2015 Customer Appreciation Day

COMING SOON!

Palometa Club, March 20-27 Trip Report

 Our first hosted trip since January, we just finished up a week at The Palometa Club in Ascension Bay.

We had a varied group, with 5 of us from Calgary and area, 6 from Montana, and one from Alaska.

The Northwest portion of the continent was well represented.

Dave I. with a nice fish.

The weather gods treated us as well as I've seen in a long time. We had perfect winds (8-12 knots) all week, with pretty much great light. A little cloud crept into a couple mornings, but only for a few hours and only about 50% of the time.

Chris D. with a piggy of a Permit.

As usual, everything at the lodge was top notch. A couple of switches to the dinner menu turned out to be amazing. Dinner changes are certainly highlighted by Sunday dinner now being pasta, meat balls, sausage, and caramelized carrots to die for, all prepared by our favourite Italian lodge owner, Kaye Cameron. Sunday night was very similar to many Christmas dinners, where everyone retires to a soft place to wait out being incredibly full. 

The crew went and watched the town soccer game on Tuesday night, always a lot of fun. Other than that, most evenings are spent enjoying the sunset, having a few cocktails, and telling stories of the day.

A lot of Permit caught this week. One of the big days saw 8 flags on the pole.

Sammy, who started as a guide 3 years ago and then went back to finish University, is back full time working as a fill-in second guide. We are all glad to have him back, I'm sure he'll be full time next year.
Everybody loves the guy, he's getting very good and he's one of the nicer guides you'll ever meet.

Steve, one of the Montana guys, with a very awesome first Permit.

A good number of Permit were landed this week. OK, actually it was a lodge record 29.

A truly amazing week but even more impressive given that there wasn't a huge number of Permit around. As good as the weather was, at this time of year, there would normally be a lot more Permit around. But this group made good on their chances and caught a bunch of fish.

Alonso and Fili with happy faces. This as the second of four fish in their boat that day.
they were positively giddy.

The weather was so nice that a lot of the guides spent an hour or so on the beach in front of the club, some with their families, having a couple cerveza and enjoying the beautiful evenings.

The biggest day of the week, Wednesday needed up with 10 flags on the pole.
That's right, 10 Permit landed in one day.

Like all good things, the week came to an end with our departure on Friday morning after 6 days fishing. No one seemed to be too happy to leave.

As a final note, a big thumbs up to the guys who got their first ever Permit, 

Andy, Steve, Drew, and Dwizz. 

Great job to the people who make us comfortable and well fed, Fina, Rosie, Maribel, and Gloria. 

There isn't enough to be said for the guides, Charlie, Julio, Gerardo, Aron, Big Julio, Sammy, Koreano, Pedro, Alonso, Fili, Jorge, Jonathan, Carlos, and last, but not the sanest, Heysler.

And of course, Dick and Kaye Cameron, who make it all happen, Thanks!

Second Phil Rowley Seminar This Saturday

**Phil Rowley-Bugs for Stillwater**

 

 

 

Phil will explain all of the insects and food items relevant to stillwaters in this part of the world. Caddis, mayflies, boatmen, you name it. Should be a great seminar! Might want to get here a little early if you want a chair.

 

All seminars start at 10:00 am and will end between 11:00 and noon. There is no charge and no pre-registration required. Simply drop by the shop and enjoy the seminar.

Saturday Seminar-March 21

This Saturday's seminar:

The World Of The Nymph

Kevin Peterson shows us everything there is to know about nymphing in this part of the world.

 

 

All seminars start at 10:00 am and will end between 11:00 and noon. There is no charge and no pre-registration required. Simply drop by the shop and enjoy the seminar.

Happy St. Patricks Day

Happy St. Patricks Day from CP!

Dust Off The Equipment! Cure For Cabin Fever

After an unusually warm winter, this current string of very warm weather is starting to get the fishing into a "spring mode".

March usually brings some more interesting stuff in the way of a few rising fish. etc., but this year it's getting started a few weeks early. The last warm spell that ended about ten days ago brought really good fishing, mostly on streamers and nymphs. This push of warm weather has brought on the good fishing again but this time we get some dry fly activity as well.

That's right! It's midge time. There's been some rising fish later in the day here and there on the Bow.
March will bring some cool fishing on other rivers as well. The Crowsnest is often really good right around now as is the Oldman.

Long story short, now's the time to start thinking about getting the season started.

GET OUT THERE! WINTER MAY RETURN IN MAY.

Saturday Seminar-March 14

This Saturday's free seminar:

Flats Fishing Hot Points

Mike Gifford presents a general "get started" presentation on flats fishing for the big four species, Tarpon, Snook, Bonefish, and Permit. And a little bit about Trevally and Indo-pacific Permit.

- Suggestions on locations around the world for different species (DYI and Lodges).

- proper gear and setups for species.

- Things you should always remember to bring.

- Tips and techniques for catching the different species.

All seminars start at 10:00 am and will end between 11:00 and noon. There is no charge and no pre-registration required. Simply drop by the shop and enjoy the seminar.

Fly Fishing Trips

Our saltwater trips for winter/spring 2015 have been sold out for a little while now.

But we have started to book and offer adventures for 2016.

We have March 4-11, 2016 
booked for 12 anglers at The Palometa Club for next year.

This is without question the best operation and fishery to get yourself a Permit. 

If Permit aren't your bag, this is an excellent fishery for Tarpon, Snook, and Bonefish as well.

An absolutely top flight operation.

We do have a couple spots left on our Nicholas Dean, Lower Skeena Spring Steelhead trip.

Dates for this trip are May 3-9, 2015.

Some of the coolest, most comfortable Steelhead fishing you'll find.

If Trophy Trout fishing in January (without the woolies) is your thing, we have 3 spots of 12 available at
Owen River Lodge, South Island, New Zealand in January 2016.



And stay tuned for our first hosted Atlantic Salmon trip, summer 2016. Details on the website soon. For information on any of these trips give us a call or e-mail at info@countrypleasures.com

Saturday Seminar-March 7

This weekend's seminar...

Getting To The Roots Of Roosters

Adam Rich has spent as much time chasing Roosterfish as anyone we know. 

Come,check out, and learn to tie his effective and absolutely beautifully tied flies for these fish. All of these patterns work very well for other species as well, like Jacks, Trevally, Tuna, even Pike and Trout.

All seminars start at 10:00 am and will end between 11:00 and noon. There is no charge and no pre-registration required. Simply drop by the shop and enjoy the seminar.

Thanks For All You Did, Barry Mitchell

For those who have not heard, Barry Mitchell passed away this week. Barry was as much of a pioneer of our sport in Alberta as anyone we are aware of. Always helpful with information, never pretentious, and pretty much always smiling, Barry was always a pleasure to visit with.
He will be missed. Our condolences go out to the who Mitchell family. We are sure he's throwing dries right now.

New Bugs Arriving-Whatever Your Targets

First of the really big fly shipments have started to arrive. Lots of Pike flies, patterns for Spring Steelhead, and a ton of new patterns from Montana Fly. Come and check out all of the new very cool dries (and some bugs that sink too).

Spring Steelhead Bugs

Pike Bugs

A Little Yellow From South of the Equator

Brian P. and Dave A. just got back from a trip to the Coyhaique region of Southern Chile.
Here's a couple for ya'

New Styles from Maui Jim

New styles for 2015 from Maui Jim have arrived.