The spring thing
After shore fishing the month of February and doing very well with both the rainbows and browns, it was finally time to get the boat back out on the water once again. There was one slight problem however, my boat was all taken apart and in shambles. I had an accident in it last season and the boat was taking on water at an alarming pace. After weighing my options, I decided it was best to make an insurance claim in January. After waiting for the insurance company to assess the damages, the claim was finally settled, enabling me to go boat shopping. I was planning on buying a boat from the same company I originally bought from and was in the process of designing the layout, but due to shipping issues with motors, related to Covid, they were unable to supply me with a new boat!
I was looking all over Alberta for a replacement vessel, and after scanning the internet a few weeks, found a great new G3 boat at Alberta Marine in Nanton. I was fortunate to get approval on the loan, acquiring the new vessel early March. I drove down from Calgary early Saturday morning to sign the paperwork and then take her straight to the river for her maiden voyage. Huge thanks to everyone at Alberta Marine for making the sale and acquisition of the boat easy and hassle free.
I headed straight for the river after I picked the boat up, eager to break the motor in, casting for hungry fish along the journey. The window to fish during the day in February is short, so I wanted to get the boat in the water early!
After backing the new boat into the river at Policemans Flats, I headed downriver to put her newfound skills to the test on the boat. Sometimes its tricky to get used to casting from a boat as your target is moving, unlike when you are casting from shore. After rounding the bend several kilometers downstream, I found ideal water which was slow and deep. By this time in the trip, my casting was far and accurate. I made copious casts into the deep, slow side of the river, finally connecting with my very first fish.
I had an amazing first day out on the water and look forward to many more trips out on the new jet boat !!
~Mike
