Jan 07

The river is my church.

Lately I have been fishing the river more than usual! Often times, I find solace near water when times are stressful. For me, even standing near water gives me great comfort and the water always seems to ease my stressors. During these challenging times in life, I find myself standing on the rivers edge watching the birds overhead; normally crows or the odd Bald Eagle catching flight, gliding on the strong winter breeze. I find my problems vanish away here, seemingly into mid-air as my thoughts drift away towards the fish. What lure I will start to use and why. What color of lure should I grab first for the water conditions? What speed of retrieve should I use for the current water conditions? The more I think about these things, the less I think about whatever problems I may have currently. I find great comfort in that, even if I don’t catch any fish. It’s like the river just magically takes it all away!

Lately, the weather has been amazing which has enabled me to get out more often this month (December.) Normally the weather is on the minus side of the thermostat, and open water fishing on the Bow River only happens during a chinook. This year has been exceptionally mild, and I have been landing some amazing fish once again, fishing inner city Calgary.

We are so fortunate to have such a valuable resource in the Bow River running right through our beautiful city. Where many folks must drive an hour, or several hours to fish, I only have to drive ten minutes to epic trout fishing! It’s a blessing my happy place is close to home; where I can go and reflect on life, make important decisions and be at inner peace no matter what curveballs life throws at me. Most often times, the fish are just the bonus, just being near the river, the sound of the moving water brings my copious joy and deep inner peace.

Where do you go when life gets tough. Where is your happy place where you seek answers or peace? Feel free to leave a comment on the post here.

Thank you,

~Mike

Dec 25

Merry merry Christmas

To all my friends and followers of the Bow River Blog and the Robertson Tackle Lure Co, we wish you all a blessed and Merry Christmas this year.

Huge thank you for all your support and we appreciate you very much.

May you all have a wonderful festive season

~Mike

Nov 19

Kindness is free

This is Tanner. He was minding his own business when I happened to pass him on the Bow River. He was chucking spoons and was not getting much trout action!

I asked him if he ever fished with crank-baits before?? He said “no not really”. I asked him if he wanted to use some of my lures to try, which he happily replied “sure sounds amazing”.

I gladly gave him a Dreamsicle to try first. He was like “you sure man, really”. I’m VERY sure and I took the time to explain the techniques of the retrieve and even tied his hook up for him, showing him my favorite knot!

Was not long after he sent that lure down into the river he struck gold. Shortly after his gear failed on a cast and the lure was sent sailing across the river with no line attached

Help yourself to more and he gladly tied up another Dreamsicle !! He then insisted he give me 15.00 for the lure, and ran to his truck to get the cashola while I stayed in the spot we had !!

Super wicked young man and was an honor and pleasure to help him out.

I never wanted any money for the lures, I just wanted him to catch some fish. “Helping others is the highlight of our lives”

There is NEVER a fee for being kind

~Mike

Oct 31

The magic of the first fish

Its been many moons since I caught my first fish, so far back in fact that that I hardly remember how old I was. I don’t remember how old I was, but I will never forget the feeling of that first fish. The tug on the line, the adrenaline rush, the smile that never left my face for days.

With nice weather this past weekend, I was able to take my girlfriend out to the banks of the Bow River. She has never fished and has never casted into the rushing waters of the Bow. We had breakfast Saturday morning and bundled up for a quick few hours shore fishing, inner city. As we arrived there were a few anglers fishing, so we gave them enough distance and proceeded to tie up a Green Ghost from Robertson Tackle. For those of you that don’t know, I started my own lure business two years ago. You can see my lure website here www.robertsontackle.com

Charlene picked out which lure she wanted to use at the house, and I gladly tied it up for her, showing her how to tie an improved clinch knot. After I tied up the hook, I showed her how to make casts, as this was the first time she has ever fished. She made some amazing casts and is a quick learner. After several casts, I decided we needed to cover more water and made the casts for her, and she reeled the lure in. As they say, teamwork makes the dream work!

Charlene is a “Natural” and was reeling the lure in at the perfect speed, putting the right action on the lure. Those are some things you just can’t teach. We moved up and down the bank hunting the fish. After only ten minutes or so, she hooked into her very first fish, a majestic Brown Trout. After a little guidance, keeping her rod tip up and having steady pressure on the fish, I reached down and scooped her amazing brown into the net. It was a very special moment and after taking the fish off the hook, and a few quick pictures, we shared a special hug in celebration. It was a very special moment I will never forget. Pure happiness and bliss filled both our hearts. After making several more casts, and changing lures a few times, Charlene got another amazing Rainbow Trout on the 3.5inch Pink Panther crankbait. Another blissful moment that was cause for a celebration!

The wind kicked up and there were no more bites to be had. Charlene and I decided to pack up and go. We walked off the bank with smiles on our faces and very grateful hearts. It was our first fishing adventure together and I look very forward to many, many more adventures with her soon!

It was a day I will never forget!

~Mike