Taylor River Trip Chapter 2013

  As Cat and I were driving the last forty miles of our 2013 Taylor trip, from Canon to P-town, we were too exhausted to do much talking and my mind began to drift about the flies I needed to begin tying in preparation for next year’s trip. I went through all my Black Beauties and way too many Ninjas and did quite a number on my FOD collection and then it hit me that the fish themselves were exciting but none were all that memorable. The fishing was okay but the reports of last week’s midge hatches turned into the ageless taunt of “you should have been here yesterday”. A friend of ours was up there last week and Brandon and his friend Charlie got up there Sunday and they were all ecstatic about the midge hatches in the mornings and the release of water and flush of Mysis in the afternoon.(that was last week)Fishing over the three days was very spotty, the first night, Cat was on fire with the ciggle erupting every few moments and me beginning to think this would be the year I get schooled. Thursday, Friday and Saturday consisted of walking up and down the bank looking for feeding fish and then trying to get all the action you could for the few moments they were eating. After looking at the fish porn from the trip it hit me that our yearly trips to the Taylor have very little to do with fishing and everything to do with family.

  It was twenty plus years ago when Jimbo began our little trips and thinking back on that time I can only really remember a couple of fish. So what memories have me coming back; I remember Brandon and Zack being up there when they were 3 and 4 years old. I remember my dad making the trip one year and landing a 16 inch bow off a salmon egg. I remember a picture of Cat holding a 9inch bow she had caught her first trip with her s*** eating grin that said she was in heaven. I remember Winston getting caught sneaking into the chicken salad and the look on his face that said “I am so sorry..but I would do it again in a heartbeat”. I remember the old rubber waders that made us look like the Michelin man. I remember my older brother Hugh laughing and making up huge numbers of the fish he had caught. I remember Cat calling me out for being scared to sleep in a tent for fear of being eaten by bears. I remember the steak dinners that Kevin and Brenda fed us, and I remember all the campfood that I have cooked. I think my fondest memories are of the evenings sitting around the campfires telling and listening to the fishing stories.

  This year’s trip was bitter sweet; our only constant over the last 20 years, Jimbo was not able to make the trip do to a family illness. The campfires were just missing a little something without the Jimbo. Due to logistics of work on the way up and the way back, Winston was also not able to make the trip. (he was not happy about it either).Like I said earlier, Brandon and his friend Charlie did make the trip. Brandon and Charlie were a little disappointed with us because the fishing slowed drastically after we arrived. I think they thought that the P-tow fish had somehow warned the Taylor fish that Cat and I would be there and that they needed to be on there A+ game . I personally think that witnesses ( Cat and I) make the fishing a little harder.hehe Jimbo, if you read this I want you to know that our prayers are with you and your family through your loss and we will keep a camp spot open for you next year. I wanted to finish this paragraph by just saying if all you want to do is catch monster fish and lots of them, head to P-town. If you want to make memories that last a life time, spend some time with your loved ones in a tent on the Taylor.

  The video is a collection of some of the action we had. In addition to the fish pics we always try to add in some of the neater parts of Gods creations. The birds looked like the last two dudes and last lady at a nightclub and you know one of them flew off angry and a little lonely. The monkey is Cat’s and Cody’s new fishing mascot. The bug was some creature from another time and even though Cat tried to be nice and get it to safety, the bug charged her and actually made her squeal even a little more than the charging tarantula. I feel a little bad for Charlie because he was suffering from the curse of the film crew. It seemed that everytime he hooked a fish and one of us started filming he would get sawed off by some bad mamba jamba fish. Brandon on the other hand only lands fish when one of us is filming….must be an O’Grady… As always, we thank you very much for reading and hope you enjoy the video, Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop…