Thomas Trock

Mountain Cathedrals: The Outdoors From a Different Perspective

Fish

Narrow and Difficult is the Way

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to everlasting life, and there are few who find it. – Matthew 7:13-14 AMP Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. – John 14:6 The particular path pictured above is one …

Read moreNarrow and Difficult is the Way

Salmon Spawning VI

Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. – Deuteronomy 34:7 NLT The kokanee salmon are spawning once again in my part of the world. In prior posts, I’ve mentioned how these fish sometimes spawn in water that is very shallow, or what some fishermen call thin water. They spawn here in spite of the fact that eagles and osprey often cruise overhead, using their keen eyesight to locate their next meal. A close-up of these fish over their spawning gravel can be seen at Salmon Spawning III. …

Read moreSalmon Spawning VI

Bull Trout II – Escape Swirl

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; …

Read moreBull Trout II – Escape Swirl

Bull Trout

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? Job 12:7-10 In an earlier post I’ve mentioned that there are times when we call things by names which can be a bit misleading (see Daylily). Although …

Read moreBull Trout

Salmon Spawning V

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6 NKJV Well, it’s that time of year once again, and I can’t seem to help taking some pictures of these remarkable fish (and a remarkable dog this time too). It is sometimes difficult to get a perspective on just how shallow the water can be where these kokanee salmon spawn. To get to this particular place, we had to wade across a fairly large stretch of river. Actually, I waded whilst Cosmos opted to swim most of the way. Since this area gets little human disturbance because …

Read moreSalmon Spawning V

Cutthroat Trout II

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return here, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall …

Read moreCutthroat Trout II

Stonefly

But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause — Who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number. Job 5:8-9 Sometime during the autumn months, I wrote about how nutrients from tree leaves which fall into mountain streams can be recycled into the food chain (see The Recyclers). Pictured above is a shed casing, or exoskeleton, of a stonefly. These critters play a big part of the food chain in those streams. It always does my heart good to see stonefly casing along the rocks and logs near the rivers. One …

Read moreStonefly

Salmon Spawning IV

Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Psalm 40:5 Photographing fish has been a challenge – especially when I’m trying to take the picture with one hand whilst attempting to get them into position with the other. In the past I’ve taken some photos of a school of these salmon as they are swimming over their spawning beds in the shallows of the river. This year I …

Read moreSalmon Spawning IV

Cutthroat Trout

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. Revelation 4:11 It has been a while since I’ve flailed on the water with my fly rod. With all the snow and ice we’ve had this winter/spring, it was a welcome relief when I stumbled across a few of my pictures from warmer weather. The fish in the above photo is called a westslope cutthroat trout. The orange marking under the lower jaw is the reason for the name cutthroat. However, they can be …

Read moreCutthroat Trout

Arctic Grayling and a New Year

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Grayling aren’t new to the world, just new to me. They like cold water. I mean, like really cold water. (Notice my red fingers in the photo). A few years ago I was given the opportunity to try to catch some of these fish on a fly rod for the first time. This year I was given yet another chance. The grayling didn’t disappoint, and the Lord blessed me with some very nice fish. As …

Read moreArctic Grayling and a New Year

Salmon Spawning III and Fall Colors

Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Psalm 111:2 NIV Leaves aren’t the only thing changing colors this time of year around my home. It’s time for the annual salmon spawning to take place in the nearby rivers. I know I’ve written about these remarkable fish before, but each year they just invigorate me to appreciate where I live, and marvel once again at the amazing Creator who fashioned all this life around us. As I’ve noted in an earlier post, in the summer these fish are a bright silvery color …

Read moreSalmon Spawning III and Fall Colors

Salmon Spawning II

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NIV) When I lived on the equator in Africa, seasonal variations were relatively minor. We did experience changes during the rainy and dry seasons, as well as the fluctuations they brought to both the plants and animals. These seasons are necessary for the planting, growing, and harvest for those who depend on the land to bring forth food to survive. I hope wherever you …

Read moreSalmon Spawning II

Trout Logic

“…go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.” Matthew 17:27 There are things which often amaze me when I catch a trout. Perhaps I’m easily amazed. But in modern times, when many people seem to have to push the envelope on just about everything to find excitement, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. One thing which amazes me when I catch a trout is that I …

Read moreTrout Logic

The Recyclers

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 Many of the rivers not too far from my home are a bit low in nutrients relative to other places in the mountains. The granite rocks which surround these streams don’t provide a lot of essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, or magnesium. The result is that the lower level of the food chain, i.e. the small plants and insects, which feed on the plants, aren’t quite …

Read moreThe Recyclers

Salmon Spawning I

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to …

Read moreSalmon Spawning I