Anglin with Anglen — 1974
Aug. 29, 1974
Some day I’m going to write an article entitled “The trouble I’ve seen.” People seem to think just because I write this column everything goes smooth as can be with me as I’m fishing, but I could tell you a lot of stories of some boners I’ve pulled most everytime I go out.
The first thing I’d tell you is I’m not a cool, calm, collected fisherman. I get excited and talk to the fish all the time. This all leads up to my experience this past week at Smith Creek as I tried to collect a few of those Kokanee for canning and smoking.
To the people have never fished up there; the very best place this year is up under the bridge that crosses the creek. You have just enough room to sit comfortable on the rock, and it slopes gently toward the creek, and anything that is dropped or spilled or just carelessly laying around just naturally falls in the creek. I know there is a good fishing knife contributed by me one morning up there, although I did manage to rescue most of my fishing gear which I dropped at the same time.
Another local fisherman lost his whole rigging in the hole but did manage to fish it out. Somebody lost a bucket up the creek one day and, we saw it come drifting down the creek. Some people may never have any trouble when they are out, but I’m not one of them. I spent the whole week at Smith Creek.
Ordinarily I have no trouble catching all I want out of the big hole below the falls, but this year they just were not in there or would not bite for me. There is some real big Kokanee in there this year, more so than in the past, but I hooked into only one of them. He was 14 inches long.
Six of us were under the bridge one morning, and I’m telling you it gets pretty close fishing when it is like that. But we were all compatable so we just enjoyed it.
Congratulations go to Marge Bianco on the five-pound rainbow she got out of Robinson this past week.
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Editor’s note: For 27 years, beginning Feb. 8, 1973, Ralph Anglen of Bonners Ferry wrote an outdoor column for the local paper that was widely read and used as a source of fishing and hunting information. It was called “Anglin’ with Anglen,” and was the real deal, the genuine item, written by someone whose socks were wet, whose toes were cold and who pulled no punches. We will continue as space allows to reprint Anglen’s column solely for its pleasure and historical significance. Any typos, we leave as is. Readers are reminded that this column was written almost 50 years ago and conditions, including state fish and game regulations, have changed.