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Bulltrout Trip Is Becoming An Annual Trip


Garhan

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Once again I will be going on a 16 km journey on a southern Alberta Bull Trout stream and again will be walking past all the great cutthroat fishing. This year it should be a little less stressful, because I am in better shape. So hopefully this time it will only be a 10-12 hour journey. But more weight will be added to the back pack as I will be packing extra gear with the cameras this year.

Last year this was 14 hours and I was so pooped out I planned on staying the night in the bush about 4 miles upstream from the pullout point. I just love this one way trip as the vistas are spectacular, the canyon we enter is cliff steep, shaley and gorgeous. My fishing buddy for this trip is 71 this year and spent the winter on the elliptical and I know he is in better condition than I am. But I am up for the challenge. No way I will let an old guy out walk me on this trip, but he will probably catch a bucket load of more Bull Trout. But thats what mentors are for to teach and to keep me straight and focused. My hat at the end of the day always tips towards Festus's vigour, enthusiasm and ability.

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I will carry a few extra pounds of your gear..;-)

 

LOL, take a number Jim. This one is special. But I will pst pictures and maybe videos if I ever learn how to edit that stuff.

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I have a number in mind..lol. I look forward to the pics then.

 

 

Also I don't know tons about video editing yet but am learning more all the time and have a good program. Coffee with a chaser and show you what little bit i know when time works out.

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I have a number in mind..lol. I look forward to the pics then.

 

 

Also I don't know tons about video editing yet but am learning more all the time and have a good program. Coffee with a chaser and show you what little bit i know when time works out.

 

Sorry Jim, not this time. But I would like to take you down their maybe a week or 2 later in the year if that works for you.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well it looks like I wont be going again this year on this particular trip. Broke my wrist on the last one. But what a great day we had anyway. The last 6km was very long.Things to add to the survival kit;

 

1. 60 feet of 5/8" rope

2. Refill Bottle with super strong Tylenol.

3. Get a more advanced first aid kit. A sling would have been handy and a splint.

 

 

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But this Cutty was a great surprise to me and it made my day. It is around 3.5 to 4 pounds.

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Not everything survives this ride through the Forbidden Valley. All the scattered bones should have been a clue that where along the trail.

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This is the outcrop I fell off of when the shale bed gave way. Rule #1. Do not trust any vegetation when rock climbing.....lol. The pool is 15 plus feet deep with good undercurrents, so it would not be a good swim. About a half an hour after the fall I was in need of some pain killers. Festus gave me a bag with some pills in it. I took two and complained to him that they were not doing a good job. He grabbed the bag and gave me two more, but they were smaller and different from the first two larger pink pills I had taken earlier. I asked him about the larger pink one. He said they were Tums. No wonder my stomach was feeling good....lol

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...WOW...that is nice looking country...some very nice looking waters as well...I can see why you venture out this area...if you ever get tired of fishing ( whenever that will happen), one can just sit and take in the vista...pretty country...thanks for sharing...

 

...nasty looking hand wound :dr: ...did you take a tumble down one of the inclines or the slippery looking rocks...or did one of them big ole bullies get even http://forum.nlft.org/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.png

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...WOW...that is nice looking country...some very nice looking waters as well...I can see why you venture out this area...if you ever get tired of fishing ( whenever that will happen), one can just sit and take in the vista...pretty country...thanks for sharing...

 

...nasty looking hand wound :dr: ...did you take a tumble down one of the inclines or the slippery looking rocks...or did one of them big ole bullies get even http://forum.nlft.org/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.png

 

I fell off a rock face I was negotiating to get around that last deep pool. Shale gave way and so did both the bushes I grabbed as I was falling. The cuts are shale scraps but the wrist is broken. What else would a guy expect after free falling 10-12 feet over the edge onto more shale…..lol. But I will be going back for the vistas for-sure.

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I will carry a few extra pounds of your gear..;-)

 

LOL, take a number Jim. This one is special. But I will pst pictures and maybe videos if I ever learn how to edit that stuff.

 

Um mm Jim I think I'm in line before you.. ;) he he.

Gary; the pictures are so beautiful, nice and peacful...minus the blood shed LOL!!.. reminds me of another place I had been to in my younger days.

Maybe my Shi-Fu and I will condition for it and make the trek out and enjoy some time learning from one another.

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Yes it is very nice Kristi, glad you liked the scenery. I hope that you and your shi-fu will be able to do such a trip together. It is very peaceful, fulfilling and has great rewards. You never know you just might want to stay.

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Yes it is very nice Kristi, glad you liked the scenery. I hope that you and your shi-fu will be able to do such a trip together. It is very peaceful, fulfilling and has great rewards. You never know you just might want to stay.

 

From what I see already Gary, I know I want to stay out. I just don't know if my Shi-Fu could handle a stay out there, he is kinda old. :P And I wouldn't want him to get hurt. Like I said we would condition ourselves for a trek like that..

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How bad was the break, Gary? I hope it heals well. Can you cast with your other hand?

 

I think I know that culvert. I started fishing right there, and for a couple miles upstream. I did okay, but nothing like that! Maybe I'm just not adventurous enough. Then again... :)

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How bad was the break, Gary? I hope it heals well. Can you cast with your other hand?

 

I think I know that culvert. I started fishing right there, and for a couple miles upstream. I did okay, but nothing like that! Maybe I'm just not adventurous enough. Then again... :)

 

Two fractures at the wrist off the thumb and pointer finger. Did way worse in college football a few times. It is healing well enough that I will be fishing later this month or early next month. I can cast OK with the left hand but it still will be an issue bring in larger fish. The last five fish I hooked into on this trip were after the break and I eventually had to switch to my left hand to cast. But had to switch back to my right as all my reels are right hand retrieve. It was ok stripping line9painfully) but the wrist still couldn't take any pressure or resistance stress. So none of them were landed. But it was a hoot anyway.

 

We walk through the culverts instead of going over top. Usually easier walk and it brings you out to where we start anyway. I hope you didn't fish up stream as that water is closed year round.

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Gary great looking country and fantastic pictures. What were you trying to do bungie jumping without the bungie. Which wrist was it. I'm glad you got your tummy feeling better but I'm thinking it wasn't the tummy you were really concerned about at the time.

That sure is a hog of a Cutt.

At least you caught fish before the accident.

 

Talk to you soon

 

Tight lines Always

Dennis S

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Gary, sorry to hear about your accident. It looks like a great trip though despite that part. Also, that sure looks like Dr. Bulltrout, aka Burt from Calgary, who's holding the bull trout with the chewed off gill plate. Terry

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Gary, sorry to hear about your accident. It looks like a great trip though despite that part. Also, that sure looks like Dr. Bulltrout, aka Burt from Calgary, who's holding the bull trout with the chewed off gill plate. Terry

 

Exactly who it is, and one of my best buddies.

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