We arrived on Thursday in late April sunshine to find the lake half-frozen, but the ice quickly disappearing. Early Friday morning Jim the lodge handyman was driving his boat through the melting patches near the dock to open water, making a grid of trails that BCFFF lodge guests could get their boats through. By noon, most of the lake was ice-free, and everyone was busy getting their boats ready for an afternoon of trout fishing.
Breakfast was served at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday: bacon, sausages, hash browns and scrambled eggs the order of the day. The member count was twenty-six, our AGM began at 8:30 and lasted about an hour, the guys and gals eager to make their lunches and get out fishing. Catching was pretty good for most of the members, some into double-digits for the day’s work on the water. Olive and black chironomids sizes #16 the usual fare that fooled the fish.
Thanks to our members and sponsors (all listed in this Flylines issue) our silent auction was a great success, raising $1950 for the federation’s coffers. Bidding was furious on some items, top spot going to Corbett Lake Lodge for their generous donation of a weekend stay in the “big” guest cabin. Art Lingren and Dan Holder made a special presentation to Anne Thomas of Corbett Lake Lodge of a well-fished Peter McVey handmade bamboo rod donated by Totems member Steve Oei, which was presented in a gorgeous case designed and built by Todd Stockner of the Corbett Lake Bamboo Rod Maker’s group. It will hang in remembrance of Peter on the wall of Corbett Lake Lodge for many years to come.
Dinner was excellent, beef wellington medium to rare, followed by a few rounds of drinks and a power-point presentation on the Stellako River in Northern BC by Brian Smith. The bonus to having an annual BCFFF event is reacquainting with old friends, putting names to faces, having a few laughs and ample snorts of scotch, and just being among like minds which enjoy our passion for the fish and fly-fishing