Welcome to Ontario

Finally...For what seemed like an eternity the river had come into shape. Well...it was on the edge but that was good enough for us! Norland and I jetted up the lake early morning to arrive prelight. Why so early? I don't know as the recent foot of snow and looming threat of squalls was certain to keep "the element" at home in the warmth of their double-wides. Nonetheless that's are MO and why go against tradition. The morning had that cold damp feel to her and it made leaving the warmth of the car rather difficult. With the ever looming lake effect threat we were not sure what we were getting ourselves into but hey...it's November...how much snow could we possibly get? We decided to bite the bullet and make the epic trek to the top and work our way back. The forest offers a special kind of calm when under a blanket of fresh snow and it's hard to describe the feeling one gets laying the first set of tracks down the trail. Arriving on the bank we could see we were in for a big water day. The river was on the edge and would prove to be a challenge for both fishing and traversing. It didn't matter. We weren't at work. We were in the Shire, with fishable water, a winter backdrop, and a river full of steelhead. All we had to do was find them. Not a bad life EH? The day would take us on a journey through raging river crossings, blinding snow squalls, and the occasional blue sky. The fish were scattered as expected but we did managed to find a mixture of fresh fish and wintered fish. Some of the fish had actually taken on a faded or washed look having spent the last week in the chocolate mess the river had succumbed to. As the day progressed the conditions deteriorated with the new precip and moderate snow melt. That was fine with us. We had exceeded our expectations and also had gotten word of a nasty squall coming off the lake imposing whiteout conditions on the highway. The hike out almost killed us and gearing down was terrible. When did we get so old?
Along the way home we discovered a new stop in the form of a Scottish Bakery. Let me tell ya...after a winter day on the water a hot Double Double and some Edinburgh Scones are to die for! Oh ya...we almost did when we drove into that squall. 15 mins of white-out conditions. Welcome to Ontario.