Outdoor Mentoring

Nearly 50 years ago I had my first experience being mentored in the outdoors. I was camping at Blue Lake Provincial Park with my family when a couple of “old Americans” asked me to join them on a fishing trip. They were “musky hunters” from Wisconsin. To a 12-year-old boy this would be akin to having Derek Jeter give you batting lessons. I remember the trip vividly. The anticipation, the excitement; the wide-eyed anticipation of a young boy going on an unimaginable adventure. I did hook one musky. It bent my Canadian-Tire-special rod in half as it hammered the lure and swam powerfully under the boat. Of course the line snapped with the twang of a taut guitar string. But I was unfazed. It was just another crossroad in my journey toward becoming an incurable outdoorsman.

Experiences like this have made me understand the value of mentoring others - especially youth - in the love of the outdoors.

For several years I guided fly anglers on the Nipigon River and other places. I noticed that when customers caught nice fish under my tutelage it almost brought more joy than if I’d caught it myself. I had one customer who landed a trophy brook trout pull a $30-dollar cigar out of his jacket, light it up and say “I don’t care if I ever catch another fish.” As he leaned satisfactorily against the bank of the river. 

In the last few years I’ve been teaching a young fellow how to fly fish - specifically for steelhead, arguably one of the most dynamic fish you can catch on a fly rod. He’s 16-years-old now, all 6’4” of him. Alden is his name, he’s the son of some family friends. Several years ago I agreed to take him fly fishing and show him a few things. Eventually he hooked and landed his first steelhead. Since then his enthusiasm has grown to what I’d call “functional insanity.”

What I enjoy most about fishing with Alden is his enthusiasm. He’s totally absorbed with the program. Always trying new things, and totally accepting of advice and teaching. Nothing worse than a beginner who knows it all already. This is definitely the opposite of Alden. 

I have a soft spot for young people desperate to catch fish. I once bumped into a boy on the McIntyre River who was in dire need of guidance. His pants were soaked to the waste and his rubber boots full of water, having just charged into the river in an unsuccessful attempt to land a large steelhead. I gave him a few flies, some split shot, and a quick lesson on how to tie a good knot. I gave him a few tips on how and where to fish. His wide smile seemed to say “There is hope!” and his demeanour changed from downcast to determined. I guess he reminded me of myself musky fishing when I was his age.

There are so many reasons to mentor young people in the outdoors. There are great benefits for them, of course, but also for the one doing the mentoring. Yes, that’s right. It shifts your focus from yourself to others. It gives us purpose, and self worth. It makes you feel that you’re contributing to the future of the next generation. 

If you have a young person in your family or circle of influence that is looking for outdoor mentoring. Do it. You won’t be sorry.

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Preserving Sacred Places

Early in May I trekked to one of my favourite rivers for some steelhead fishing. I went midweek to avoid the crowds but apparently many others had the same idea. That’s fishing. I arrived at one of my favourite spots at 0815. To put things in perspective, it’s not exactly an easy spot to find. It’s a 20-minute mud-slinging ride on a good 4x4 quad runner followed by a rather gruelling hike - all the while being a good hour-and-a-half drive from the city. When I arrived at my spot I was surprised to find two others fishing the same stretch of river. Rather than crowd these two anglers, I hiked 30-minutes farther to another spot.

This time I found solitude. Thank God! I climbed down the bank of the canyon wall and waded into ice-cold water. The river jets through a rocky slip here that is bordered on both sides by high banks. The east side is a rocky cliff that keeps the river in the shade until late afternoon. It is not uncommon to find ice shelves on the river here well into May - and today this was the case. I worked the deep dark pool methodically with my fly for about an hour. Then I found the sweet spot. I landed and released three nice steelhead in about 15 minutes. It takes some finesse to land a fish here because the pool spills into a heavy set of rapids making it impossible to follow a running fish. I’ve fished this spot for about 30 years I’d say. And remember one of the first decent steelhead I caught here about that long ago. The memory of that fish, and the seclusion of this special place, is what makes all the effort worthwhile. 

After releasing the third beautiful fish I was alerted to the smell of “pot.” I lifted my eyes upstream and sure enough there was a young fellow on the edge of the river looking in my direction. He was sipping on a tall can of beer and evidently smoking a marijuana cigarette. Oh well, I thought. As the saying goes, “It’s 5 O’clock somewhere.” If this wasn’t disappointing enough, he pulled a mobile phone out of his wader pocket and started talking. Although I didn’t catch the entire conversation, I did hear him say, “Hey dude. Come on up here. I just saw a guy land a nice one!” 

Minutes later another two young anglers showed up. Both carrying beers and fishing rods.

I fished this stream the following day and did find a cluster of empty beer cans on the stream bank where these folks had congregated. I also encountered another group of five anglers who, while being quite friendly, were noisy and reckless as they walked along the river bank calling to each other incessantly with screams and shrieks that could be heard for hundreds of yards.

I found myself getting quite frustrated and the whole experience diminished my enjoyment of this special place.

While my complaints may sound trite, remember that for most of us solitude in the outdoors is a respite from the stress of daily life. It is a time for quiet reflection and connection with our creator. In fact many equate time in the outdoors as “church.” 

My hope is that one day my grandchildren will be able to hike into places like this and find solitude. I believe that is a reasonable request. In the mean time, let’s do our best to respect the privacy of others by preserving sacred places.

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