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coast and listening to his host’s shouted instructions as they cast their lures
along the edge of the kelp bed—wonderful sea trees with 40-foot long
trunks, sturdy enough to tie the boat to while they fished.
Dawn was my favourite time. Seals and sea lions trolled for fish just
beyond the kelp bed. Salmon by the thousands churned up the water.
Dozens of eagles circled low overhead, ducks dove and seagulls rode
the waves. I couldn’t even identify the numbers of birds that feasted on
the bounty.
When they were not fishing, they tramped the banks of Nile Creek up
to the canyon. The old man pointed out the gravel pockets where the pinks
spawned, and pools where the steelhead dropped their eggs. Ken learned
of the fragility of the cutthroat trout and that species became a passion that
continues for him to the present.
This was indeed Merlin’s fish. I’d never seen anything as beautiful.
Shimmering green scales on its back; glistening silver on the sides
and a daffodil-yellow mark on its stomach. Tiny black spots dotted the
entire body.
“They take a long time to grow and their numbers are relatively few,” the
old fisherman warned. “Catch one or two to eat, but throw the rest back for
another day. As a species they could easily be wiped out of a river.”
This seemed unlikely based on the vast numbers of fish, but Ken took
the message to heart. He had no idea how prophetic those words would
prove to be. His love affair with Nile Creek had begun.
~~
Ken’s strict regime to turn his life around had done its job and although
he still had moments of dark struggle, he was being steadily restored by his
proximity to the seashore. He studied the plant life and the seabirds with an
artist’s eye, refreshed after years of urban surroundings. He made notes on
everything, from the assortment of seaweed and debris dragged ashore by
the incoming tide, to the seasonal pattern of lichen growth on the rocks. His
daily walks were part of the routine as well as a major pleasure.
One fine morning, he was wandering in the Deep Bay area north of …
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