When I initially contacted Niagara Tourism last spring about fishing in the Niagara Falls area, I figured I would be fishing from a charter boat on Lake Erie or Lake Ontario.

But Sabrina, the Canadian tourism agent, suggested fishing on the Niagara River with a guide and getting a closer look at the river and its rocky banks. I'm always up for a challenge so I opted for the river fishing.

I contacted guide Aldo Nava, owner of Niagara Fishing Adventures, who informed me that a lunch at a microbrewery, with samples, was also included. Now normally the lunch comes after a morning of fishing, but a scheduling conflict put us at the microbrewery first, with fishing in the afternoon.

I was just a little nervous about sampling beer before fishing on the Niagara River -- near the whirlpool rapids, no less -- but like I said, I was game.

The Niagara Falls Brewing Company on Lundy's Lane in Niagara Falls is owned by a family from Ethiopia. The company, which sponsors Aldo, makes beer and ale, including an interesting apple ale, and the samples were tasty.

Though certainly not a connoisseur of the golden liquid -- I hadn't tasted beer since I sipped a relative's bottle at age 9 and hurled into a sink -- I was pleasantly surprised. I'm sure my companions were glad I skipped the hurling, especially since huge hamburgers and kielbasa were grilled for our lunch.

I wouldn't finish my beer samples because I didn't want to be the least bit tipsy when we began phase two of the fishing adventure, and it was a good thing, too.

That's when he pulled out the waiver that covered, among other things, accidents involving helicopter crashes, wild horses and train wrecks. I laughed and asked Aldo why his form covered so many ominous events. He told me that he and his attorney just wanted to cover all the bases. I signed with a flourish and a grin.

We got into our car and followed Aldo in his truck to a pull-off site on River Road beside the Niagara River, near the Spanish Aerocar ride. He pulled out bait, poles, a net, a bucket of minnows, a thermos of coffee and a backpack of safety items and tackle with a two-way radio. We offered to help carry some things and began our walk down to shore.

Walk was an understatement. Definitely not for the faint of heart, the exhilarating hike through the woods was a good quarter mile on a rough downhill path. The woods were beautiful, and it seemed a popular spot with the natives, but being in some sort of shape would be helpful on such a hike. I made it down anyhow.

Once on the rocky shoreline, we set up shop, and Aldo baited our poles, which were between nine feet and 11è feet long. (I suppose I should say it in meters, since that is how they do it in Canada, but I failed that part of math.)

Within five minutes and my fourth cast, I caught a two-pound, beautifully-colored rainbow trout (I have a picture). That seemed like a very good beginning for a long afternoon of fishing -- from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- but unfortunately that was the only fish we caught, except for a large sucker fish caught by the guide.

Others who had gathered at the shore had the same luck. But anyone who does any fishing knows that's the way it goes sometime. Huge lake trout, brown trout and rainbow trout were constantly jumping out of the water as near as three feet from shore to taunt us.

And despite my status as angling goddess that day, I also tangled up three poles and caught a hook in an unlikely area of the guide's pants. (He told me he was hoping to have kids some day -- OOPS!)

But Aldo laughed good naturedly the whole day about everything and told us facts about the area such as where a four-foot-long muskie was caught once and how good the salmon fishing was in this area during the fall.

The shoreline was beautiful, and the water in the whirlpool area was lovely and dangerous, the ultimate fishing temptation.

The Canadian guide had fished the river since he was 3, and loved it so much that he decided he should mix his love of fishing and his career. We should all be so lucky.

For more information, check www.niagarafishingadventures.com