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Nindja1ca
Member since August 2013Recent Activity
Out this afternoon on a Lake Ontario trib. Fly fishing using an egg pattern followed by a white death zonker. River was devoid of rainbows. Only saw on small one 2-3 lbs.
First salmon of the season. Caught on one of my own flies. Swinging the fly.
My brother with his second fish on the fly. He learned how to fly fish about an hour before this.
My brother came to visit me for a few days from North Carolina. We grew up fishing and enjoyed it all our lives. Because he is so far away he rarely goes out anymore...always working. He saw some previous pics from this year where I caught some nice fish on my flyrod and asked me for the first time ever if I would teach him. After 1/2 an hour and a few basic casting techniques ( swinging streamers) he hooked and landed his first fish (and a nice salmon at that) on the fly. I was more pleased than he was. He asked me if I have an extra rod he could borrow again next time that maybe he could take home. Ha...he's hooked. 😎
Steelie kid takes tourney
Nevin Broz, an Angler's Atlas field staff volunteer from southern Ontario, sends this report: Where I live in southern Ontario, the first game fish season to open every year is the trout season. Usually this day brings out everyone and their cousin to any available waters because we have all been waiting for the winter to pass and to have the open water season begin. Opening day will usually find me on a river (somewhere) either chasing steelhead or resident trout. This, of course, all depends on the previous few months’ weather, snow pack, melt, etc. Usually the trout have already run up the rivers and spawned weeks before the opener as the snow had melted and the spring rains are long over by then. Low, clear water conditions are usually the bane of all the anglers and only the most skilled and diehard will be successful. This season we had an unusually long winter, in fact on opening day we still had patches of snow where I had gone to open my season. This day began like any good fishing day should; with the company of a few good friends, some ribbing and our own private tourney, which I introduced them too (this is a carry-over from my days fishing with my aged father and his buddies). Everyone contributes $5 to the pool. We have a specific target species and a time limit. At the end of the time limit, the biggest fish (weight) takes the money. The winner then must spend his winnings on the losers by buying coffee or ice cream for all involved. It’s always a good time and we are always gunning for each other one way or another. This year we were joined by one of our buddy’s sons (Aaron). It was actually his second time out with us old-timers. He’s about 9-10 years old, but his determination is as hard-core as any of us. He never complains about anything and is single-minded in his pursuit of catching the target species. He might even be more hard-core than the rest of us. We arrived at one of Lake Huron’s tributary rivers (Great Lakes in Ontario) and made our way down the steep hill to the river’s edge. Everyone rigged up their favourite lure/bait and we parted like Moses did the Red Sea. Two of my friends tied on roe bags and headed down to their favourite hole. Aaron and his father went to try a side channel off the main river with night crawlers, while I tied on a cone-head muddler fly and headed upstream to try my luck. The water was quite turbid and higher than usual from the late snow melt (within the last week before the opener). With the water being so dirty and high, I knew three things would have to be followed if there was to be any success on my part: 1. I would need a fly pattern that would get through the current fast enough to reach the steelies hugging the bottom. 2. I needed a fly with enough contrast to be visible through the dirty water, either really dark or really bright, this way the fish could visibly see the fly. 3. Since the water was so much higher and faster the trout would be out of the main currents and holding in the slower water right next to shore. By staying in the fast-moving water, they expend too much energy. The current next to shore is so much slower and negotiable, and because the water is higher than normal, deep enough to give them the safe feeling of being protected. As I worked my way upstream I was having no success. Passing other anglers, I asked if any had been successful. No one, it seemed, had had any luck this day. The only anglers I saw catching anything were a pair using Mepps spinners. I netted one for the pair and saw it was foul-hooked. The angler didn’t care and added it too his stringer. I mentioned this to a few other anglers, who promptly said that they would go tell the local conservation officer. These two individuals were also well over the limit. We are allowed to harvest a maximum of two rainbow trout under our regs. We counted that they each had about 6-7 steelies. I told them that the limit was only two fish per angler, yet they didn’t seem to care too much. As we continued with our angling day, I finally had a hit on my streamer pattern. It was quick and over just as quickly. I tried tying an egg pattern on to the bend of the streamer hook, hoping that one fly would act as an attractor and the other as the target. I had a few small tugs on the egg pattern, but these weren’t from steelies. It was something much smaller, such as a smallmouth bass or perhaps a parr (baby trout). Heading back to see how the boys had done, Aaron’s father announced that the lad had caught his first steelhead. It was a nice, spawned-out hen, easily over 6 lbs. He had caught it on a worm as it swam within five feet of him. This was to be topped about a half-hour later by an even bigger buck. His father was worried that it might have been snagged, but I assured him it was legit as I netted it for him. It was clearly hooked in the roof of the mouth. Aaron was kicking our collective butts. We noticed some other nice steelhead swimming in the side channel, but they had no interest in any of our presentations. They were only interested in chasing after one another. Aaron generously offered me a worm numerous times but I refused. I told him thanks, but my joy was catching fish on flies that I had tied and fooled them with. Nothing wrong with using worms or bait, I just like to take the hard road and enjoy the challenge. In the end, when the time ran out I made sure everyone ponied up and paid the boy out. We didn’t hold him to our coffee rule. He said he was going to spend his new found wealth on more fishing equipment. We could live with that, and in the end it looks like we have another one hooked. Details Lures tried: Woolley Buggers (various), Conehead Muddlers, egg flies, Copper John nymphs, roe bags, night crawlers, Mepps spinners (# 1 - 2), Micro Rapala’s. Conditions: Air temp around 10-11C. Water temp (unknown). Overcast skies.
