All of my labs have been wonderful fishing companions! They are always ready to go at the drop of a hat, never question my choice of destination or fishing methods however they expect me to provide the lunch or at least be willing to share mime. I would get the swimming issue of the way right away always stopping at some "secondary" water before moving on to my planned destination.
Speaking of swimming when crossing a river, a young dog often will get pushed downstream and they will try to swim back upstream to you. Typically, they try to swim upstream in a straight line to their angler. If the current is strong enough, they will continue to get pushed downstream and can get into trouble. For the first few "crossings" for a young dog I pick a spot that is clear of obstacles for some distance but enough current to be a bit of challenge. After I cross, I watch the dog for a few minutes as they struggle to get back upstream. I then move downstream changing the angle so that as the dog attempts to swim in that straight line back to me they will be taken to slack water or the shore. Usually after a few attempts they learn that rather than attempting to swim upstream it is much quicker to swim directly to the shore and run back up the beach to their fishing partner.
One of the great things about having your pet as a fishing partner is the stories that are created. At this stage of my life I have had six labs as fishing partners and for each of them it is those stories that remind of me of each. One of my favorites involve "Hunter" (probably should have been named fisher). On the stream once she had her swim she would sit on the beach watching me wade and fish. She got really good at staying out of my back casts, usually sitting several yards downstream of me and would move downstream as I fished down. She would always want to greet any fish beached with a quick lick. Though she developed a habitat that if it was taking too long to land a particular fish (and she defined what was too long) she would swim out in the river to help with the process of landing the fish. She had learned that she was not to grab the fish so her "help" was to aid in herding the fish to the beach. That added an additional complication in my process landing the fish, not the least of which was avoid getting her tangled in the fly line/leader. Any way on this day I was tossing streamers during the Skagit spring season and had walked stream for 3/4 or so on nice bar with several pockets that consistently held bull trout and the occasional steelhead. As I fished downstream caught several bullies without the need of any help form Hunter. At the bottom of the bar there was a nice pool which had a couple gear guys fishing. As I fished through the last "pocket" before the pool I had a nice grab and a heavy fish took off for the middle of the river. After 5 minutes or so it was clear I had tangled with something other than a typically bull and it was also at that point hat Hunter decided her "help" was needed and into the river she went and for the next 5 minutes or so of some chaotic action (she chasing the fish and me yelling and attempting to keep my line clear) and I began to get control of the situation. During the whole time the downstream anglers took interest in the going ons, moving upstream to root the dog on and to tell me that there was no way I was going to land that fish. It wasn't long before with Hunter's help or in spite of her efforts I was sliding a steelhead into the shallows. From my downstream cheer leaders, I heard a "holy sh*t"! Even though that was more than 30 years ago in mind's eye there is clear image a soaking wet lab with that goofy smile nosing the fish as my shaking hand removes the fly from my personal best steelhead!
Sorry about the detour down memory lane; as with your four-legged companions my labs were/are my best fishing and hunting partners!
Curt
