The fishing/camping trip was great. We had a very nice group of people - 12 in all (including guides) who were all easy-going and fun to be around. I have found this to be critical for group travel. It doesn't matter for me how great the destination is, if you hate the people you're eating dinner with every day, it's a drag. This group was fun.
The weather was amazingly hot - so hot that even the fishing guides, who fish in Redding all summer long and are not impressed by such things, were jumping into the river fully clothed to cool off . Yesterday it was 117 degrees.
The strange thing is that the water temperature is only about 49 degrees. The water is comprised of snow-melt and if you put your hands or feet in the water to cool off it can be pretty shocking.
As you might imagine, when it's 117 degrees everyone in town gets on a raft to drink beer and float down the river (sounds like fun, doesn't it?). And every year the sheriff, and kindly boaters and fisherman, pluck them out of the water before they drown. Drowning is deceptively easy on the Sacramento river. The current is extremely fast, and when combined with the cold water temperature (and heat, and beer) people tend to quickly exhaust themselves. Canoes seem to be the worst, for some reason people feel safer in them and are surprised when they tip over. They do of course, all the time, and in the cold fast current it is almost impossible to right them again. At least most of the rafts are rented which means the rafters are forced to wear life vests. I'll let Xavier tell you about the time he and his buddy had to drag a 250lb woman to shore (she was too heavy to bring into the boat).
I caught some really beautiful fish this trip - all of them rainbow trout - but didn't post more than one or two photos. I figure for this crowd, if you've seen one nice fish, you've seen them all and I didn't want to start a riot or bore you to tears. If I get a good photo of me with a fish from Xav's camera I'll post it later. I know you'll all be breathless with anticipation.
My fish FAQ:
Yes I threw them all back.
Yes, if for some reason this fish died before I could liberate it, I would have eaten it because trout are damn delicious.
No they don't feel pain. Ok, they might feel pain. The jury is still out on this one. If you are from PETA and you want to argue about fish pain with me, please stop reading this post and go find someone else to argue with. I'm not accepting debate topics this week. Better, yet, go have another surprise dinner with Beyonce.
Yes, they get pretty cranky when you catch them and they have excellent flight or fight instincts.
No, they can't bite you.
If something happens and you can't get the hook out, the fish exudes an acid that dissolves the hook over time. I think this is super cool.
The more gently you hold them, the more docile they become - like many other wild creatures.
No, I can't hold them gently enough because I'm too freaking excited that I caught a fish. Whenever I am holding one, someone has to hold a net under my hand just in case.
This means, no, I can't work without a net.
No, I can't really explain why I enjoy fishing. It started off as a nice thing to do with my husband and has become something else entirely. A combination of hide and seek, trick or treat, tag and marco polo - all on a boat on a beautiful river. As long as we are someplace pretty (and the weather is nice [1]), I love fly fishing.
We traveled by drift boat, which means no engines.
If I had a rocket launcher I would get rid of all speed boats and jet skis[2] [3]. Loud engines really have a way of destroying a nice river drift. First there is the noise - like a jet engine at close range, reverberating off the water. This is followed by a wake that, if you are not paying attention, will totally dump you off the boat and into the water (see problem above). And of course it scares the hell out of the fish.
I'll make you a deal: you guys can have the big lakes if I can have the rivers and ocean flats (which you are totally ruining, by the way).
[1] I don't fly fish in the driving rain or snow. I have fly fished in the snow, and I found that I didn't like chipping the ice off my guides. Oh, and I don't really like to rough it that much. Fly fishing in the Caribbean is especially nice.
[2] If you are my friend, or simply a nice person with a speed boat or jet ski, I'm sorry and I hope we can still be friends.
[3] If you are from the FBI, I'm just kidding. I can't even kill fish.
I had a whole bunch of links to put into this post, but the insert link thingie seems to be feeling under the weather this morning and I don't have time to wait around for it.
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