Wells Gray is north of Kamloops in British Columbia. Southwest of Kamloops are several great fly fishing lakes. One of those is called Island Lake (used to be called Big Ok Lake). It's near the Highland Valley Cooper Mine (largest open pit cooper mine in Canada and one of the largest in the world). Anyway, Island Lake is a trophy lake. The Kamloops Trout is truly one of the most beautiful fish in the world. Their skin is like silk. But, the Kamloops Trout also have a well deserved reputation for being large (3 to 10 pounds), difficult to catch, and even more difficult to land. 10 to 20 minutes is not unusual for landing. Like many of the lakes in British Columbia the Common Loon is a homesteader. Listening to males and females calling for each other is a delight. Above you have a female on her nest and a male not far off "protecting her." I had been fishing in the area for a couple of hours in a "float tube" so they let me get a little closer than normal. As a general rule I don't like to approach birds in their nests and think that's a good policy to comply with. With my camera/lens today I would not have needed to get as close as I did to get the same (or better) photo. Maybe tomorrow I'll share a loon story from Blue Lake (southeast of Kamloops).
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