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| The bridge at Gerrard |
Sunday was Mothers’ Day and time for a Sunday drive with Gary and Marie Davidson – a convoy of two vehicles that allowed our kids to spread out some. The weather was perfect; cloudless sky, the temperature well and truly on the right side of degrees Celcius with predictions to increase!! So with Darren Hanlon* singing “Electric Skeleton” on the stereo we drove north to begin a ‘big loop’.
· Darren Hanlen is a talented pop/ rock/ folk singer song writer from Gympie, Queensland Australia. He is more talented than the phrase ‘from Gympie’ might suggest. The album we were listening to was part of Megan’s Mother Day gifts and an older one, “Pointing Ray Guns at Pagans”. After the first listen we all had favourites; Megan and I particularly liked the simple ‘The Perfect Day’ enriched as it was by the sultry [is that the right word?] voice of Jennie Cruse and Tom liked the banjo silliness of Pinball Millionaire. We had seen Hanlon twice live and both times we left with his latest release. Sooner or later we’ll get his complete catalog. If youre new to him check him out on youtube; his videos are cute and his lyrics are often clever – I’ve even used his words in my English classes. Oh well enough of a plug………………………..
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| Tom [out of the car] and the mother of our Mother's Day |
The first half an hour we followed the familiar road towards the Revelstoke ferry but we then steered east. Here at a small marshland we made our first stop with Yellow and Yellow rumped Warblers, Song Sparrows and Red-breasted Nuthatches replacing Darren. We made a brave and determined attempt at taping out a lurking and crossly clicking Virginia Rail but the bird remained noisily invisible. Megan scored great views of the Yellow Warbler – a worthy lifer for Mothers’ Day!
Continuing on our way towards Trout Lake we stopped and scanned the water for fowl and in so doing scored a FOY Blue winged Teal – a couple of nice drakes plus various other spp – Cinnamon Teal, some Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Mergansers and the like.
Before too long we arrived in the village of Trout Lake and here Megan [and the kids] saw another lifer – this time of the mammal variety. Black Bear, a young fella, quietly consuming grass in the backyard of one of the residents. Despite the semi-urban surrounds it was quite a thrill. Lunch followed; why do thoughts of Picnic baskets follow bears?
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| Trout Lake Picnic Spot |
The northern end of Trout Lake provided our picnic place and along with the view there were heaps of birds; Yellow, Yellow-rumped [both Audubons and Myrtle], Orange-crowned and my FOY Common Yellowthroat, Tree swallows, my FOY Vauxs Swifts, Savanna and Song Sparrows, American Pipits, a surprising Say’s Phoebe plus Mergansers and Loons on the lake. Lunch included Chicken Pies, Mini Quiches, Pieces of Pastie with sauce, salad, Iced tea, home-made choc chip cookies and genuine Tim Tams!
Replete, our vehicles struggled on before Bear #2 halted our drive. Black Bear number Two. It bears repeating.
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| Gerrard Rainbow Trout photographed from Display board |
The thin dusty road wound down by Trout Lake until we arrived at a bridge to view the ‘world famous’ Gerrard Rainbow Trout – the largest apparently in the world. It was a spectacular sight at a beautiful site. The fish were spawning, the smaller comparatively petite females loyally accompanied by the bigger brutish males. The males, many of them at least, sported battle wounds as big white fungal patches. One of them appeared to have a plate as a head such was the size of his injury. Below are some fast fun fish facts lifted from the BC Hydro website;
Test your fish facts:
- True or False: The Gerrard rainbow trout is the largest type of rainbow trout on earth?
- Why are they called Gerrard rainbow trout?
- Can you fish for Gerrards in the Lardeau River?
- Where do they spawn?
- What is the Gerrard run like now? (the number of fish spawning)
Answers:
1. True. The largest sport-caught rainbow from Kootenay Lake was 16 kilograms (35.5 pounds) and was hooked in 1976. Gerrard rainbow trout consistently reach sizes in excess of 10 kg (22 pounds).
2. The fish are named after the post office and settlement of Gerrard which was the end of the CPR railway line. George Bentley Gerrard was a bank manager in Kaslo in the 1900s.
3. No. The wild, pristine Lardeau River and its tributaries provide important habitat for adults and young fish. It has been closed to fishing since the 1940s and remains closed, except for a short springtime whitefish fishery. Over fishing was a factor in their decline in the 1950s.
4. The majority of the unique Gerrard rainbow trout spawn at the Gerrard site on the Lardeau River.
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| Spawn site |
5.
In the mid-1950s the Gerrard run was down to less than 150 fish. Today, thanks to fishing regulations and the addition of nutrients to the north arm of Kootenay Lake by the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program and the Ministry of Environment, the Gerrard run is approximately 1,000 fish / year.
Travelling south still we made a stop at some cliffs near Lardeau, a site reputed to host Mountain Goats. A quick scan of the cliffs revealed the goats cunningly disguised as rocks high on the cliff where the rock gave way to trees. I counted six animals through the scope but there may have been more. Another FOY for me and a lifer for Megs and the kids.
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| Marie and Millie |
Beavers were the next animal ordered and enroute Matthew had an opportunity to practise, albeit in a small way being one. You see he made a terrible error. He hit me square in the back of the head with a snow ball at a toilet stop at an elevation where some winter still remained. Now I had warned him of the consequences and he had ignored my warnings. After I ran and caught him he had his head ducked under the water or should I say recently melted ice. He was, for a while at least, unimpressed.
The ordered Beavers remained unseen however Bear #3 was seen as we scanned the beaver workings.
Dinner, at the end of the day, included fast fried fish, salmon of course, with chilli, garlic, broccoli and rice washed down with a Sleemans Honey Brown Beers plus a glass of Red Wine.
