September 10, 2020 The Gottgoblin of Kootenai River
Gottgoblin of Kootenai River
My friend’s grandparents lived on the Kootenai River about where Smith Creek flows in. When my friend was a kid, she and her siblings and all her cousins of similar age would visit the grandparents. This was the 60’s, so there was plenty to do and explore on the grandparents farm.
However, Grandma could not swim and was deathly afraid of one of her grand-kids drowning in the river. The house was a stone throw from the bank. So, what does a loving grandmother do? Why create a river monster, of course. From a woman’s love for her family, the Gottgoblin of Kootenai River was born.
Grandma said, if you go anywhere near that river, the Gottgoblin would get you! It loved to devour children! You are only safe if you stay away from the river bank. My friend remembers driving with her grandparents along the river dike and seeing a tree root ball in the river. She would ask her grandmother what it was and the reply was always…
‘That’s a Gottgoblin.’
Did it work? Well, no child drowned on grandma’s watch and my friend admits she was 14 years old before adventuring near the Kootenai River. She tells me this story now as we kayak down the river. She has grandchildren of her own and does not begrudge her own grandmother’s choice of keeping her brood safe. And hey, she seems normal to me, so the story didn’t scar her too badly. We laugh as she tells the story, but then… we see it. I’ve often wondered why that tree stump had such a mythological aura about it. Now it’s perfectly clear,
it’s a Gottgoblin.
It’s a little early for Halloween stories, but I could not resist. Gottgobblins aside, the river is fishing great! Trout are looking up and hitting foam patterns near the banks, they’re taking small BHPT under the strike indicator and grabbing the wet fly on the swing in the riffles. If you’ve been putting off your fishing trip for the best time to go out, this is it! The smoke from the surrounding wild land fires have not been a problem yet, but that might be changing next week. Days are getting shorter, but the late afternoon/ early evening time is my favorite for fishing. The flow is currently 8651 CFS and is due to drop another 500 CFS on Sept 10th, then starting September 13th the dive starts with the final flow at just under 6400 CFS by the 15th! The water temp is between 60-61 degrees. The weather forecast for the weekend and next week is a pleasant mid 70’s to mid 80’s with mostly light winds. Who’s ready for some fishing?