Tight lines, and Good Times - Fly Fishing in Sault Ste Marie

As I wade into the quick moving water a sense of calm moves over me. Any nerves or jitters have been washed away by the crystal clear water, and any lingering thoughts of my work week have been drowned out by the sound of the rapids of the St Marys River. Only when I reach the island that will be our base for the day can I pause and appreciate just how beautiful this morning is.

That view may look familiar to regular readers of Real Man Travels. Chris, our editor-in-chief, and my older brother, was lucky enough to travel to Sault Ste. Marie in June and learned to fly fish as part of a media trip. This time he would be the savy veteran as our Dad and I learned the finer points of fly fishing from our guide Brad, of Soo North Fly Shop. Furthermore, if you are a regular reader, you know we like taking our unique trips as birthday or father`s day gifts (50 year old NASCAR virgin, Our First Win). It was his birthday gift that brought us north to wade the waters in pursuit of Pink Salmon, Tight lines, and good times.

So why the Soo you might be wondering? Long drive to go fishing, others have said to us. Well, Sault Ste Marie, which is french for "Rapids of the St. Marys", has been a fishing hot bed for somewhere around 400 years. Ya, you read that right, 400 years. When early European settlers traveled the great lakes in the 1640's, they found many natives settled near the rapids as it provided an excellent source of food. If your looking for something a little more recent, in 1920, Ernest Hemingway himself proclaimed "At the present time the best rainbow trout fishing in the world is the Rapids at the Canadian Soo." These days you wont just find resident rainbows, but whitefish too. The rapids also serve as a migratory route for Atlantic, Chinook, pink, and coho Salmon, and steelhead and brown trout. After reading that I'm sure you understand why Sault Ste Marie is still highly regarded as a world class fishing destination.

My best go at the "Official" Real Man Fishing pose

The original shows me how its done

Dad, Chris, and I showing off the tools of the trade: Vision Rods and Reels

One of our dads favourite stories is about how he would take us river fishing when we were little. He claims he would tie us to trees on the river bank so we wouldn't fall in and be swept away. This of course was driven by the fear of coming home to my mother with one less child. I cant remember if this is bull or not, but thanks to Brad, we now have memories that will not soon fade.

Tight lines my friends-

Sam