Fishing in the company of wild animals.

I have fished for years in California and never once did I have to carry the equipment you need to here in Northeast Washington.

A well equipped outdoorsman in Stevens County always needs to be prepared for the worst. 1... The best hat available is the Canadian Tilly for protecting your eyes and skin from the harsh northern sun that never seems to set this time of the year. 2... A tie-dye tee shirt in case you happen upon an illegal marijuana patch...this would indicate to a nervous grower you are...cool!
3... Fishing pole, of course. 4... A .40 caliber quick draw with a 14 round clip and an extra clip in case you are attacked by a multiple of cougars or wolves. 5... Last but not least is a can of bear and moose spray. Everyone up here explained to me that the .40 caliber Smith and Wesson will only piss off a bear or a moose whereas the spray is very effective if you can stand your ground...not too sure about the last part.
It has been awkward for me to wear all this paraphernalia, but as I have been told..."better to have it, than need it" many times.

Just within Stevens County there are literally hundreds of miles of good dirt back roads through the forests and more lakes than I could count...I feel like I am in heaven exploring the "primitive roads". Sure, we have been stopped once or twice by fallen trees, but the adventure around every corner is boundless.

My goal was "Little Twin Lakes" about 15 miles outside of Colville for my first fishing outing.
Fishing most of the lakes in the area require some sort of floating device such as a tube, float or boat, of which I had neither...so off I go wildlife hunting. (with my camera of course)

While walking around I found this rather large fallen tree that was clearly brought down by a beaver.

I just wonder how long it took the guy to chew his way through such a large tree. Most of the trees around the lake were this size so he really didn't have much of a choice. I met Robert who was camping on the other side of the lake and he told me a few years ago folks complained about "beaver fever" (whatever that is) and the forest service used that as an excuse to kill the Little Twin Lakes beavers. This guy had escaped capital punishment, but unless a female happens along he will be the last.

At one end of the lake was a tree with a huge growth near its top.

With a closer look I found a rather large Osprey nest and one of the adults sitting on top of the nest.

After leaving Little Twin Lakes I go aside a large pond and experience some movement...MOOSE! A couple of females browsing for water plants.

This is one of the females who might have been wondering what I was up too.

That night I told Donna what I found and of course, her being a moose lover, wanted to go with me the next afternoon. I was more than game for another try because the photos I took weren't very good.

We failed to see any moose so of course there was always time for a few selfies. Donna was sure she was the cause, being the Moon Moose Mush! We went over to Little Twin Lakes to say hi to Robert and came back to the pond about 3/4's of an hour later.

To our surprise, when we got back to the pond there was a large bull moose foraging in the water. I believe it was the same male I saw the night before, but could not get a shot of. Donna was of course ecstatic.

"Submerge...submerge! I can easily open my eyes underwater and I would imagine most moose do too, but what would happen if a moose just didn't like opening his eyes underwater as some humans don't like? Mmmm

I walked down a little closer to the pond in order to capture some better shots, but as I did the moose made a series of grunts and groans so I felt like I might be stressing him out and backed off. 

As he headed off to the center of the pond our day was coming to a close. Donna had expended all her energy just getting in and out of the car so it was time to head home...too.

Did I mention lately how much I love this part of America?