This is going to be rather interesting, because in the trouts , there are a tremendous amount of 'sub-species' , especially when it comes to the 'Cutthroat'...Oncorhynchus clarki, just to many for me to put up, however, I will put up the more common cuttie that is found in the southern sections of Alberta just to give you an idea on how beautiful this specie is. So let's get going on this yet another interesting topic..
..Let us begin with the Salmons of the Pacific Ocean, there are 5 major species, plus one of the most favorite 'trouts', mother nature can provide to the fishers of the world, but for now, we will continue with the Salmons..
The first is by far the largest Salmon of the Pacific, thus one of it's common names is suited for it.. 'The King Salmon' also known as it is getting to a special weight class..'The Chinook Salmon' , then once it reaches that 30lb plus class it has finally come to the name that is known in the west as..'The Tyee Salmon'..Oncorhynchus tshawytscha..
..The next Salmon is the 'Sockeye Salmon' ..Oncorhynchus nerka..
..This specie is commercially one of the most popular of all because of it's dark, rich, flavorful meat and is 3rd in population next to the Pink and Chum salmon.
..The Female Sockeye Salmon :
..The Male Sockeye Salmon :
..next will be the 'Chum Salmon' ..Oncorhynchus keta :
..Commercial fisheries in Alaska and Russia take more chum than any other fish. Their meat is primarily smoked, and they tend to be less oil than other species.
..The Female Chum Salmon :
..The Male Chum Salmon :
..next is the 'Coho Salmon' ..Oncorhynchus kisutch :
..One of the most popular fish species among North American anglers, their size is in part responsible; Coho average 38 inches and 11 pounds in weight, although many larger ones have been landed. Some of the largest have been 31 pounds and 114 inches in length.
..The Male and Female Coho Salmon :
..next is the 'Pink Salmon' ..Oncorhynchus gorbusha :
..Pink salmon are also known as 'humpbacked salmon', due to the bulge that appears on the male's back during spawning time. Pinks are now the most sought after fish in the commercial industry, especially in places like Alaska. In today's market the Pinks are bought from the commercial fishers for a mere 17 cents a pound. Yet as a consumer , the prices are high that we pay.
..this is in it's ocean colour :
..a Male and Female pair in spawning colours :
..Well I've covered the five Pacific Salmon that run our rivers here in British Columbia, during their spawning time, in the days that come I'll continue posting with our western trout..until then..
Thought it would be of some interest to put up pics of the various specie of 'Browns' found in Ireland. As in my last post, I'll start off with the brown that most fishers would give their eye tooth for, for this brown has been know to get to 20 lbs. plus, and that is the..
..'Dollaghan'.. Salmo trutta L.,
..These are just two of the colour phases that this fish has in the various rivers that flow into Lough Neagh.
..the next fish and others are not in any order..
..this next fish is called..'Sonaghan'..Salmo nigripinnis
..these have been scientifically proven as being indigenous to Lough Melvin and are the main quarry for anglers on Lough Melvin. Late evening approximately half hour before dusk is particularly good, the month of June is when the fishing for this specie peaks.
..the next brown is called ..'Gillaroo'.. Salmo stomachicus
..A specie of trout which eats primarily snails. Gillaroo is derived from the Gailge or Irish for Red Fellow (Giolla Rua). This is do to the fishes distinctive colouring. It has bright buttery golden colour in it's flanks with bright crimson and vermilion spots.
..next brown I've saved for last because it has been noted to have lived 50,000 years ago and have survived over the ages, and it is called..'Ferox'.. Salmo ferox
..in about 10,000 years ago when the climatic conditions changed, cutting off their access to the sea, and forever changing their life history. Indeed in Ireland ferox can be found in many char lakes which traditionally held char in the past. Ferox canabalise (now known as Salmo ferox), which returned to many of the same lakes when geological processes and climatic conditions allowed and also prey on other fish species (in Lough Corrib ferox take large numbers of roach).
..there is but one other that I thought I should bring to light and that fish is called..'Croneen'..
..however, to site any of the write up on this certain unique fish would be a travesty to it , so please look in this site for the complete story of the Corneen trout... http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/catchment/croneen-story.htm
Wednesday 22nd.,2010
A new tier has been incorporated into my blog, he hails from Ireland, living in the south west of the Island. Welcome 'Seanie', I'm sure the ppl who visit my blog will appreciate your different tying style and different type of Irish flies. He enjoys fishing for the large browns as well as the Atlantic Salmon, and Sea trout down in southern part of Ireland in certain trout 'lakes=Loughs' as they call them on the green isle, but please remember this..this is Ireland now and where the 'Blarney Stone' was made famous by those in the South, (this is where Seanie hails from) and where all those little green men came from..
Sunday,19 th.,Sept.2010
Added a new fly in the Fly Pattern section this morning, had received this from the tier 'Gbigtrout' from North Ireland ..Ulster..to be exact, in Friday's mail, a rather interesting fly considering that the colours were obtained with an acid call 'Picric', this technic was first used in Ireland to create the colour Olive, and from that time till now the Irish have been using it to create that sought after colour.
Friday, September 10th. 2010..
..Have put up several new flies, in two places, one being in the 'Fly Pattern', the other under 'Products', which were made with my new Arctic Wolf's fur...that's right, Nantuc gave up some to try..the fur was sent over the pond to England, Ireland, Scotland, and now working on sending it over to Europe, in hopes a few will come from there.
..as far as here in Canada, I sent some over to a friend of mine on Vancouver Island, and in the process of sending some to a highly noted tier friend of mine in New Brunswick who ties classic flies..
..I do hope you all enjoy the new flies as well there will be updates to include the new ones as they come in............cheers!
I added a few more flys this morning to the "Fly Patterns", but in this post I wanted to add a couple of pics that I took the other day. I just couldn't resist in putting them up, hope you find them interesting..
in these two pics, the first one shows the 'shuck' in it's natural colour..
whereas the next one shows it's size as well as having epoxy covering it..
Now these other three is how Nantuc greets her buddy 'Boston Benny'..my oldest son's boston terrier..
Hope you liked them..Oh by the way..Nantuc really likes the little guy and Benny doesn't take 'poop' from her at all 
.. until next time..
.....................tight lines 
Well ...it's been two months now that Nantuc came to me, and what a complete turn around from that first day.
She was a scared little girl, that first month, peeing and pooping all over the place, and boy I was beginning to feel that this unsightly business would never stop. Never had I gone through so much frustration before with my other 5 wolves, or maybe by the grace of God..I forgot those moments. She is now 6 months old turning on June 12th., her birthday, and so many things are starting to show..
..her eating habits are like a garborator..eats ..all raw food..chicken, beef, deer, moose,rabbit and then has a craving for .. scrambled egg, mango fruit, and as a special treat which I know I shouldn't give her but..guess I'm a 'suck' for those yellow/amber eyes of hers..'maple walnut icecream'..the new President Choice one...yummy!
..She no longer does her business in the house but, has a tenancy to howl at the back door if that time is coming. Thank God! Now the first time this happens is at 6:30am..bright and early..and so a 'walk' we go for over an hour, which happens at least 5-6 times a day.
..She enjoys those moments for the wildlife is abundant where I live, and as a born hunter, I try and hone her instincts to hunt as best as I know how..for an animal who was born in mother natures domain, must learn to hunt to survive, and even though Nantuc will be with me who will provide for her, it is my responsibility to ensure she knows her capabilities if she ever she goes back into the wild. There are plenty of gophers, magpies,crows,squirrels to get her blood flowing, and if and when the time comes that she actually does catch one, she will be on the way to maturity. That eventful moment came on last Monday morning when a magpie fell to her quickness, however, she only held it in her mouth and did not kill it, that is ..not until we got home, where she relieved it of life.
..
She is just now starting to refine her personality, for this little young lady is starting to show that she will be an Alpha Female, and I can assure you I'll have my hands full with her..for she has in her all of both her mother and father's ways because she was fully weaned Before I got her leaving me with an interesting future to look forward to.
..and now a few pics of this 'Beauty'...
..as you can see, she has tasted fish already..
..well as time goes on , there will more updates on Nantuc..until then..
..tight lines... 
Well, I've finally made up my mind as to what this white fluff will be labelled with...'Nantuc'...
for some reason even after I was given some beautiful names from that Native American name site, I chose this one. About a year ago, I watch a dvd on Geronimo, and I heard this name , and thought it would be a good name for a wolf..guess it stuck in my head and so..that is her name now.. Nantuc !
She sure has come a long way rather fast, for she is bonding with me, ever chance that she can. I've been given kisses, have had my hands constantly chewed upon , not in an agressive fashion but in a playful manner. She has decided that when I go to sleep, her place is on Nikita's blanket next to my bed. This is great, exactly what I was hoping for..she also jumps up onto the my bed but only after we wake up, this is a reinsurance bonding time, where I pat her, kiss her on her snout and rub her belly.
Oh look..her ears are now standing up, sure didn't take as long as I expected..
Not only her ears but her height and weight as well.. instant growth in just 10 days..
..to be continued..
I needed to fill the void that my Nikita left me in, and so inquiries were being made..called quite a few places , only to be disappointed once again. Finally one of my contacts that I placed a call to several months ago before my loss of Nikita, gave me a call. I was asked if I was still interested in getting a wolf pup..guess that call couldn't have come at a better time.
We chatted for sometime, and made arrangements for me to see a pup plus the father of the litter. Now I was informed when I first contacted this breeder that there was a female wolf puppy left from a litter of 5..4 males and one female. This pup was an Arctic Wolf of 93%, meaning that with the mixture of the father..timber/tundra, and the mother who had 89% Arctic in her with malmute making up the rest, gave this litter a greater chance of being almost pure wolf.
I had in mind that she would had taken my interest and I would like to see her, now, when first told about her ,she was 3 months old, now she was 4 1/2 months, getting into an area that I wasn't to comfortable with. I've learnt already that raising a wolf pup up until 6 months is find, a bit hard having them learn to 'trust' you, but so it takes a bit longer...however after 6 months you have your hands full, for they are already geared to follow their instincts.
There they were, both the dad and the little pure white wolf! Now the dad, well, he certainly is a handsome brute, just a typical two year old gray/silver/white timber with the longish ears of a tundra. But that little white fluff of fur is not to little by any means. She has long legs, and paws that can be found on an adult, however, she is lean giving the appearance that she has not been fed quality food. During the conversation with the chap, I found out that she was fed can dog food, scraps of food, pork of all things [this is no good for wolves IMO], she was not house broken, had not received her shots, was an outdoors animal [I think he just had her in the garage at night].
Well this young lady, was very timid, giving off certain signals IMO..I've had 5 wolves before this one and I can see/tell that she was miss treated..not socialized , was afraid on men, hated the leash, was wearing a collar that was extremely tight, in all I believe that she was 'kicked' several times and half starved.
I bought her! And right now as I'm writing this, she is sleeping by my feet..here is a pic of what she looks like...
She weighs around 30 odd pounds, when I got her, and as of 6 days, today being the sixth, she weighs just over 45 lbs and growing fast.
It is said that the Arctic Wolf is the tallest we have here in Canada, which can reach well over 7' long. When she gets to her full size, she should be able to drape both of her front paws over my shoulders with ease, and I stand a good 6', here is a pic of a full grown Arctic Wolf...
It has been 12 years since I took care of a pup, and so far she has worn me down..for the first two nights she decided to wake me up at 3 in the morning with her howling..and boy is her voice ever 'deep', it sent chills to the back of my neck till I realized it was her and not some adult wolf out side of my bedroom.
..gave her a bath the second day, just couldn't put up with the foul smell she was carrying, and she was good, didn't give me any grief at all, here is a pic after that bath..
..But the best part is the fact that she has taken to a dog 'Kato'..he is a 13 year old vet with a major disability..he is 'Blind' ! Now the pup really likes him and imitates Kato's play actions,
which is quite comical to watch. Kato has a habit of grabbing stuff toys, and shaking the hell out of it when he is told to 'kill,kill'..for he was a superb mouser, and when he caught one, he would shake it so hard , it would die..
..now the pup has done the same, a very useful tool for her, in the months to come.
..see..buddies already......
She has a lot of work cut out for her in the coming months, for she must learn to hunt/kill [small animals, nothing large], to swim, to learn how to 'guard' her new location,
which I sure will take awhile for that, if she gets over the timid part.
..now as she starts to grow up, I'll be entering new pics of her growth, and some of her fishing experiences, another thing I must do is to teach her how to fish..as you can see, she is waiting to have a native Indian name, hopefully in the next few weeks , the Lady who is in contact with me will send 3 names from which I can choose one, I'll post it when it is certain.
Today is the first day of my life being Alone! I'm writing this on the 14th. of April, 2010, 5:00 am...My Nikita died at 9:50 pm on the 13th. of April, 2010!
Last night I had to decide to either keep my companion alive or to let her pass over without any more pain.
Above is a pic of my 'coastal tundra wolf', she has been with me since she was 5 1/2 weeks old, and during her time alive, gave people of all ages her calmness and charm. Now most people will say that she is not a full wolf, but what do they know, they were not with me when I crawled down into her den to remove her and her 5 brothers and 1 sister. No one was there to see their mother, [who was a black coastal tundra wolf], had been shot and left by the entrance, nor did they searched like I did for the father...people can say what they want, for I know better.
Nikita, was a most loving animal in her right, with me, her kisses very rarely came, no licking on my face, just my hands..but to my sons ..well that was a different story. To my oldest, she had a special bond, from the moment she heard him come home, she greeted him with howls, and kisses to his face and the special greeting of baring her teeth. She loved him a lot, she played rough and tumble with him and will be missed by him, now on the other side came my youngest, she had decided that he was her pup, and every morning when she woke up , she would walk into his room, jump up onto his bed and give him 'kisses' until he got up. She gave to my boys feelings that lead them to get their own companion.
When we, Nikita and I lived on Vancouver Island before we came to Calgary, she and her brother Lobo [who has been dead for more than two years now], roamed the island as a pack..with Lobo out in lead as many times as he was allowed [for he was a 'beta', guard to the Alphas, Nikita and myself]. For my Nikita was an 'Alpha She Wolf', who from the moment we left our home, her tail was always in a shape of a half moon..this was her way of tell every canine that came close..beware for I'm the leader of this pack!
We would go out everyday sometimes for hours at a time, just walking in the quarry which was behind my place close to Shawnigan Lake , about 27 minutes driving time north of Victoria. This land was about 165 acres in area, owned by certain unions of BC. and opened to the public. In this area was bear, rabbit, black tailed deer and yes 'cougar'. Never seen nor heard of wolves there , not as long as we were living there, however, I have no knowledge of what is there after we left the Island.
I remember the first time I took the 50' lead off of Nikita and Lobo, they were now almost a year old, full of spit and vinegar..it was a most crucial moment I had with them..for it was my fear that once they were unleashed, their natural instinct would be to 'run' never to return to me. Well ..they ran, and ran they did..but it was so exciting to see them 'crisscross' about 30-50 yds., in front of me! Then something took place beyond my dreams..Nikita ..stopped as she crossed the path I was walking on, turned her head to see where I was, convinced that I was still walking towards the both of them, then proceeded to go on her merry way, doing the crisscross. My Wolves accepted me as their pack leader and from that day till my Lobo and now my gone Nikita, never strayed from my side.
I did mention there were cougars in back of my place, well , it was a Sunday morning around 5:00 am, as the sun opened up the day that Nikita came into my room, howling...this never happened before or since for that matter..I got up out of bed and followed her when she lead me to the back of the house to the patio door, which faced the large back deck, over looking the bush behind . Lobo was there already, growling, baring his teeth to a shadow that was pacing back and forth behind the patio blind. I approached the blind , started to open it up when we saw that a female cougar was on my back deck. What a sight..for she was beautiful, not large , maybe a young cat of two years or so, but none the less just bloody beautiful ! She was my first sighting and wouldn't be the last, for she return several times there after, and enjoyed laying out in the sun on my deck.So after the many times of her return, my wolves seemed to calm down, maybe cause they new no harm could come between them and her , cause of the patio door being so thick glass, who knows. Nikita would lay down on the carpet, in a ready position and watch the cat with curiosity, for as long as the cougar remained there.
I know that I shouldn't have encouraged the return of the cat, but ..that's me, never did adhere to society, I used to leave raw meat out on my deck for her..in hopes that she would return...and so she did.
There was one day when the three of us went walking in the quarry , a month or two from the cougar's visits, when Lobo spotted movement about a couple of hundred yards in front of us. I called him back , leashed the both of them up just in case, and sure enough..we saw 3 cats. Two were kittens, and then the mother laying up on a large bolder at least 5-10' from her off spring. Boy..another memorable moment of being on the Island, truly God's country. We never did see them again, nor did that female cougar ever return to visit.
Yes ..you should have guessed it by now that as I'm writing about Nikita I'm trying in my own way to let her go..it has been the hardest moment of my life to say good bye to her, sure I've had other wolves, dogs and other exotic animals all my life but None has touched my heart as my Nikita has, the pain of not seeing her anywhere in my place, just laying there close to me is truely ripping my heart in half.
The injury she asstained several weeks ago had taken it's toil. A neibouring dog, a mixed breed of rot and pit bull attempted to attack her while we were on our morning walk. This dog tried two times before and both times Nikita was the winner of the attack. However this time , Nikita had slipped on a pine cone, spreading out her hind legs, thus causing an internal injury. We left after that moment and walked very, very slow back to my place here in Calgary. For several days , she had trouble doing her normal body functions, and I've learnt from passed problems that a wolf can cure itself without the help of man. I was convinced that she had a muscle sprain, which oddly cured up after four days from that time with that dog. She appeared to be herself again, we went fishing together, we played like she used to, rough and tumble that is, had no problem of eating, or doing body functions, everything was back to normal. Until this past weekend..Saturday morning, going down the back steps of my place, she stumbled!..almost landing on her body at the base of the steps. We walked around the building, to a grassy area, she began to shake..then collapsed on the grass. My first thoughts were that she was having a stroke, for at the end of this year , she would have been 12 years old. After quite awhile she regained her strength, we went back into the house, and stayed there all weekend, except for the time she had to go out for body functions.
It wasn't till monday, that things were not right..her breathing changed, drinking way more water than usual,sleeping for very long periods, just everything seemed wrong! I called a vet to find out what could be happening, even though all of my wolves just saw a vet only to get their shots, but never again..this really was different..the next day , Tuesday the 13th.,I got help and put her in my truck and rushed her to the vet..
..it was then I was told that there was a tumor on her spleen which had probably broke when she did the splits and now has filled her stomach with blood. The doctor made it quite clear that even though he could put her under the knife and repair the damage, she had less than 30% to live a normal life thereafter. I was given the deadly decision of either having her go through the operation, which may or may not be suscessful or to put her out of pain.
I could not bare to see my companion suffer as she was doing so..and so, with a broken heart, I laid my Nikita to rest...........I'll never forget what you gave to me puppy, during our time together, people may think that I'm off track but until they connect with an animal that bonds with them, in the fashion that Nikita did with me, protecting me , just being there with me, doing all kinds of things with me, they will never know how much has been taken from me at that moment she closed her eyes and passed on.
..............I miss you my puppy!
