If you're just coming in to this story about stocking a pond on Galiano Island with trout then I suggest you have a look at PART 1 to get caught up on the back story, then check out PART 2 about the trip to Galiano and PART 3 about an unexpected turn of events that happened while we were prepping the pond and, finally, PART 4 where former Mayor of Vancouver, Senator Larry Campbell, dumped the ceremonial first bucket of fish in.
This is the final part in the series (for now), about the day we threw some lines in the water to catch some of the fish!
I did a series of travel features on Bodega Ridge a few months back (HERE), and in them I noted that the pond (not yet a trout pond in that series!) is about a 2 minute walk from the cabins at the resort. Put your shoes on and take a leisurely stroll up the dirt road and there you are, at the trout pond.
Jesse (the resort owner) and I decided to visit the pond at dusk, when we knew the fish would be biting, and as we threw our lines in the water we agreed that it's almost impossible to take a bad picture there.
We also agreed that we'd have a friendly fishing derby (fishing lingo for "contest") to add some competition to our casual visit to the pond. I forgot to bring my flyreel so we were both using a simple bobber and a worm, neither having the upper hand. And it wasn't really a contest as there was no prize up for grabs aside from being the first person to catch a fish in the newly anointed trout pond.
I'm pretty happy to say that I caught the first fish. It's one of the smallest ones we put in the pond but is a pretty fair reflection of what's catchable there right now. They grow an inch every month so in a few months they'll be big enough to eat but for now they're just fun to catch and release.
Jesse caught the second fish, and it was such a fluke that it happened to be one of those weird sticklebacks that the Pacific Salmon Foundation told us all about on the day we stocked the pond (HERE is that part of the story).
Over the next few months our trout will be feasting on these guys as well as a healthy menu of bugs so they can grow up big and strong and one day make it onto our plates!
I'll take you back to Bodega Ridge in a few months' time to let you know how the fish are doing. Thanks for following this story! It's been so much fun.
