After checking the Weather Network for the Sundre area forecast, I was slightly disappointed to learn that there were severe thunderstorm warnings in effect. However, fishing is fishing and I didn’t think twice about heading to my new oasis on the Red Deer River. Little did I know I was in for one intense evening of fishing.
My friend and I were heading out to meet my brother who was waiting for us at a newly found spot. We geared up for some wet weather and headed out of Sylvan Lake at around 4:30 PM. The sun was shining when we left but we could see the thunder heads building to the south.
As the drive went on, we noticed that the creeks and rivers had already started to swell with murky floodwater. Knowing how hard it is to attract fish in silt lined currents, and with the rain starting to pound on the windshield, we began to reconsider even fishing at all. But we were over half way there and we thought we would at least see how fishable the river really was.
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| A couple of beautiful Red Deer River bull trout. |
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We pulled of the road and parked the truck. The sky lit up with a bolt of lightning followed by the crackling roar of thunder. We threw our gear on, grabbed our rods and headed down the trail. The river had risen almost a metre from the previous day with the grey flooding water giving us serious doubts about our luck fishing. With the rain pouring down on us, we arrived at the first hole to meet my brother who was smiling ear to ear. Wondering how anybody could be in such a good mood at such a bad time, I then saw the reason why, he was holding a magnificent bull trout about 19-inches long.
That was enough to get our blood pumping and lift our depressed moods for the evening. We snapped a few photos and released the trout that took off like a torpedo into the speeding current. Then came the hail; it didn’t matter though, we now knew what the potential was. The bar had been set and we were now on a mission.
The sun soon broke through the clouds and the sky cleared. Cast after cast, catching nothing under four pounds, it was all we could have ever asked for. The bull trout, now considered an endangered species, was a rare catch and we could barely keep our lines in the water. It was truly a fisherman’s dream come true!
We fished until the full moon had crested the horizon and we could fish no longer. We were forced to pack it in and call it a night... and what a night it had been!
We walked to the truck on the moonlit trail and collected our thoughts on our evening experience. And we realized that all the elements were in our favour for this amazing feeding frenzy. The sudden drop in pressure caused by the storm after a long period of high pressure and clear weather could have caused the fish to become more active. The full moon and tidal forces could also have played a role in their activity. And the murky, high water actually ended up giving us an advantage. It is harder to attract fish in dirty water but on the flip side, the fish can’t see the fishermen. These elements all added up to produce an unforgettable and exhilarating evening of fishing on the Red Deer River. ■
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