Boo

...well I couldn't even scare up a fish today.

That's the bad news...

The good news is we survived the Hurricane!!

Yeah!

Terrible storm however...the worst I can remember.
Damage all around us but our place stayed relatively unscathed.

Trees uprooted all over the city and just about everybody's fence is destroyed..but ours.

 :o)

Apparently Sarnia got hit the worst out of any part of Ontario. They sent some poor schmuck of a  TV reporter journalist to do some Gonzo piece down under the bridges..the winds were ripping through about 125 km per hour at the time....
..And I though my job sucked!!

We bit of water in the basement but we've hurt worse and considering some poor Hydro electric repairman lost his life today trying to make a repair here in Brights Grove I would say we were very lucky.

Poor bastard..

What a gig these type of people have...heading out into the worst possible conditions to try and set shit right.

Damn..really tragic.

I did fish today...rolled the dice and they came up snake eyes.

I'd been watching the graph and the little river was rising albeit slowly...thought maybe just maybe...but it was a fools hope and the river was fucked...

Better days ahead but I would like to get in there again before the deer hunt next week.

Not too cool walking around in there with the inbred heavy ordnance..

Good chance that I die in there someday...and I really like the idea of that to be honest...but not to cool  to die with a shot gun blast from Billy Bob.

A heart attack will do just nicely thank you very much.

Wasn't a wasted day. Did a little Recon action and a nice walk through the woods is always cool.

The tribs looked fishable but the big water is a couple days away at least.

Back in tomorrow then off for three...in for two then off for seven   ...

Happy Halloween..the kids had fun despite the crumby weather..

Fucking Hurricane!!!

Frankenstorm can suck it..

Ya you heard me bitch!!!

A week ago I had looked forward to spending today tying up some more wondrous Michigan salmon eggs in preparation for this week.

I was all a-giddy over floating those morsels through the seams of my favourite flows which would be by that time all primed up and ready to roll..

Instead I am home with Avery...who has a cold...and filling my time with Mr. Potato head....sigh...

Fishing??

Not going to happen...

I'd been clinging to a false hope of maybe false prophecy from the weather people but oddly enough it looks like this time they are going to be right...or at least right enough to screw me...DAMMIT!!!

The river hasn't blown yet but I am sure it is going to and my new hope lies on Friday...but even that might be a pipe dream.

To top it all off I am having a very hard time even salvaging what time I have off with anything even remotely productive.

I am a single-minded oaf of a human and right now all I can think about is fishing...yet.. I have accepted this gig with my friend Torrie which is coming up in a week or so...

FUSION

I need to practice....I have lots of time to do so now...but I have absolutely no interest in playing the guitar...

FUCKING FISH,....FUCKING HURRICANE....

I am hoping that when we finally sit down and start playing the creativity will just start...but to be honest I really don't give a shit...

I should not have accepted this gig.

I have no desire to display myself in this fashion and it is smack dab right in the middle of Steelhead season...dumb dumb dumb...

Maybe I cursed myself??

Wouldn't be the first time.

Bit cranky here.

Collateral Joy

The fall Steelhead Season is here and that is very good news...

 The blood pressure starts to drop..good exercise ...fresh air...it is just plain fun.


 I look forward to this all year round and in mid July it feels like it is never going to get here.

 To be honest...and this is really sad come to think of it...I usual forget just how much I enjoy it until I get that first pull.. The rod starts thumpin...water explodes...I feel a strange sort of muscle spasm in my face..Hmm ...oh yeah ..they call that a smile.

:o)

 At one point on out last trip I was fighting a fish and getting owned and I just put my head back and started to laugh uncontrollably ....felt really good...really good.

 It is a great tradition...one that I am almost ready to bring Owen into. That snuck up on me...but I don't want to wait too long.

 Tradition..

 Part of our tradition on the return home is to stop in at the Mennonite Market on the old highway... OHHH what a find!!!

 The pork these people turn out ( sorry to my muslim friends ) makes me believe in god...well almost.. 

 Just got finished some on the BBQ..Smoked Pork chops...Smoked back bacon..eh..and the classic and kids favourite honey garlic sausages...unreal..

The WEBER is TEETs BTW!!!!!!

 Its nothing like the shit you find in the grocery store...worth the trip all on their own really...but it is part of the pkg this time of year and the whole crew become fiends for it.

 The smoked Pork chops..oh boy...it is like a giant chunk of cured bacon...I am stuffed but am salivating just thinking about it..

 Oh shit ...I almost forgot about the butter tarts and pies... Just a gift...

 Another fall gift.. Thank god its time..

HOT

Today was like a summer day, which is normally  a great treat this time of year...but not when you are Steelheading.

DSCF1089 from Gene Norland on Vimeo.

By the time we got back to the car I was drenched with sweat.

The hikes we usually take to locate these fish are tough enough without throwing in hot sun and temps.

Today was a great day that started off slow.

The rivers are still not quite there yet and we had decided to return to the spot where we had the success earlier in the week.

It is hard to repeat great trips ,...and I have become a little superstitious about trying.

Not much going on early but later in the day our patience paid off .

Things are supposed to cool off considerably this week with lots of rain in the forecast. Things should really start to get rolling then.

I am off Mon/Tues/Wed and will surely get out again unless things blow out...

Either way it looks like things are starting to go...

Saw some cool things today besides a curve in my fishing rod.

Bald Eagles, Garter Snakes...beautiful fall colours...

It is great to get out.   ....so great...essential really..but I am fucking exhausted.

..also...all is right with the world again...as in Morin fished circles around me and I spent a considerable amount of time pulling my fishing line out of the trees.

Sigh...NORLAND!!!

River Cure

HI!!

Well work has a been a real bummer lately and I needed a day on the water.

Morin and I decided to force the issue on our Huron Tribs.

The home river is showing signs but needs another couple of splashes before it starts to really become home again. It was a no go today and will be until some more rainfall.

On a whim we decided to branch out a bit and fish some water neither of us had ever explored on a river neither of us are very fond of.

We've always a had great success when we leave our comfort zone and today was no exception.

Sunday...low water..early on in the season and no previous experience had me raising very little in terms of expectations.

The surprise in store for us was nothing short of surreal.

No pressure..beautiful weather..nice water feet away from where we parked and a bunch of hot October fish help to us usher in the Fall Steelhead Season ...and more importantly for me ..to help me leave works bullshit behind me and realize once again what is really important.

Beautiful colours out there today...just beautiful.

Healthy strong fish ...success on new water to be filed away as one of our plan B options when things get stale.

It is amazing just how far up those fish will go in a very short period of time...even with what little water we've had fall on us.

Amazing.

Lots of jumps and even the small fish fought like stink.

Good on em..

If we get some rain this week like the weather man is calling for I may just have to kick er into high gear.

Good call Morin..and thx for the fish and chips...you POS...and the roe...and the BBQ advice..and the splitshot...bla bla fucking bla...why do hang out with me again??

LOL

I Made The Paper

...Like most of our current media it is almost completely inaccurate...

Makes me look like I almost know what I am doing out there.

NOPE.

lol...

The Border guard that was shot in BC...who was unarmed btw...is going to make a full recovery.

Thank God.


It is amazing how much something like this can shake you up...even though really I am surprised it doesn't happen more often.

The bullet struck her in the neck and then exited her shoulder at the back missing all vital organs.

Nothing short of a miracle really

Took the kids to the animal farm today and looks like Morin and I will will be fishing somewhere on Sunday.

There has been a bit of rain and the temps are right but the fav river still has risen to her glory....come on BABY!!!!

BREAKING: Canadian Border Guard Shot at Peace Arch

Trade Off

It pays to have friends in Low places..

LOL

Thx brother

Why???...Morin ...WHY???

Owen and I made the news yesterday...(well he did....)

The race was featured just before the 'Cat Show' coverage on CTV London...lol

The guy that Owen lost too is in the Orange...lol...

The dude on the far right that looks like a T-Bear is actually carrying 130 lbs of coins that were donated to the charity...
Nuts!!

They couldn't just write him a cheque?

On a Lighter Note

I crossed one off my bucket list today....but it damn near killed me...

I had been wanting to compete in an organized run.

LOL

This is actually funny because I am not much of a runner ...however...I have been running. In fact I really enjoy it.
It keeps me from a heart attack and allows me to drink beer guilt free.

It also gives me a good half hour of me time twice a week. Just me...my music and my thoughts...

Well...and the pain.

Also, Owen has really inspired me.

He loves running...and that little mFer can fly.

Owen and Ella..( Ella for the first time) competed in the city wide (Dogan) Cross Country competition on Saturday.
I booked the first four hours of my shift off so I could watch.

Each division had about 100 kids competing...and it is kind of funny to watch them take off across the field together..friggin chaos.

Ella did very well for her first try finishing right around the middle of the pack at 49th place.

Owen...sigh...Owen got second.... but it was one helluva race with the third place runner coming in almost a minute behind.

There are a few kids in the city that give him a challenge and this one kid had his number on Saturday.

Owen appears to be a distance runner and in the shorter races (2.25 km) the bigger kids can hang with him and sometimes out-kick him at the end..(sometimes!!)...but I could tell that if the race had gone another km...Owen would have crushed him.

He was disappointed...he wanted to win..and that is a good thing..but he is getting faster...and without making an excuse for him the kid that did win had a considerable size advantage...( Damned Norland Genetics!!!)

That was yesterday....

Today we both competed in a 5 km run in London Ontario to raise money for kids with disabilities. It was a beautiful run along the Thames River with great colours and fresh air.

Owen killed....

The only person that beat him ...or was even close to him was a 6 ft 6" adult from England who ..I could tell... was a little disturbed at how close he came to losing to an 11 year old Wunderkind.

The big fella beat Owen by only 20 seconds and Owen finished with a time of 20 mins 12 seconds...LOL

HE'S 11!!!!...

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-run-5k-under-twenty-minutes-4522961.html

Most the other adults that got smoked by him couldn't believe their eyes.

Very proud...

Dear old Dad rolled in at 33 mins.....sigh....

At least I did it without stopping...or dying..

Time for a Beer.