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DISPATCHES Our readers write
WELL, WE WERE CLOSE
I noticed that my name is incorrect in the text associated with the picture of the Cobb family’s successful deer hunt (Trophy Wall, Hunting Special 2022). I’m the father-in-law pictured (second from right, above), but my name is Dave Hoover, not Dale. I’ve been a subscriber for years, and I love the magazine!
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DAVE HOOVER
NORTH BAY, ONTARIO
AVAILABILITY ALERT
In each issue of Outdoor Canada, I always enjoy reading about what new products are available. In “Hunt helpers” (Hunting Special 2022), I found a product that was of real interest to me, the Shield Full Zip Jacket from Alps Outdoorz. Windproof, waterproof, fleece lining and a hoodie—perfect! I went to their website, subscribed and they replied with a 50 per cent discount off my first order for subscribing. Although the price was in U.S. dollars, it was still too good to be true. Which it was. They don’t ship to Canada. I think your magazine should only show us stuff we can get up here. It only makes sense, since you’re called Outdoor Canada. Just a slight blip from an otherwise great mag. I would have liked that jacket, though.
TOM MILLER
GREENHILL, NOVA SCOTIA
The editors reply: We’re sorry you can’t get your hands on the Shield Full Zip from Alps Outdoorz via their website. They will ship to Canada via phone-in orders, however, although you’ll have to pay shipping and duty costs, unfortunately. Cabela’s/ Bass Pro and Walmart in Canada carry Alps products, but it would appear to be mostly backpacks. Another option would be Amazon.ca or Shopbluedog.ca, but again, their offerings may be limited. At any rate, again, our apologies for the frustration. On a lighter note, we’re happy to hear you enjoy the magazine. Thank you for reading!
INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED
FLY FISHING
BY SCOTT GARDNER
visual cue to help you get a drag-free drift on your nymph, and as an indicator for subsurface strikes. You can use it pretty much anywhere you’d fish a dry fly, but I like it as a searching rig on relatively featureless water, where fish could be holding anywhere. The hopper-dropper is typically considered a trout rig, but it’s also one of my favourites for bass and panfish in rivers and lakes. In those cases, I use I have read numera foam or deer-hair bass bug (sized for the species), usually with a wiggly and seductive subsurface fly behind it. With trout, double hook-ups on the hopperdropper are rare, but not so with bass, especially smallmouths. They are such competitive feeders that when one eats, the others also get fired up, making for ous outdoor articles, a sporty few minutes when you get two fish on the line at once. TANDEM STREAMERS Big trout tend to target big meals, but when the nights get cool and the leaves turn colour, they really go on a meat and I find a lot of Double duty UP YOUR ODDS OF FIGURING OUT THE FISH BY TYING ON A TWO-FLY RIG hunt. Fall is an excellent time to fish with streamers, and an even better time to throw two of them. My favourite rig for this features a beefy, garish and often weighted streamer as the front fly, followed by a smaller streamer. I typically put a big Sculpzilla, Conethe fishing articles WHEN IT’S NOT obvious what fish are eating, how do you decide what fly to tie on? When I can’t make up my mind—or if I’m just feeling saucy— I go with a double-fly rig. Where legal, fishing two flies lets you cover more water with a single cast, while also testing flies of different colours, shapes or actions. Multi-fly rigs have been used for more than two centuries, and there are dozens of versions, but I like to keep mine as basic as possible. Here are a couple of my most reliable rigs. They’re simple to make, and designed for easy casting in rivhead Muddler or Autumn Splendour fly on first, then slap on a Woolly Bugger behind it. There are some dubious theories about the way this big-fly/small-fly arrangement affects trout psychology, but my reason for using it is purely ers, lakes, ponds or anywhere else you’re inclined to fling a fly. practical. Simply, it casts better than a leader with two big flies or a small fly are redundant THE SET-UP Two-fly rigs often involve complex knots with loops and protrusions that require a plumber’s licence or advanced macramé skills to create. I’ve tried many of these set-ups, and my experience is that they work a lot better on paper than in practice. They’re often fiddly to tie, unwieldy to cast and prone to tangling. So, after much followed by a big one, which cast like wet socks and are prone to godawful tangles. I can’t verify the Newtonian physics behind this, but I’ve cut off enough wind-knotted leaders to know strife and experimentation, I now make all my double-fly rigs in the same, straight- it happens. forward way. The other key to chucking two I tie the main fly to a shortish leader of eight- or 10-pound mono that’s rarely lon- streamers is to go with a stiffer 10-, 12- and lack informager than seven feet. Then I tie a two- to four-foot length of lighter mono to the bend of the first hook using an improved clinch knot; this extra section of mono is known as a “dropper.” Finally, I tie the second fly to the dropper using a loop knot so it swims with a little more action. This straight-line set-up is less prone to tangles, and it’s easier to cast than the macramé ones. And yes, you can hook fish on either fly. or even 15-pound leader. It’s more castable, and since the rig prompts reaction strikes, the fish won’t be leader shy. You can drift or swing a two-streamer rig, but it’s especially fun for banging the banks. I plonk it tight to the bank, tion. If a person is HOPPER-DROPPER One of the best-known double-fly rigs consists of a high-floating dry fly with a wet fly or nymph trailing behind and below it on a dropper. Bushy grasshopper flies are a common choice for the dry fly, hence the name “hopper-dropper.” It’s a clever and versatile rig. The dry fly is a legitimate target in its own right, but it also serves as a 30 | OUTDOOR CANADA [ HUNTING SPECIAL 2022 ] give it a few big strips, then try the next spot—if I don’t get bit first. OC ASSOCIATE EDITOR SCOTT GARDNER IS ALWAYS TRYING OUT NEW FLY RIGS. WWW.OUTDOORCANADA.CA SCOTT GARDNER trying to learn, it is next to impossible. For example, you write about using and tying two-fly rigs (“Double duty,” Hunting Special 2022). One would never learn, however, unless shown how to tie the rigs, and what items to use. It’s like those sponsored professional fishing shows showing a guy catching a fish, but not showing the lure he used. All you hear is, “Oh, that is a big one” or “Oh, that is a good one.” It’s useless information. It’s like some fishermen I’ve encountered on the shoreline who will never tell you what they use, or how to use something new.
BASS LOVE THE HOPPER-DROPPER
FRED TRZASKOWSKI
LANGLEY, B.C.
The editors reply: We’re sorry to learn about your frustration. We thought the writer’s instructions on how to tie hopperdropper and tandem streamer rigs were clear: “I now make all my double-fly rigs in the same, straightforward way. I tie the main fly to a shortish leader of eight- or 10-pound mono that’s rarely longer than seven feet. Then I tie a two- to four-foot length of lighter mono to the bend of the first hook using an improved clinch knot; this extra section of mono is known as a ‘dropper.’ Finally, I tie the second fly to the dropper using a loop knot so it swims with a little more action.”
IN DEFENCE OF CROSSBOWS
I must take exception to the letter from the fellow from Manitoba, saying crossbow hunting is not a bona fide form of archery (Dispatches, “Crossbow contention,” November/December 2022). When I first took up archery several decades ago, I hunted with a compound bow. I practised a lot, and became reasonably proficient. After many years, however, my old shoulder was unable to keep up with the practice needed to maintain my shot. I’ve been using an Excalibur crossbow since then.
Crossbow hunting relies on several of the same disciplines as hunting with traditional or compound bows. You need to be within a relatively short range of game to take the shot, for example, and you must have a good understanding of animal anatomy for good shot placement. You also need to tune your bolts for optimum accuracy. Crossbows allow us older folks to enjoy the extended hunting seasons without making it a point-and-shoot pastime. Thank you, and keep up the good work!
HERMAN BAGUSS
PRESCOTT, ONTARIO
RAFFLE GAFFE
In “On guard for the West” (November/ December 2022, Outdoor Canada West), we stated that raffles for Minister’s Special Licence (MSL) tags in Alberta will be managed by individual conservation organizations beginning in 2023. At press time, however, Alberta Environment and Parks, which oversees the MSL program, had yet to announce the process for managing the raffles moving forward. Our suggestion that Wild Sheep Foundation Alberta will be handling the raffle for wild sheep tags, therefore, is incorrect. Our apologies for any confusion. OC
