to Sun Media...
PAUL BRANDT
Special to Sun Media
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE FISHING.
The word itself conjures up a lot of different
ideas, from tossing a worm and
bobber over a pier to presenting a handtied
fly made with surgical precision
along a bubbling seam in a glacial torrent.
For me, it’s always been about that
“undiscovered country”; uncharted
waters, the adventure of new earth, sky
and a patch of water that hasn’t been
disturbed for some time.
It’s about spending the day with a
friend who you’re comfortable enough
with not to need to say a word, and yet,
it’s about him rolling his eyes as he wanders
alone upstream as you tell him about
the one that got away. It’s camaraderie,
worship and solitude all rolled into one.
It’s about the wild. I love to fly fish
for trout in the delicate streams of the
Crowsnest more than almost anything,
but there was one trip to the North that
I’ll never forget for as long as I live.
My father and I boarded the plane
anticipating a great trip to a beautiful
lodge on Knee Lake and, of course,
some amazing fishing.
I had been asked to join Bob Izumi
on his Real Fishing Show, and I was honoured,
flattered and pretty much just
plain excited. We were headed to “rip
a lip,” as a good friend of mine from
Memphis used to say on days when we
would go bass fishing in Tennessee.
Bob’s promise of beautiful scenery,
huge walleye and monster pike were
steady on my mind. For the first few
days I did get into some very large
pike. Sight-fishing for pike in shallow
bays right after the spawn has to be
some of the most fun I’ve had while
fishing. When you hit it at the right
time the action is non-stop, and I could
have quit there and been quite satisfied.
But thankfully, we stayed long enough
to break out the fly rod. I had yet to
hook that elusive “trophy” pike and I
didn’t want to jump back on the float
plane for the last time
quite yet.
Armed with a graphite leader and my
“Trophy Tamer” fly — designed by
guide and friend Ryan Suffron — we
searched for shadows cruising the
depths to send our flies to, hoping that
once they’d sunk a bit the shadows
would turn, strike and spring to life.
The thrill of the chase as the large
white and red fly danced through the
water just out of reach enough to tease
these slough-sharks was pure joy.
Watching the “shoulders” of these
great fish as they plowed through the
crystal clear water, I couldn’t help but
think we’d happened upon a very special
place — the type of place that I was
glad I had the opportunity to share with
my dad, and that I hoped to share with
my own children someday.
The day produced seven trophy pike
on the fly for me and a lifetime of
memories … the longest of which was
48 inches.
Visit www.paulbrandt.com to see video and hear music from the Juno-awarded Country Recording of the Year, “Risk.” Paul Brandt
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