Heavy lifting

     I got a chance to fish with my cousin, who is an incredible fisherman, during my Christmas break. We went down to the lower Niagara hoping to get some trout. I wanted to catch a Lake Trout as I had already caught a rainbow trout. He set me up with a rig for the lake trout, and gave me some instruction on how to catch them. He decided to try for some steelhead.

     Some background on the day. There was a snowstorm the day before, and the entire trail down (hundreds of steps) was covered in snow and ice. It was not an easy trek. Thankfully we were not the first people there as there were sets of footprints, as well as streaks were they had wiped out, to guide us. It also helps my cousin knew the area very well. Unfortunately, the wind was not cooperative either, making the water is crystal clear (I was warned ahead of time, but still wanted to go). I had gotten a rod for Christmas, and foolishly rigged it with 20lb moss green braided line to go trout fishing. I have learned since then... Not much, but some.

     Despite the less than ideal conditions, I was excited to get going. This excitement lasted quite a while. The cold started to take its toll after a while. Ice would buildup in my eyelets and prevent me from being able to reel in. I would melt this with my hands, and could barely cast after the first 2 hours.

     Just as I was starting to loose hope, my cousin hooked up with one of the most beautiful fish around here, a particularly acrobatic steelhead (rainbow trout). The steelhead was jumping all over the place and putting up a remarkable fight. He offered me a chance to reel it in, but I was intent on catching one myself.

     With some newfound inspiration, I cast out again. This time I let the current take my lure wherever the current would take it. A few minutes later my lure was almost on shore. I started to reel in, and not even two cranks in, the float sank, and I felt a ton of weight on the end of my line. It was the first time I'd ever heard my drag.

     It is incredible how quickly you warm up once a fish is hooked. My hands felt the warmest they did since I left the car. I was primed and ready to go, and so was the fish. It had a few short runs along the shoreline and then it tried to dive in shallow water. With nowhere to go, the fish was landed with the help of my cousin.

#4 Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush)- A beautiful fish from a beautiful location

         I was so ecstatic then (and still kind of am now). It was the first fish I ever caught that needed to be held with two hands. I am not sure when I will accomplish my next goal of catching a fish that needs to be held by two people, but I am hopeful it isn't too far away.