Sausage, Scotch, and the Years End

It's a weird world we live in filled with irony and mystery. Today was a reminder of just how ironic and mysterious life can be. I opted to close out the 2007 season with Norland. Having experienced first hand how congested the river was the day prior we decided to deviate from our usual approach and take it to another level. We arrived 1 hr and 15mins prelight to an empty access point. About 10 mins into gearing up 3 vehicles pulled in behind us. A cold chill ran down our spines as we feared the worst for our last home river outing. We quickly locked up and made the long dark trek back to the river. Today the approach was simple. Arrive at the holding water and park ourselves for the morning. We arrived to a long deep run to find it unpopulated. It was not long after that the crew from the access point came down the trail. They respected our presence and made their way to the run above us. It was a good thing as there were 6 of them gang fishing. :0( As they made their way across the river another shadowy figure emerged from the forest and slide down the bank towards us. As he came into focus I could see it was a recognizable character..."the Sausage Man". Another chill ran down our my spine as I was uncertain on how this would play out. The Sausage Man has quite a reputation on the river as being downright rude, onary, obnoxious and ignorant. We have yet to experience his performance to the fullest but were not prepared to on the season ender. As it played out he remembered me from our last encounter and had taking a liking to me. I introduced him to Gene and the grounds were set for a civil steelheading experience. We turned a few fish and had some laughs. The conversation turned to Scotch. I informed Sausage that I was not a scotch drinker but Norland was in training. Out came the Scotch and we all shared a snort. I must admit that it sure was smooth and quickly warmed the body. The conversation drifed in and out of topics which included Bob Izumi, The Meaford Midget, landowners, arming of boarder guards, Atlantics, Grand River Resi's and 18 year old Scotch for the next 2 hours as we struggled with the fish we did manage to turn. It was not until late in the morning that I successfully put one on the bank. Another very busy day on the river but nonetheless an enjoyable end to a fantastic season. The 2007 fall season came in like a lamb and ended like a Lion. The fish were nothing short of spectacular. I will miss our little river over the coming months but have many quality memories to get me through. Stay tuned for future State side adventures...