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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Editorial

BY CHRIS MARSHALL

In the spring of 2009, The Canadian Fly Fisher suggested to Fly Fishing Canada

CHRIS MARSHALL

“

Therefore, we’ve decided to organize fundraising for a similar kids workshop planned for

”

2010.

that having a fly fishing workshop for kids at the 2009 National Championships in Fernie, B.C. would be a great way to get kids more involved in fly fishing. To jump start the event, we offered to solicit funds from readers and magazine staff to offset travel and accommodation costs for youngsters who lived more than a day’s drive away from Fernie. We managed to raise sufficient funds to sponsor two boys from western BC and two girls from Ontario. One of these, Emily Bruneau from Whitby, Ontario wrote about her experience and we’ve published this in the Wandering Aengus column at the back of this issue of The Canadian Fly Fisher. We’re delighted to announce that one of the outcomes of her trip was that Fly Fishing Canada selected her as a new member of the Canadian Youth Team for 2010. However, what really impressed us was her admission that she’d been losing interest in fly fishing and that the experience in Fernie had totally rekindled her enthusiasm—that she couldn’t have asked for anything better in life. We feel the same way. If events such as these can have such a positive effect on getting kids more involved in fly fishing, it naturally follows that we should continue to support the kids workshops at the Nationals. Therefore, we’ve decided to organize fundraising for a similar kids workshop planned for the 2010 Nationals scheduled for Roblin, Manitoba. As the event is planned for the end of May rather than the end of September, it means that time is very tight. If you’re interested, check out details of how you can contribute in the story we’ve published in Nancy’s news of this issue, where we also explain how kids can apply for a chance of being selected to receive funding. We know that many clubs across the country organize similar workshops locally, but there’s always a need for more. If you’re planning such kids’ events for 2010, send details, and we’ll publish announcements and follow-up news items in The Canadian Fly Fisher and/or on our Web site. The future of fly fishing rests in the hands of the next generation. Let’s work on giving them all the help and encouragement we can. B

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

introducing the new OPTi

switch style. PRO TESTIMONIAL Loop rod & line designer and Las Buitreras camp manager Klaus Frimor on the new OPTi Switch Style/ X-Grip:

“When we started the construction of the Switch Style rod the goal was to build a rod with a relatively short length and light line class, that could cast like a real double-hand rod. It turned out better than we had hoped! Many Switch rods on the market present as good-casting single-hand rods, but buckle in the mid-section when power is applied with a twohand cast. Avoiding this common problem became a large part of the design. It used to be that this ‘1 1/2-rod combination’ gave the worst from both the single- and double-hand casting and fishing perspectives. The Opti Switch has melted the best of both into one delightful rod!”

The OPTi Switch Style comes with the hexagonal X-grip handle and is built with the new durable cross weave technology. It is available in two models: 10’7”-4 pcs for line #6 and #8.

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Éditorial

VOLUME 12 - ISSUE 1 FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Au printemps 2009, Canadian Fly Fisher suggérait à Fly Fishing Canada d’organiser un atelier pour les jeunes à l’occasion des championnats nationaux 2009 à Fernie, C.-B., afin de les impliquer dans la pêche à la mouche. Pour stimuler l’évènement, nous avions offert de solliciter nos lecteurs et le personnel du magazine pour couvrir une partie des frais de transports des jeunes résidant à plus d’une journée de route de Fernie. Nous avons ainsi réussi à réunir suffisamment de fonds pour commanditer deux garçons de l’ouest de la ColombieBritannique et deux jeunes filles de l’Ontario.

PUBLISHER Albion Enterprises EDITOR Chris Marshall DIRECTOR Nick Pujic GENERAL SALES MANAGER Nancy Cairns MARKETING AND SALES REPRESENTATIVE Paul Langford WESTERN CANADIAN SALES MANAGER Paul Airut ASSOCIATE EDITOR Paul Marriner FIELD EDITORS:

Brian Chan, Rory Glennie, Duncan Hardie, Don MacLean, Jim McLennan, Thibaut Millet, Thomas Porter, Duane Radford, Bob Sheedy, Scott Earl Smith, A.J. Somerset, April Vokey Saltwater: Duncan Hardie Tying: Sheldon Seale EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Willow Hales PHOTO EDITOR Nick Pujic CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Glen Hales, Marcel Saring, Mark Krupa, Rob O’Reilly

L’une d’entre elle, Emily Bruneau de Whitby, Ontario a décrit son expérience que nous publions dans la section Wandering Aengus située à la fin de ce numéro du Canadian Fly Fisher. Nous sommes particulièrement heureux d’annoncer qu’à l’issue de son voyage, elle fut sélectionnée par Fly Fishing Canada comme nouveau membre de l’équipe des Jeunes pour 2010. Cependant, ce qui nous a le plus impressionné fut le fait qu’Emily reconnait avoir perdu quelque peu son intérêt dans la pêche à la mouche, et que son expérience à Fernie a complètement renouvelé son enthousiasme – au point qu’elle n’aurait rien souhaité de mieux dans la vie! Nous partageons ce sentiment. Si des évènements comme celui-ci peuvent avoir un impact positif pour intéresser les jeunes à la pêche à la mouche, il est naturel que nous souhaitions continuer à les aider pour participer aux compétitions nationales. En conséquence, nous avons décidé d’organiser une levée de fonds pour l’atelier dédié aux jeunes lors des championnats 2010 de Roblin, Manitoba. L’évènement est prévu pour la fin du mois de Mai plutôt que le mois de Septembre, ce qui rend le délai assez serré. Si vous êtes intéressés, vous pouvez consulter les modalités de votre contribution dans la chronique des nouvelles de Nancy, publiée dans ce numéro, où nous expliquons aussi comment les jeunes peuvent courir la chance d’être commandités. Nous savons que de nombreux clubs organisent des ateliers similaires localement, mais on n’en fera jamais assez. Si vous planifiez un tel évènement pour 2010, veuillez nous envoyer les détails et nous en publierons les nouvelles dans le Canadian Fly Fisher et/ou sur notre site internet. Le futur de la pêche à la mouche est entre les mains de la prochaine génération. Aidons-les et encourageons-les du mieux possible. B

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Annually - CDN. $25.95 (Includes GST) US $32.00 USD Articles, news items, and tips are invited from freelance writers, anglers, or by any other interested parties. Please include postage for return of photos, slides, or other materials. The Canadian Fly Fisher cannot be held responsible for lost items. The Canadian Fly Fisher is sold in fly fishing shops and retail outlets across Canada and in the United States. Published quarterly by Albion Enterprises Ltd. All facts, opinions, and statements appearing within this publication are those of the writers, and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions, or endorsements. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the publisher. Albion Enterprises Ltd. and The Canadian Fly Fisher are not affiliated with the Federation of Fly Fishers or Fly Fisher magazine. ISSN 1496-1717 Canadian Mail Publication Agreement #41194528 PAP #10598 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publication Assistance Program (PAP) and the Canada Magazine Fund toward our mailing costs and project costs. Nous reconnaissons le soutien financier du gouvernement du Canada pour nos coûts d’envoi postal et à ce projet par l’entremise du Programme d’aide aux publications (PAP) et du Fonds du Canada pour les magazines. D

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Potpourri

BY PAUL MARRINER

Hooks

PAUL MARRINER

Occasionally heard are questions about suitable hooks for tube flies. Since fly size doesn’t depend on shank length, it makes sense to have a short strong hook to minimize levering and maximize holding power. My current preference is the single Talon Tube/Egg/ Steelhead and Partridge Big Mouth Doubles. Nevertheless, mine isn’t the only opinion on offer. Recently, the following were recommended by experienced salmon and steelhead anglers: Partridge HND (heavy nymph double) as they are available in the smaller sizes, 8 - 20; and, the Gamakatsu SL45 Bonefish for singles. Of additional interest, the announced sale of Partridge by Mustad to the English company Fishing Matters means a period of uncertainty, particularly for Atlantic salmon anglers who, in the main, are loyal Partridge users.

That Sinking Feeling Sink-tip lines aren’t universally loved. While trolling with one is problem free, some fly fishers find casting them far enough to cover big water difficult. If you’re in that group, perhaps one or more of the following personal observations will help. One is a common failure to recognize the need to match the weight of the sinking portion to the rod. Particularly when concentrated at the tip, the range of weight that can be comfortably cast by any given rod is rather narrow. Taking a 20’ tip, for example, the idea that you can comfortably cast everything from an intermediate to a Type 6 with the same rod isn’t realistic. Another consideration is the length over which the sinking portion is distributed. Several decades ago Jim Teeny created the first integral 24’ sink tips and they’ve been my salmon-fishing choice ever since. The T-series specifies the weight of the sinking portion in grains, allowing you to match line and rod, and the length minimizes the need for false casting. This is the shooting-head concept, but the integral floating section is much easier for me to work with than shooting lines. I reserve heads (30’ long in six sink rates) for trolling. Casting sink tips begins by getting most or all of the sinking section to the surface before the backcast. With a short tip one must retrieve most of the line and then make multiple false casts to extend it before the business delivery. Beyond some depth (variable), the line must be roll cast to the surface before the lift. This is very difficult 1-866-991-0287 with much more than a foot or two of floating line outside the tip.

Here, when wading, rod length enters the picture. To limit false casts to one, I found that my 10’, 8-weight, single-handed salmon rod manages a T-200 nicely. Conversely, for me, a T-400 demands at least a 10-weight, 13’ two-hander. Having taken a fancy to 8-weight rods in the 11 - 12’ range, I determined that I could handle a longer tip to increase distance without additional effort. Enter the TS-250. It has a 30’ tip and matches perfectly with the new rods. Teeny also offers an Extreme Distance model with a 35’ tip, interesting, but this proved to be more than I could handle while wading. However, it seems like a natural for casting from a platform, such as a pier. Being very familiar with the Teeny lines on multiple rods and in many situations, I’ve used them as examples; other manufacturers offer similar products but without the immediate clarity of tip weight and length. Nor is one restricted to manufacturer offerings. Some of my friends roll-their-own by trimming factory sink-tips or indulge in the time-honored ploy of attaching heads of their own making to floating lines (vs. shooting lines). By experimenting, it is possible to trim an existing tip to a length that can be pulled from the water with enough floating line beyond the tip to minimize false casts (the theory behind long sinking leaders). One final thought: If my casts fail to straighten properly I generally know the reason. Bowing to the river is a bad habit anytime, but with sink tips it can make for water thrashing. Getting my chin off my chest and keeping my eyes up most always puts things right.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

THE ANNE GREENAWAY

Elsewhere in this issue is my piece about the Margaree Salmon Museum. One angler whose fly patterns are represented among the exhibits is Major W.G. Greenaway. In his book, The Way to Better Angling, he extols the virtues of his pattern the Anne Greenaway for both trout and salmon under low-light conditions. Quill wings were popular in Greenaway’s day, but are less favoured today, particularly in larger hook sizes. A fur-strip wing better suggests life—or at least it does for me—and so the substitution in the following recipe. Otherwise the dressing follows the rather-vague original description given by the major.

RECIPE Hook: Partridge CS10/1, size 6 (no hook was specified in the original). Tag: Deep orange. Body: Rear half, gold; front half, black. Wing: Mink fur strip (the original was dark mallard quill feathers). Hackle: Brown (original designation was “game cock,” a nebulous description at best).

Sign of the Times Of interest to those connected with the fly fishing industry is the demise of the annual Fly Fishing Retailer show. A gradual decline in exhibitors and attendees left the organizing group little choice but to amalgamate with another event. With ICAST, a massive general fishing show, and the more diverse Outdoor Retailer as options, the fly fishing industry will vote with their booth buys. Expect a little early chaos, but industry heavyweights will almost certainly hang together. B

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Nancy’s News

BY NANCY CAIRNS

Federal Government to Investigate Collapse of West Coast Sockeye Runs

Prime Minister Stephen Harper ordered a federal inquiry, headed by BC Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, into the collapse of the salmon species which occurred in November, 2009. The deadline for completing the report is May 1st, 2011, giving him just over one year to investigate reasons why the once thriving run collapsed. After two of the leanest years on record, scientists had predicted a healthy return of sockeye in 2009, because of a strong spawning year in 2005 and the salmon’s four-year life cycle. Only about seven per cent of the original prediction of 8.7 million actually made the run. That’s just under one million salmon. However, it should be noted these predictions are con-

sidered to be accurate only 50 per cent of the time. The huge shortfall forced the closure of the commercial, recreational and aboriginal sockeye fisheries on the river over the summer, and raised questions about the longterm survival of B.C.’s salmon stocks. Many in BC, including biologists, believe sea lice spread from BC’s fish farms have created problems for wild salmon. According to news reports, in October, Marine Harvest lost at least 40,000 Atlantic salmon, which it raises on its fish farms in British Columbia. Many conserva-

NICK PUJIC PHOTO

NANCY CAIRNS

Despite scientists predictions 2009 would foster a healthy return of sockeye salmon to British Columbia’s Fraser River, it turned out to be in fact one of the worst return years on record.

tionists claim that the escape of the fish might have had a negative impact on the environment and the salmon. Other experts blame warmer ocean and river temperatures, as well as declining food supplies in the open ocean for the failing salmon runs. Vancouver-born Cohen was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1983 and appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1987. Hopefully, he’ll not only be able to get to the bottom of the collapse, but also determine an effective solution. B

FQSA’s 2009 Mentoring/Discovery event: A complete success! Photos By Marc-Antoine Jean During the weekend of September 5-7 th, The Fédération Québécoise pour le Saumon Atlantique (FQSA), in collaboration with its partners, held the third edition of its annual Mentoring/Discovery event. The hosts for this year’s outing were the four Atlantic salmon rivers of the Saguenay region, namely the À Mars, Petit Saguenay, St-Jean Saguenay and Ste-Marguerite rivers. The event, which marked the 25th anniversary of the FQSA, welcomed close to 120 participants, including accompanying guides and mentors coming from all regions of Quebec and even one from France! This year’s Mentoring/Discovery activity was comprised of three parts. In continuation with previous years, the mentoring part itself provided an opportunity for fly fishers to make their debut in angling for Atlantic salmon under the helpful eye of an experienced angler, including guides, sports editors—with an average of more than 30 years of experience in the sport. Among those receiving their initiation in this

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year’s outing was Quebec’s own wildlife minister, Serge Simard, who proved to be an able learner. The Discovery activity involved introducing (with the assistance of local guides) anglers who already had some experience with Atlantic salmon to rivers with wich they were unfamiliar. This part of the program also provided managers of other local river associations with an opportunity to report on their experience

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

GERARD BILODEAU WITH A NEW FLY FISHER

to their own regions, with a view of increasing future patronization of the rivers there. Based on evidence from the last two years, this was a very expectation. New this year was the addition of a youth section, which allowed about ten young people from the Saguenay region to learn about fly fishing for salmon, under the supervision of young monitors/mentors from la Maison des jeunes Point de Mire de Verdun. Monitors from other Maisons des jeunes from the Saguenay region

Mentorat /Découverte 2009 de la FQSA : un succès sur toute la ligne! Durant le week-end du 5 au 7 Septembre dernier, la Fédération Québécoise pour le Saumon Atlantique (FQSA) en collaboration avec ses partenaires tenait la 3ième édition de son événement annuel Mentorat / Découverte. Cette année, les 4 rivières du Saguenay, soit les rivières À Mars, Petit Saguenay, St-Jean Saguenay et Ste-Marguerite étaient les hôtes, cette édition spéciale marquant le 25 ième anniversaire de la FQSA, accueillant ainsi près de 120 participants, guides-accompagnateurs et mentors provenant des 4 coins du Québec, et même de la France!!

DAVID BISHOP DURING HIS DEMO OF SPEY CASTING

also took part in the activity, with the aim of instituting a similar programme in their respective organizations in the future. The activity was extremely well received by the youngsters who took part. Another innovation this year was the presence of many representatives and pro staff from well-known makers of fly fishing rods and equipment, such as G.Loomis, Guideline, Orvis, Sage, and St Croix, giving participants an excellent opportunity to witness professional demonstrations and to try out rods of their choice under the helpful eye of well-known personalities in the sport. All the guides, trainers and mentors who took part in this year’s event and who made it once again a resounding success were volunteers. As in the two previous years, a very high level of satisfaction was expressed by all participants, who unanimously endorsed repeating the event in 2010. The Mentoring/Discovery event provides a unique ocpportunity for developing greater camaraderie between new and experienced salmon anglers, allowing them to share their passion and experience for the benefit of the next generation. The organizers’ challenge will be to further develop the value of an activity which has already proved to provide a unique platform for promoting salmon angling in the province of Quebec. We await the 2010 crop with anticipation! B

Le Mentorat/Découverte de la FQSA regroupait cette année 3 volets. Le volet mentorat procure une occasion unique pour des pêcheurs à la mouche débutant la pratique de la pêche au saumon Atlantique de s’initier aux bases de cette activité en étant associé à une personnalité reconnue pour son expertise de la pêche au saumon, un mentor. Parmi ceux-ci, mentionnons la présence de plusieurs guides de pêche aguerris, chroniqueurs de plein air,

commerçants et autres experts de la pêche au saumon, la plupart ayant plus de 30 années d’expérience en la matière. Parmi les initiés de cette année, notons la présence du Ministre Québécois délégué à la Faune, M. Serge Simard, qui a démontré des aptitudes dignes de mention dès ses débuts. Le volet Découverte procure quant à lui l’opportunité à des sportifs possédant déjà une expérience de pêche au saumon de découvrir

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 11

Nancy’s News RIVIÈRE À MARS AND LOW WATER LEVEL

des rivières moins connues, guidés par des accompagnateurs recrutés parmi les guides et pêcheurs sportifs de l’endroit. Du même coup, c’est aussi l’opportunité aux organisations gestionnaires de ces rivières de faire connaître leur secteur et recruter de nouveaux adeptes, plusieurs des participants exprimant généralement le désir de revenir fréquenter ces rivières. Cette année, un volet jeunesse a aussi été ajouté, permettant à une dizaine de jeunes de la région du Saguenay de s’initier à la pêche

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BY NANCY CAIRNS

SERGE SIMARD ON HIS FIRST ATTTEMPT AT ATLANTIC SALMON FISHING, MONITORED BY CLAUDE HAMEL

à la mouche et à la pêche au saumon. Ainsi, sous la supervision des jeunes moniteurs de la Maison des jeunes Point de Mire de Verdun, ceux-ci ont pu prendre un premier contact avec cette merveilleuse activité qu’est la pêche au saumon. Les moniteurs des Maisons de jeunes du Saguenay ont aussi participé à l’activité dans le but de mettre en place une formation au sein de leurs institutions respectives. À noter également la présence de plusieurs représentants et pro-staff de grands fabricants

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

d’équipements et de cannes tels que G.Loomis, Guideline, Orvis, Sage, St Croix, etc… Les participants ont ainsi assisté à des démonstrations de lancers et eu l’occasion de faire l’essai de plusieurs cannes, conseillés par personnalités reconnues. Il importe de souligner que tous les guidesaccompagnateurs, formateurs et mentors qui ont assuré le succès du week-end l’ont tous fait sur une base bénévoles, aucun d’entre eux n’ayant été rémunéré. À la suite de ce grand succès marqué par la camaraderie, le partage, le plaisir sans oublier la découverte des délices de la gastronomie régionale saguenéenne, tous les participants ont exprimé le souhait de voir se poursuivre ce genre d’activités pour une 4 ième année en 2010. Les organisateurs ont donc le défi de poursuivre l’évolution de cet événement afin de d’assurer la continuité de cette activité incomparable de promotion de la pêche sportive du saumon au Québec. Attendons maintenant de voir ce que nous réservera la Cuvée 2010! B

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Casting With Bill Bill Spicer is an F.F.F. Master Certified Casting Instructor and owner of Ontario School of Fly Fishing. He is also host of The New Fly Fisher television show.

BILL SPICER

BY BILL SPICER

The Steeple Cast It’s amazing the lengths and the places we will go to catch a fish, and sometimes those lengths will put us in a situation where normal casting just won’t work. A situation such as a cliff behind you along with bushes at your feet will not allow an overhead cast or a roll cast. What to do then? The steeple cast is the answer. The steeple cast was invented just for this situation. It is a relatively simple cast, with an extra high, almost vertical back cast. It will allow you to clear high obstacles behind you, but you can really only control it properly on a short or medium length cast.

Let’s go through the basic steps.

On your back cast turn your hand around, so that the reel is facing upward and on top of the rod. Now cast upward and as vertically as you can. Use a little extra energy on this back cast. With the reel in this position, it will place your thumb under the rod and allow you to apply the extra energy. Take note that it is important to wait until sufficient time has elapsed for the line to straighten out before you start the forward cast.

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

This cast can be a little tricky to perform and can look downright ugly at times. As you start your forward cast, rotate your wrist back so that the reel is under the rod and cast out as horizontally as you can in a normal front cast. Notice how straight the line is and how the rod bends sufficiently. You can only obtain this by waiting for the line to straighten on the back cast. This will load the rod immediately when you begin your front cast. If you do not allow sufficient time for the line to straighten, the rod will not load (bend) properly and the line will collapse on the front cast.

This cast can be a little tricky to perform and can look downright ugly at times. It’s important to accept that it’s only good for about 30-40 feet. Like all casts, with practice you will get better. B

Hatches Practical & Artistic Fly Tying

1-888-805-5608

E-mail:info@canflyfish.com

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 15

BY NICK PUJIC F E A T U R E PHOTOS BY JOHN MESKAUSKAS

In an age of Facebook, Internet forums, Google Earth and on-demand television, it’s almost impossible to consider any place a fishing “secret”, especially in the highly fished and often publicized sunny state of Florida—the winter home of many Canadian snowbirds.

NICOLE PARKS WITH A FLY CAUGHT IN-SHORE BONITA

tuar t S florida’s best kept secret

When Florida is mentioned in a conversation among most fly fishers, places such as the Florida Keys or Boca Grande are often the first to be brought up. However, the term “Treasure Coast” doesn’t always make the list. In 1715, a major hurricane wiped out many Spanish galleons, many of which were carrying precious treasures and gold and silver. The eastern coast of Florida is littered with these wrecks, mostly between Vero Beach and Jupiter, dubbing the region the “Treasure Coast”. In the heart of the Treasure Coast lies the relatively small town of Stuart, located just under two hours north of Miami. While modern day treasure hunters still roam these waters looking for gold, more and more fly fishers are also showing up in Stuart, chasing down rumors of great tarpon, permit, giant jack crevalle, snook, cobia, redfish and sea trout fishing. Oh, and did I mention bonito, dolphin, and sailfish?

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Getting There

LMS.COM WWW.FLYMAXFI

Check out this Fly Max adventure as a 20 min feature at the official 2010 F3T Film Tour, coming to over 80 cities this season! See the trailer and get the details at www.FlyFishingFilmTour.com

Stuart is an hour’s drive north from West Palm Beach, or a two hour drive north from Miami, making it relatively easy to get to from either. Once there, check out the River Palm Cottages & Fish Camp for comfortable and reasonable accommodations at www.RiverPalmCottages.com or by calling (772) 334-0401. While in Stuart, it pays to spend a day or two with a guide who knows the area as well as Capt. John Meskauskas. Make sure to check out the www.StuartFlyFishing.com Web site in advance for the latest reports, or give John a call at (772) 529-4484.

ROB MCABEE WITH HIS GIANT COBIA WHICH SMASHED A CORONA POPPER

A First Encounter Ask any serious saltwater fly fishers, and they will tell you the month to get a prime chance at a huge tarpon is June. That is exactly what Capt. John Meskauskas of StuartFlyFishing. com said upon hearing that’s what we were looking for, and a week in June was promptly set aside for a new adventure. Upon arriving in Stuart, it was obvious I was outside of the traditional tourist trap, which I personally liked. The town, which is full of local colour, is home to approximately 100,000 people, receives an average of 263 days of sunshine a year. The River Palm Cottages & Fish Camp is located on the Indian River or

Intracostal waterway. The inlet is called the St. Lucie inlet and it is this small body of water that connects the Indian River to the ocean, providing an abundance of coastal and intercoastal habitat for a wide variety of game fish species. With very reasonable daily and weekly rates, River Palm was more than what I needed to make my stay comfortable. Stuart is only about 35 to 45 minutes from West Palm.

Stuart = Variety Despite my trip being an official “tarpon” trip, within just five days of fishing with Capt. John I quickly realized that Stuart may just be one of the most diverse places I’ve ever fished.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 17

THE AUTHOR TRYING TO HANG ON TO HIS FIRST JACK

What to Bring

• A solid 12wt saltwater fly rod (or two). • A quality disc drag fly reel, with plenty of backing capacity and a saltwater rated drag. • Floating, full sink, and sinking-tip (sometimes called ghost-tip) fly lines to match your rods and allow you to work various depths of the water column. • A selection of flouro leaders, ranging from 30lb to 80lb test. • Quality (high SPF) sunscreen • A hat, warm weather clothing and good polarized sunglasses

Each morning would start off early with a hunt for large migrating tarpon, with sometimes just a single fish giving up the location of an entire school of a hundred fish or more at time. John would cruise up and down what seemed like endless beaches, searching for any signs of nervous waters or fins and tails breaking the surface against the rising sun. Once we located a school, we took great care positioing the boat to get us within casting range, but far enough away to prevent alerting the moving pod of tarpon that danger lay nearby. With my less than perfect casting technique, I found this somewhat tough, partly because I would get excited upon seeing such a huge mass of rolling tarpon heading right for us, but with time, a few blown chances, and guidance from John I eventually caught on. As the morning progressed and the sun climbed higher, it seemed that the tarpon

18 I

schools would move closer to bottom, where they were more difficult to spot. At such times, Capt. John suggested that we chase other game species for a few hours until the tarpon became available again in the evening. Excited at the prospect of targeting new species, I didn’t argue. Consequently, each day we covered a broad range of waters between chasing tarpon in the mornings and evenings. Among these were tidal areas of the St. Lucie River where willing baby tarpon up to 30 - 40 pounds, as well as hard-fighting snook, could be found around docks and other shoreline structures, providing great fun on lighter, 7wt tackle. Capt. John also took us to flats, wrecks and reefs where schools of bonito and giant jack crevalle would wait in ambush for schools of cruising baitfish. It was at one of these reefs where I had my first topwater jack crevalle

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

experience. After scrambling to tie on a “Corona popper”, I made a cast in the direction John pointed to. Almost immediately the glass smooth surface of the water became disturbed with a giant V-shaped wake directly behind my popper. What seemed like a wake from one fish was actually an entire school of

Stuart - Florida’s best kept secret CAPT. JOHN MESKAUSKAS CAPPING OFF THE DAY WITH A STUART PERMIT

SEA TROUT ARE AMONGST THE MANY SPECIES EASILY TARGETED IN STUART ON FLIES

jacks, approaching the fly from both directions, each fish competing to be the first to crush the popper. Through the narrow wave I could see eyes of individual fish trying to out-pace each other in a feeding frenzy. Moments later, my fly was wiped from the surface. I was into my first jack crevalle, and it

would take all the might of my 12wt to land it. Almost 20 minutes passed before I finally saw it—a gorgeous 22 pounder, which fought as hard as any fish I had ever hooked, including tarpon. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, within mere hours of landing my jack

we proceeded to land four permit on the fly, care of John’s custom brown Clouser Minnow patterns. As I had not expected a permit on this trip, witnessing each angler in our boat land one on a fly in one day was an epic experience. Friends have told me about waiting for up to a week at lodges specializing in permit

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 19

Stuart - Florida’s best kept secret

A SCHOOL OF JACK CRAVALLE IN A FEEDING FRENZY ON THE SURFACE!

for a crack at just one. What they had hoped for in an entire week was blown out of the water in just a few hours in Stuart. Why doesn’t anyone talk about this place, I wondered?

Expect the Unexpected By the mid point in the week, I already considered my trip a huge success. With encounters with giant tarpon each morning, a total of nine permit on the fly, a bonita, and my big jack under my belt, I thought my “tarpon” trip couldn’t get any better. However, Stuart was to surprise me yet again.

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Moments before abandoning a school of unresponsive tarpon, Capt. John again yelled for the popper rod. This time, he had spotted a school of cobia, a shark-like fish usually found much deeper in the ocean, typically around sharks and schools of rays. This time, however, the cobia could be seen in the shallows from the surface, their dark silhouettes, clearly visible in the light blue water. With each cast the cobia would accelerate towards the popper as soon as it moved— faster than any other fish I’d previously seen. I didn’t think it was possible for a fish to put on the brakes so quickly after such a burst of

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

speed, but my first six casts were followed by some of the most painful shut-downs I’ve ever experienced. The cobia would wait until the very last second possible to abort eating the popper, resulting in a huge splash as they turned away just a few centimeters from it—something I had felt many times before with rising trout, but never with fish up to 60 pounds! As I struggled to keep my composure and not mess up my next cast, good friend Rob McAbee yelled “fish on”! He was into a cobia, the biggest cobia in the school, and the battle was on. Putting the 12wt rod to the ultimate test, Rob struggled to get the fish away from the moving school, and up off the bottom. Its giant head shakes made the tip of Rob’s rod bounce furiously. About 10 minutes into the battle, and just when it looked like John could slip the Boga grip on the fish, it made a final head shake which pushed Rob’s rod to its limit, shattering the 12wt into eight pieces. To everyone’s surprise, the fish was still hooked, even though pieces of the rod were now sliding up and down the line all the way to the fish. Finding the right words to describe the next few moments is next to impossible. The giant cobia, thrashing boatside with pieces of the rod going in every direction and a guide trying to slip the Boga, brought a whole new meaning to the term “fighting” a fish. With a lot of luck, and John’s expert grip, the cobia was finally in the boat! This was the icing on the cake! I was staring at a very large, cool looking cobia which had taken Rob’s popper just like a bass would take a frog—with absolute ferocity! During that single week in Stuart, our group successfully landed not only large tarpon, but permit, jack crevalle, snook, bonito, cobia and even a cool looking fish locals referred to as the “look-down”. For five days originally intended for just tarpon fishing, this was a welcomed experience. According to Capt. John Meskauskas, there really is no bad time to visit Stuart. In fact, during my trip in June I didn’t have a chance to fish for sea trout or redfish, which are best at other times of the year. I also learned that the best time to target those big jacks on the surface is in March and April, when the schools can get up to an acre in size! Needless to say, I already have my ticket booked for 2010. B

Between the Leaves Savage Gods, Silver Ghosts: In the Wild with Ted Hughes

BY CHRIS MARSHALL

Savage Gods, Silver Ghosts also fascinates me, because, like Boyanowsky, I’d also been captivated by Hughes’ poetry when I was young. Moreover, like Hughes, I was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire and grew up there after WWII, fishing the wild moorland streams for wild trout. I felt a similar kinship. Years later, when I read Hughes’ foreword to David Profumo’s In Praise of Trout (Viking Press, 1989), which my sons gave me for Christmas in 1990, the kinship was confirmed. In the foreword, Hughes writes about how trout evoke a sense of wildness wherever one encounters them, even in industrial wastelands:

By Ehor Boyanowsky Douglas & McIntyre 2323 Quebec St., Suite 201, Vancouver, BC 2009 Hardcover, 208 pages, b&w photographs, maps ISBN 978-1-55365-323-3 $28.95CDN

And of all the trout that haunt me, the one that disturbs me most faithfully lay there, forty-five years ago in the Rochdale Canal, about four pounds weight, under a bridge which trembles constantly with the main traffic between Manchester and Leeds.

In Savage Gods, Silver Ghosts, Boyanowsky tells the story of his friendship with Ted Hughes, the British Poet Laureate. Readers unfamiliar with Hughes might wonder what this could have to do with fly fishing, but Ted Hughes was an addicted fly fisher who spent a number of summers fishing with Boyanowski and his friends in British Columbia, particularly on the Dean.

As a boy, I had an almost identical experience, only a few miles away from Hughes’, on the Sir John Ramsden Canal in an uncannily similar situation in the middle of Huddersfield. I often dreamed of fishing with Hughes, and once I almost got to meet him through a mutual friend, Hampshire riverkeeper, Ron Holloway, but it never did happen. I envy Boyanowsky, but I’m indebted to him for sharing his friendship with Hughes in Savage Gods, Silver Ghosts. Other fly fishers will be similarly thrilled and enriched by reading it. B

In some ways, they were an unlikely pair (a professional poet and a professor of Criminal Psychology), but they shared a deep passion for wild places and the wild creatures which inhabit them. Boyanowsky, who is himself a successful amateur poet, first felt this kinship when he encountered Hughes’ poetry in the mid 1970s. A number of years later he sent a selection of his own poetry to Hughes about the mystical qualities of fishing for wild steelhead and salmon in British Columbia, which led to their first meeting in Vancouver, which, in turn, led to their close friendship and their fishing together on both sides of the Atlantic until just before Hughes’ untimely death in 1999. While the anecdotes in Savage Gods, Silver Ghosts range among a wide variety of topics, it is essentially a book about fly fishing and the importance of preserving wild waters. The stories of their fishing expeditions to the Dean and other British Columbian waters, north-western Scotland, and Hughes’ home waters in Devon (enhanced by excerpts from journals logged by Hughes) are among the most gripping that I’ve read, not only because of their vivid encounters with wild fish in wild places, but also because they explore the essence of the mystical response the experience evokes in fly fishers.

On-line: info@canflyfish.com Write: 256 ½ Front St., Belleville, ON K8n 2Z2

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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A L B E R T A

I BY DUANE RADFORD

TOP TEN DO-IT-YOURSELF FLY FISHING DESTINATIONS

THE FOURTH OF A MULTI-PART SERIES

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

River

•

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•

Hanna

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CANADA

•

Edmonton

• • • • • • • •Innisfail

•

•• Banff

•

• •

•

TOP TEN DO-IT-YOURSELF FLY FISHING DESTINATIONS: • EDMONTON

1. East Pit Lake

Species available: rainbow trout Nearest communities: Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Wabamun East Pit Lake is an old TransAlta strip mine pit that has been reclaimed, and is being managed as a stocked trout pond. The lake is situated on a 312 acre conservation property west of Edmonton. Take Highway 16 to Exit 324 (directly north of Wabamun) and go 1.6 km north to the parking area on the west side of the road. The access site at the lake is managed as a day-use, recreation area with hiking trails. The lake has produced trophy-size trout, especially after it was initially stocked, partly because the trout grew large in the previously barren water, and also because access has always been limited to foot-access only. It’s probably best fished with a belly boat, although casting from shore is popular. Chironomid fishing is productive or small baitfish imitation patterns such as black and olive Woolly Buggers, as well as waterboatmen, and backswimmers in the autumn. East Pit Lake was stocked with 11,600 rainbow trout 20 cm in size in 2009 and is open year-round. The trout limit is 5. Fly fishermen should pick up a FREE copy of the Alberta Conservation Association Discover Alberta’s Wild Side 2009/2010 Guide to Outdoor Adventure for maps and details on over 208,000 acres of land for hunting, fishing and hiking (www.ab-conservation.com) including East Pit Lake.

2. Maligne Lake

Species available: brook trout and rainbow trout Nearest communities: Hinton and Jasper town site Maligne Lake is located in Jasper National Park and is a favourite destination for Edmonton fly fishers. Travel west on Highway 16; take a secondary road just before the Jasper town site to Maligne Lake. Yes, it’s a long day trip, but well worth the effort. No motor boats are allowed on the lake, only electric motors. Boat rentals are available at Curly Phillip’s Boathouse. Guided trips can be booked with Currie’s Guiding or On-Line Sport & Tackle Ltd. in Jasper. Fly fishing for trout involves two basic approaches: 1. Fishing with eye-catching streamers such as the Little Rainbow, Little Brook Trout, Mickey Finn, and Double Shrimp by trolling and power stripping. 2. Fishing with bead head nymphs and chironomids over prime feeding areas off points and in bays. As the fish are not everywhere, you’ll have to search them out and try both techniques to be successful. Maligne Lake is open from May 16 to September 30. The limit on brook trout and rainbow trout is 2 daily. Note that the Maligne Lake outlet and Maligne River, the portion including the part of Maligne Lake within a 100 m radius of a point in the middle of the Maligne River where it leaves Maligne Lake, to a point 420 m downstream from the Maligne Lake outlet bridge, are closed year-round.

3. McLeod River

Species available: Arctic grayling, brook trout, bull trout, mountain whitefish, rainbow trout Nearest communities: Cadomin, Edson, Hinton The upper McLeod River is a popular fly fishing destination in the Alberta foothills near Edson, south of Highway 16. The river originates near Cadomin and is a tributary of the Athabasca River. It features Arctic grayling, brook trout, bull trout, mountain whitefish and rainbow trout in its headwaters, with walleye being found in the lower reaches downstream of Highway 16. The usual patterns will catch trout: attractor flies such as Orange and Yellow Stimulators, Turks Tarantula, Madame X and the Chernobyl Ant. Bead head nymphs will catch all species, including Arctic grayling. Streamers work best for bull trout (for which there is a zero limit) —cone head Woolly Buggers and Muddler Minnows are both effective fished with a sink tip line. The regulations vary from one section of the river to another so check the Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations for season dates and catch limits.

RAINBOW TROUT FROM MALIGNE LAKE, JASPER NATIONAL PARK

BRENDAN CARROLL (L) & LORNE CURRIE MALIGNE LAKE MALIGNE LAKE, JASPER NATIONAL PARK

BULL TROUT FROM THE MCLEOD RIVER

EAST PIT LAKE POTHOLE FISHERY

EAST PIT LAKE RAINBOW TROUT

MCLEOD RIVERNATIVE ATHABASCA RAINBOWS

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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TOP TEN DO-IT-YOURSELF FLY FISHING DESTINATIONS: • EDMONTON

4. Muir Lake

Species available: rainbow trout Nearest communities: Edmonton, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove

MUIR LAKE, ALBERTA

NORTH RAM RIVER CUTTHROAT TROUT

NORTH RAVEN RIVER BROWN TROUT

Muir Lake is the pet project of several Edmonton fishing clubs: Edmonton Trout Fishing Club, Northern Lights Fly Tiers TU Chapter, and Edmonton Old-timers Fishing Club. The grand opening of this re juvenated fishery occurred in May 2004 after two lake aerators were installed and a walk-of-fame and education centre was completed at the public access site provided by Parkland County. Travel west on Highway 16 from Edmonton. Turn north on Highway 779 to Township Road 540—turn east. Then turn south on Range Road 275. Head east for 3.2 km from Twp. Rd. 540 until you reach the lake. Muir Lake is stocked annually; 5700 rainbow, 22 cm in length were planted in 2009. The lake is subject to special regulations: open May 1 to October 31 with a trout limit of 1 over 50 cm and a bait ban; closed from November 1 to April 30. Several patterns will catch fish at Muir Lake: chironomids, Woolly Buggers, waterboatmen, backswimmers, bead head Pheasant Tail, bead head Prince Nymph and bead head shrimp. Trout in excess of 18 inches are being caught, and sizes may actually increase once the triploids (stocking began in 1998) reach their full potential.

MUIR LAKE - BOAT DOCK

NORTH RAVEN RIVER AERIAL

5. North Ram River

Species available: cutthroat trout Nearest communities: Nordegg, Rocky Mountain House The North Ram River is located west of Rocky Mountain House, south of Nordegg in the foothills of Alberta’s eastern slopes. While it’s a fairly long drive for a day’s fishing, it’s feasible to leave Edmonton early in the morning and get in a good day on the water before returning home—I’ve been there and done that. Take Highway 22 south of Edmonton to Rocky Mountain House; drive west on Highway 11 until you reach the Forestry Trunk Road (Secondary Road 734) and head south until you reach the forestry campsite beside the North Ram River. The river was originally barren of fish. Stockings of Westslope cutthroat trout in 1961 and 1971 took, and the North Ram River now boasts one of Alberta’s premier cutthroat fisheries. Jim Wagner, Provincial Fish Stocking Specialist, advised, “There is no indication of where the fish came from, but given the date I would guess they were from the Federal [National] Parks and most likely Pickle Jar or Marvel Lakes”. Cutthroat trout can be taken on dry flies, nymphs and streamers. Start with search patterns such as Stimulators or a Chernobyl Ant to locate positive trout, and, if these patterns fail, follow up with bead head nymphs such as the Pheasant Tail or Prince Nymph. If you still don’t have any action, switch to streamers, such as a bead head Woolly Bugger. Fly fishing is best during mid-July and August, once the river fines off following the spring runoff, until mid-September. Mountain streams cool down at night and fishing doesn’t pick up until late morning when the water temperature rises—there’s no reason to speed all the way down from Edmonton because the morning bite is typically slow! The North Ram River has a zero limit and a bait ban. The open season is from June 16 to October 31.

MYLES RADFORD FLY FISHING ON THE NORTH RAM RIVER

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

TOP TEN DO-IT-YOURSELF FLY FISHING DESTINATIONS: • EDMONTON

6. North Raven River (Stauffer Creek)

Species available: brook trout, brown trout Nearest communities: Caroline, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House The North Raven River is located in westcentral Alberta southeast of Rocky Mountain House. If traveling from Edmonton, go south on Highway 2, then west on Highway 11 and turn south on Highway 761. Check out page 14 in the Alberta Conservation Association Discover Alberta’s Wild Side 2009/2010 Guide to Outdoor Adventure for information regarding the public access site on the North Raven River. The North Raven has long been a go-to stream for Edmonton fly fishers; it’s one of Alberta’s top spring creek fisheries. However, it can be a heartbreaker for advanced fly fishers and novices alike. It’s difficult to fish because of willows along the stream banks and skittish trout in the gin clear water. The brown trout population, in particular, appears to fluctuate. It was first stocked with brown trout in the 1930s. Alberta Conservation Association long-term studies indicate that there’s been a general trend of increased abundance of browns from 1973 until 1985, followed by a reduction in abundance but increase in biomass in 1995, suggesting there were fewer fish but of a larger size in the 1995 catch. Both the abundance and biomass of brook trout appear to have

declined over the same timeframe. From 1995 to 2005 a general trend of increased brook trout and decreased brown trout abundance and biomass is evident. Fly fishers can anticipate small, dark stoneflies followed by skawlas in the spring; Blue-Winged Olives, March Browns, Green Drakes during the summer; caddis towards the autumn. Edmonton Trout Fishing Club members opt for a “Stauffer Special”, which may have been originally tied by the late Lloyd Shea in the 1950s. The river is open year-round, however, catch limits vary seasonally—check the Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations for details. A bait ban is in effect year-round.

7. North Saskatchewan River

Species available: goldeye/mooneye, mountain whitefish, northern pike, walleye Nearest communities: Edmonton, Devon, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain The North Saskatchewan River flows through Edmonton and is the nearest go-to river for local fly fishing enthusiasts. It’s a large river best fished from a jet boat, but there are many spots within the city that afford easy access for a day’s outing. While most trips take place upstream of Edmonton, in the vicinity of Devon and farther upstream towards Drayton Valley, there has been a steady growth in fishing within the city proper over the past several years.

Edmonton has the largest urban park in North America, with an excellent series of day use areas and public access points adjacent to the North Saskatchewan River. The City of Edmonton Community Services Department has published a “River Recreation Guide” that features the locations of key public access points. This is a very handy brochure and a must-have document for fly fishers. Upstream of Edmonton most access is at bridge crossings or across private land where anglers must obtain permission to fish. The key species of fish are goldeye/mooneye, mountain whitefish, northern pike and walleye. Goldeye/mooneye are summer residents, arriving in the late spring as the runoff subsides and leaving for points downstream in late summer. Goldeye/mooneye are very forgiving and can be taken on full back and attractor patterns with foam flies being dynamite. They put up a spirited battle on a #4 weight fly rod and can be caught in abundance throughout the river. It’s not unusual to catch goldeye/mooneye in the 35 cm plus range—lots of them. Northern pike distribution is spotty throughout the river; they’re not overly abundant, but there are trophy-size fish to be had with streamers, large Deceivers being the best bet. Search backwaters for the big ones. Walleye are very abundant in the river, particularly above Edmonton, but also within the city limits, and can be taken with streamers, such as dark Woolly Buggers. Walleye tend

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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TOP TEN DO-IT-YOURSELF FLY FISHING DESTINATIONS: • EDMONTON to favour select pools where they congregate during the summer, but in the autumn all bets are off below Devon as they move to over winter pools upstream and downstream. There’s good walleye fishing in the river with trophy fish caught each year. There’s the odd brown trout taken upstream of Edmonton, and while mountain whitefish are fairly abundant throughout the river, they’re not often targeted by anglers. The river is open all year from Highway 22/39 (Drayton Valley) downstream to the Alberta/Saskatchewan Border. Check the Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations for details.

8. Red Deer River

Species available: brown trout, goldeye, mountain whitefish, walleye Nearest communities: Innisfail, Red Deer The Red Deer River is a popular destination of Edmonton area fly fishers who target brown trout and mountain whitefish, in particular, downstream of Glennifer Lake (Dickson Dam) to the City of Red Deer. The river is lousy with goldeye, which are much more abundant than any other species, and can be taken on virtually all manner of flies, as in the North Saskatchewan River. If the action is slow on trout and mountain whitefish, then goldeye will make up for it in spades. The brown trout population in the Red Deer River has had its ups and downs due to floods in 1995 and 2005—the latter year being a complete write-off for fishing. Brown trout red counts are still low compared with historic levels as the population is slow to recover from these devastating floods. The best way to catch Red Deer browns is by snout hunting and then targeting the fish with dry flies—streamers would be a second choice if there’s no surface action, albeit a long shot under most circumstances. Why? It appears the brown trout occupy rather specific niches in the Red Deer River. They’re not everywhere; rather, they situate themselves near undercut banks, root balls and the like. The summer hatches are of pale morning duns, caddis, and brown drakes, with caddis in the autumn.

The Red Deer has long been a go-to spot for anglers in search of mountain whitefish, which are most common upstream of Red Deer to Dickson Dam. While a Golden Stone or Brown Hackle would be my choice for mountain whitefish in the summer, I’d opt for a bead head Pheasant Tail or Prince Nymph during the autumn, all fished with a sink tip line. Goldeye can be caught on attractor patterns and various hopper patterns, as well as many wet flies. While walleye are present in the Red Deer, I’ve never heard of fly fishermen targeting them. Check the angling regulations for open seasons on the Red Deer, for it has different closed seasons for various reaches.

9. Spring (Cottage) Lake

Species available: rainbow trout, yellow perch Nearest communities: Edmonton, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain Spring (Cottage) Lake is the home water of the Edmonton Trout Fishing Club and is stocked annually with rainbow trout. In 2009 the lake was stocked with 10,000 ‘bows 20 cm in length. Access has been an issue over the past few years, but it appears as though the Village of Spring Lake is supportive of maintaining public access at the local campground and various walking trails. Members of the Edmonton Trout Fishing Club gain access through two lots which they’ve owned for many years: (1) 675 Lakeshore Drive is an empty lot with a locked gate through which members only have access by signing out a key from the Property Chairperson. This access allows drive-through access from the road to the club shelter, pier and boat storage area. Boats are stored at members’ own risk. (2) 670 Lakeshore Drive is open with a grassy STAR LAKE RAINBOW TROUT FRED NODDIN PHOTO

SNOUT HUNTING ON THE RED DEER RIVER

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

area adjacent to the road where members may camp. From this there are steps leading down to the club’s shelter, swings and washrooms. Anglers can do their part to keep public access open by picking up litter and following club property rules. Popular flies are bead head Woolly Buggers, chironomids, damselfly nymphs, full backs and waterboatmen during the summer and backswimmers in the autumn. Spring (Cottage) Lake is open year-round. The trout limit is 5. Travel 5 km west of Stony Plain on Highway 16 to Beach Corner, then south for 5 km.

10. Star Lake

Species available: rainbow trout Nearest communities: Edmonton, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain Star Lake is a pothole lake fishery west of Edmonton that’s subject to winterkill from time to time—go approximately 15 km west of Stony Plain on Highway 16 to Highway 770 and then south for about 7 km and then another 3 km west. There’s an old public access site on Star Lake. Typical of other potholes in the area, water levels have been receding over the past several years which increases the probability of both winterkill and also summerkill. The lake was stocked with 8100 rainbow trout 20-21 cm in length in 2009. It is open year-round with a limit of 5 trout. The lake has a reputation for spotty fishing but also for some trophy size fish. The usual go-to patterns for pothole lakes in the Edmonton area will catch ‘bows: leeches, chironomids, waterboatmen and backswimmers. There are several other popular pothole lakes similar to Star, East Pit, Muir and Spring lakes close to Edmonton (e.g. Carson, Chickakoo, Dolberg, Goldeye, Hasse, Lower Chain, Millers, Mitchell, and Salters). B

SPRING LAKE (NEAR CARVEL)-STOCKED POTHOLE

The Franklin Club – closer than you think!

www.TheFranklinClub.ca

The biggest & brightest

WILD

steelhead & salmon.

AWESOME

NICHOLAS DEAN LODGE TERRACE, BRITISH COLUMBIA

On the Skeena

WWW.NICHOLASDEAN.COM

meals & lodging. An angling

EXPERIENCE

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unmatched.

I 27

g n i h s i F Fly s i m e r t x E In

NORTHERN ONTARIO

I BY NANCY CAIRNS AND YOSHI AOKI

io r a t n O n r e h t r o N and I i n h i s o Y g n i p e when p c n o e s H e wasn’t r e p r s e t h i T h Lake it io. ing us w f that t, Ontar any o s teas oleye t a F ’ w n n i g s n a e i w o r Sp Ivanh ainly t r r i e A c t a e r arrived loom, but the er. h t b i e n i d g n a thin e grou h t n o f uf white st

The 95-year-old town of Foleyet,

is one of those little northern Ontario communities that sprang up during the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway. Located among the rugged forests of the Canadian Shield on Highway 101 between Chapleau and Timmins, this tiny town consists of a gorgeous little general store (with gas pump!), a lone restaurant, a post office, a secondary school, and, of course, a liquor store. All of the amenities one would need, really. It also happens to be the home of the rare and elusive white moose. An albino mother and her two calves can often be spotted meandering around in the vicinity of the town. I was dying to see them, but sadly I didn’t. According to Wikipedia, in 1998 a white moose was hit by a train close to town. It didn’t survive the accident, but its head is now mounted in the town’s lone restaurant. Air Ivanhoe is a huge operation. Although it has a full service vertical log main lodge on Ivanhoe Lake as well as a full service fly-in lodge located on Nemegosenda Lake, its specialty is providing fly-in fishing trips to dozens of otherwise inaccessible lakes in the area. Yoshi and I had the pleasure of staying at both lodges during our four-day stay, as well as visiting a few of the outposts and lakes. Our mission was clearly focused—brookies—but we also knew there were plenty of other species we could target, such as walleye, pike, whitefish, and lakers.

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

TOO SWEET! PRISTINE BROOKIES IN GIN-CLEAR WATER

THE IVANHOE RIVER INN

A ‘BEAVER’S-EYE’ VIEW

Joel, our guide and pilot, is third generation Theriault. His grandfather George Theriault opened the lodge in 1980 and narrates the experience in his autobiography, Trespassing in God’s Country. Joel, who grew up flying into and fishing all of the lakes in the area, knew exactly where to take us to catch some decent brook trout. We also had a chance to target other species. The Foleyet area is renowned for its walleye fishing, with most lakes 20-40 feet in depth, which is a perfect habitat for walleye. They aren’t necessarily the biggest ones you’ll encounter, but they’re definitely vast in numbers. Monster pike are also present in this part of northern Ontario. Most lakes, especially Ivanhoe Lake, offer habitat in the weeds and plenty of natural food. Lakers of up to 30 pounds are often caught in that area, but at the time we were there, they were locating far too deep for us to fish for them with a fly rod. In addition, smallmouths of up to five pounds are regularly taken there, especially during the summer months. Consequently, as we settled in at the lodge on the early spring evening we arrived, we were full of anticipation at the prospect of some memorable fly fishing over the next few days. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans, as Yoshi describes in the following narrative.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 29

g n i h s i F y Fl s i m e r t x E In

Lake Hopping in Northern Ontario Yoshi’s Tale

I could not help but laugh to myself as I peeked out my cabin window on the first morning of our stay with Air Ivanhoe. I was half blinded with dazzling whiteness reflecting from a fresh blanket of snow covering all that had been green with the promise of spring the night before. Although I realized that such sudden cold fronts can often force fish into a sluggish lull, I was intrigued and encouraged by the unique potential that this unexpected, drastic change in the weather had suddenly offered. The prospect of fly fishing pike and walleye with a gorgeous, snowcovered background was more than enough to compel Nancy and I to rush out to the boat, clamber in (after shoveling it out), and head out onto the water. We selected a large and slow-moving river mouth as an obvious starting point to target pike. Filled with anticipation we waited to hook into the first fish of the trip. We didn’t have to wait long, as we were into a pike on the second cast. A slow presentation, an intermediate sink tip, and a smallish white streamer proved to be the ticket, and several more pike were added to the list that morning. In the following days, Mother Nature continued to throw everything she had our way—incredible winds, thunder, lightning,

and torrential rains all came forth at one time or another, although there were brief intervals of warmth and sun between them. Unquestionably, we found ourselves fishing under almost every weather condition imaginable. Because of this, our knowledge, perseverance, and physical endurance were severely put to the test. However, in hindsight (safety granted), this is far from a bad thing, for it only forces one to adapt, work even harder and, inevitably, learn. On the second evening of our stay, we experienced what was a sure highlight to the trip. Joel Theriault, our pilot and knowledgeable guide, took us into a neighbouring lake to fish for walleye “his style”, which involved casting from the floats of his plane—a unique platform to fish from, to say the least. We had a blast. Moreover, I have never been able to travel from spot to spot on a lake with such speed before. With two beavers on site (the workhorse floatplanes of the north) we were flown from lake to lake, allowing us to fish far more water than otherwise possible. The experience rekindled again and again that familiar but rare excitement of exploring the unknown. Breaking “new ground” (or water), in my opinion, is one of the most exciting aspects

Getting There The seaplane base is situated seven miles west of Foleyet, Ontario on Hwy. 101. Turn off at Ivanhoe Lake Provincial Park Road. Our office is in the large vertical log building at the lakeside. We are one mile of Hwy. 101; you won’t miss us! From the Southeast travel via Sudbury on Hwy. 144 to Hwy. 101 west; 220 miles. Paved roads. From the Southwest travel via Sault Ste. Marie east on Hwy. 17 to Thessalon, north on Hwy. 129 to Chapleau, east on Hwy. 101 to Ivanhoe Lake Road; 225 miles. This route is scenic and winding and normally will let you avoid the early morning fog that comes off Lake Superior. Also from the Southwest traveling via Sault Ste. Marie on Hwy. 17 to Wawa, then east on Hwy.101 to Ivanhoe Lake Road; 285 miles. Lake Superior makes the trip worthwhile. For more information, please contact: The Ivanhoe River Inn 10 AM-8 PM 800-955-2951 or 705-899-2155 www.air-ivanhoe.com E-mail: info@airivanhoe.com Write: George and Jeanne Theriault The Ivanhoe River Inn P.O. Box 99, Foleyet, Ontario Canada POM ITO

DESTROYING STREAMERS ONE PIKE AT A TIME

With two beavers on site (the workhorse floatplanes of the north) we were flown from lake to lake, allowing us to fish far more water than otherwise possible.

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

A GORGEOUS NORTHERN ONTARIO BROOKIE TO END THE TRIP

of fishing. Whether it be targeting a species for the first time or fishing new waters, the prospect of exploring the unknown draws me powerfully and drives me to do more. When flying over the area that Air Ivanhoe covers, I was in awe of its vastness, its number of lakes and rivers, and its huge areas of unchartered territory. “There are so many lakes that I know no one has been to,” Joel explained to us. Simply put, without road access and with countless lakes that are too small to land a plane on, the potential is endless. All it takes is a little work and two feet and a heartbeat, to make it possible to fish waters that no one has ever cast a line over before. With such a notion, it is easy to let one’s mind wander and to dream of the big native brook trout that these virgin lakes could potentially produce.

A UNIQUE FLY FISHING PLATFORM

On the final evening of our stay, luck finally smiled on us, as it appeared that the weather had at last begun to stabilize. Without hesitation, we decided that it had to be brookies for the evening. By the time we arrived at the target brook trout lake, the promise of good weather was made good; the water was flat and unbelievably clear, the sun low and warm, and within minutes, we spotted the first rising fish along the shoreline. Yes! A feeding fish at last, and all arrows pointed towards a good evening. Poking along the shoreline, making every effort to be subtle and unobtrusive, we spotted the first cruising fish along with a couple of other risers. In the calm, clear water, we knew that our presentation would have to be good. Up ahead, four large brookies lay almost motionless along a fallen spruce. Watching them, I was amazed by the incredible clarity of the water. That distinctive square tail and the white-edged fins unmistakably signaled brookies. When I cast a small Hare’s Ear tied to a super light tippet among the suspended fish, they reacted little. But, as the tiny fly slowly sank to the depth at which they were suspended, the nearest one inched its way towards the nymph and sucked it in. Although I set the hook softly, the remaining three scattered in every direction—but I’d hooked one of them! After we’d landed the fish, and several photos later, I could not help but realize how lucky we were to catch such a magnificent fish in such a gorgeous setting. It was the perfect ending to an extremely taxing but memorable trip—and I reflected what a gem of a lake this truly was. With so much incredible water to fish and so many lakes yet untouched, this is an impression that will certainly, at some time, draw me back to Air Ivanhoe—preferably in much more comfortable weather! B

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 31

BY APRIL VOKEY F E A T U R E PHOTOS BY TIM MYERS

When I was younger, images of the classic fly fisher casting a graceful rhythm of fly line would tickle my imagination and fill my head with visions of gently flowing streams and perfectly silent afternoons. I would close my eyes and imagine a comforting yellow sun warming my eyelids and that it was me who was standing up to my knees in the crisp river, romantically waving my fly rod, tantalizing trout with tiny flies and tempting Mother Nature to shatter the silence with the crashing of a tail.

Oh… fly fishing seemed so romantic to me back then.

AUTHOR AND A GOOD SALMON ON THE GRAND CASCAPEDIA

Silver inQuébec A West Coast Salmon Guide’s First Encounter with Gaspé Atlantics

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

APRIL FIGHTING A BRUTE IN THE BONAVENTURE

Silver inQuébec PRISTINE CRYSTAL CLEAR RIVERS

As the years passed and I was able to trade my conventional tackle for fancy fly gear, I could hardly wait to actually experience this fantasy, ecstatic that I would finally live my dream! Me, on a serene river’s edge, unfettered and free just me and, hopefully, the fish. My romantic expectations rivaled any Danielle Steel romance novel. Looking back now, I chuckle at my naïveté. I found that fly fishing in BC involved as much crowding as other methods of fishing. And I resigned myself to the inevitable, and that the glory of A River Runs Through It was just another romantic dream.

Then, in July 2009, everything changed.

Heading East

July 2009 found me on a plane heading to a province I’d heard about for so many years (and admittedly, cursed while enduring the mandatory high school French classes). I was on my way to Québec and, although I had no idea what to expect, there were three things that I definitely did know: 1. Recently bitten by the Atlantic salmon bug, I had developed an obsession not only for their chrome, acrobatic, sleek bodies, but also for the skilled and artistic flies traditionally tied to specifically target them. 2. Québec was famous for its Atlantic salmon fishery. 3. I should probably remember some of that French I had “learned” in high school, in order to avoid any cold shoulders from the locals… oh, oh…. My schedule involved fishing some of the most famous rivers in the GaspéPeninsula, all of which held monster wild Atlantic salmon. Joining me on this trip was Fly Max Films cameraman, Tim Myers. Together, we were on a mission to

THE MAIN CAMP CABIN. TRULY A HISTORICAL MASTERPIECE

Salmon Lodge

PO Box 1002 , Paspebiac, Quebec, Canada G0C 2K0 www.thesalmonlodge.ca • E-mail: info@thesalmonlodge.ca Toll free from anywhere in the US and Canada Toll Free: 800.737.2740 • Telephone: 418.392.4575

VIEW FROM THE MAIN CABIN

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 33

Silver inQuébec A SMALLER SECTION OF THE GRAND CASCAPDIA

APRIL INTO ANOTHER NICE ONE

capture some amazing footage of Atlantic salmon for an upcoming episode of Fly Max’s new show, Fly Nation. We were scheduled to stay at the Salmon Lodge in the Grande Cascapedia Valley and were eager to get settled in and prepare for our first day of fishing. We rolled into the lodge (which we later found out was built in the 1800s) late in the evening, and it was too dark for us to take in the scenery. All we had was a bright light shining on a small cabin’s front door and the number on the quaint white building telling us that this was our new temporary home. Morning came fast. The sun warmed the room. It was time to go fishing! Stepping out, I took it all in. We were right on the Grande Cascapedia—on a bluff over-

looking the wide river and plush evergreens from a bird’s eye view. My God, it looked like BC!!! It was incredible! That week we fished a number of rivers: Bonaventure, Grande Cascapedia, and Petite Cascapedia.

The Grande Cascapedia

The Grande Cascapedia is one of the larger rivers in the Gaspé Peninsula, and its extensive history of angling legends and epic fish battles make it one of the most famous Atlantic salmon rivers in the world. If I could land even a single fish here, I was going to be one happy girl. It was the first of the three rivers that I was scheduled to fish, and I was chomping at the bit to get at it!

One of the most traditional rivers in the province, the Grande Cascapedia is “private” and requires the use of a guide and a special license. Its water is gin clear, and when the fish are there, they’re easily visible. When we walked to its banks, true to form, it was utterly remarkable. My guide, Clement, had me put on a dry fly (a Bomber) that made casting a sink tip seem easy. Equivalent to the size of a small bird, the wind caught it mid-cast, making a violent “whooshing” sound as it pushed through the air. Damn! This thing was hard to cast and there were fish rolling nonchalantly in front of me in a slow moving pool. This wasn’t my first time attempting to trick fish in unmoving, still water. I knew hooking one of them without

A TYPICAL QUEBEC CANOE READY FOR LAUNCHING

34 I

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

APRIL CASTING ON THE PETIT CASCAPEDIA

ATLANT HER FIRST QUEBEC AUTHOR AND VE E UR NT NA BO E ON TH

the aid of a current was highly unlikely, and true to past experience, try as I might with Bombers, Green Highlanders, and even the notorious Frances, I couldn’t pay a fish to move. It was time to try the next pool. The next spot we arrived at was more my speed: a long stretch of structured water where the river opened up and a welcomed current flowed gracefully. “Hello lover,” I sighed and headed down the path. Clement stopped me. “Avril,” he motioned. “This way.” He pointed at a large canoe (26 feet long to be exact) and pulled it out into the current. He got Tim and me to jump in, while he assumed his position at the bow, and we waited for him to pull out the oars and prepare to row. Instead, he grabbed a long pole, stood tall and began ”poling“ us down the river. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I may as well have been fishing the flats for Bonefish! Apparently, this poling tradition was a longstanding method and I was beginning to understand why. Clement could see everything from where he stood, and the boat ride was smooth and slow without the obnoxious clanking of oars or splashing of water. This dude was stealth! Clement looked at me seriously and drew my eyes to a dead tree, which lay rotting in the water. Sure enough, on the other side of the trunk were two salmon, their noses pointed

IC SALMON

The Bonaventure

ec.com www.salmonqueb 1-866-972-8666 forward, swaying in rhythm to the smooth current. “Cast on top of them,” Clement instructed me. I was a fumbling mess. My nerves kicked in and the intrusive sound of the Bomber wasn’t helping. Thirty casts later we had no choice but to move on, and the three of us settled on breaking for lunch. Tim and I fiddled with cameras and talked about the upcoming afternoon while Clement set up lunch complete with a small table and chairs. It was a lunch fit for a king, with only a couple of things missing—an orchestra of violinists serenading us and, of course, my “Mr. Right”. Clement held out a bottle of Merlot and offered us each a glass. We chuckled, but politely declined. Our first day ended with smiles and tired eyes. Although I hadn’t hooked “my” Atlantic salmon, nothing could dampen my good mood, and I fell asleep with visions of jumping fish and thoughts of just how lucky I was.

The Bonaventure has always sounded like a Mexican fiesta to me. The name just sounded fun, and the pictures I’d seen of it carried as much character as its name did. Unique rock floors and the clearest water I’ve ever seen in my life—I questioned if I had just found my new favorite river. Our guide for the day was named Roddy. Nothing short of entertaining, he had me laughing the entire day. Whoever said that the French take themselves too seriously has yet to meet this man. He and Tim poked jokes from behind me on the bank, and I had to focus hard on landing my casts accurately. Unlike the previous day, I was fishing a wide run with standard swinging techniques. A dry line, long leader and small black Atlantic salmon pattern had me casting a tight loop effortlessly, and it swung through the current just barely submerged below the surface. If this thing actually worked, I just might consider tossing my sink tips in the trash. Cast, swing, step…. Cast, swing, step…. Just like at home. I had made it to the middle of the run, when suddenly the soft loop I held in my rod hand was pulled taut as my fly was grabbed by a scrappy salmon! Instinctively, I set the hook and the battle began. Jumping, running, rolling, that salmon fought hard, and I desperately prayed that the fly wouldn’t come loose. As usual, I knocked on the cork of my rod, a superstitious habit I’ve developed over the years when fighting a fish I couldn’t bear to lose. Soon enough, the silver bullet of a fish succumbed, and Roddy helped me land it in one swoop of a catch-and-release friendly net. Even if I wanted to wipe the stupid smile off my face, it was permanently pasted on, and I was grinning like a proud child.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 35

Silver inQuébec

LANDING A HEALTHY SALMON

ATTACK OF THE GRAND CASCAPEDIA MOSQUITOES

AN INCREDIBLE VIEW FROM THE MAIN CABIN

My trip was made, and there were two more rivers to visit. Petite Cascapedia

The next couple of days were to be spent on the Petite Cascapedia, and we transferred to a new lodge, Camp Malencon. We were greeted by an extremely friendly and gracious woman, who made sure that we had enough food to feed an army and showed us around our new “home“. The place was huge and fully equipped with a stocked kitchen and sunroom. I decided that I could live here quite happily for the remainder of my angling days. Naturally, I was under the impression that the Petite was a “petite” version of the Grande and that the fish would likely be smaller. Boy, was I wrong! The water gleamed a dazzling blue, its beauty far surpassing the expectations I had formed based on the pictures I’d seen. The water clarity looked tropical, though the cool breeze and evergreen-lined embankment assured me that I was in Quebec, rather than in the Bahamas. We arrived at the most spectacular run I had ever seen—no exaggeration. Clearer than a premium martini, every detail of the bottom of the pool was visible, as were the schools of salmon holding there.

36 I

I could hardly contain my excitement as I tied on the heaviest fly my guide, Pat, had in his box. I had my eye on a legitimate 25 pounder and was intent on at least turning his head. Just… can’t… reach…. Errgghh! I mended and cast as far upstream as I could. I simply couldn’t get my fly down to the bottom of that pool. I held my breath as my fly skimmed past his nose. Out of the corner of my eye, a looming dark shadow caught my eye. It seemed to be twice the size as the fish I was casting to, and his silhouette was frightening. There’s no way that “thing’‘ was a fish! It wasn’t even possible… was it? I’d heard stories of dog sharks making their way into the rivers from the ocean, stalking salmon and disturbing the peace, but the way this fish moved was about as salmony as could be, and I knew it was no shark. The fish moved leisurely, but it was moving in my direction! At this point, uncharacteristically, I lost all composure and turned to my guide in shock. His face said it all—this fish was as big as I thought it was and it was nothing short of monstrous!! I felt like an awkward schoolgirl again, watching the hot senior of the basketball team walk by me in the hall, hardly breathing as I waited for him to even glance in my direction. As was expected, this scaly “hot senior” made his way past me without a care in the world… or even a glance in my direction. I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. I looked across the river at Tim and the camera pointed in my direction. “Did you see that!!!” I yelled over. “Oh yeah,” he said with the smugness of an uptown pimp, “I got it all….”

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Caught on tape—this is one moment I do indeed wish to share. How could such a beautiful place have gone under my radar for so long!? I set up my rig with another monster Bomber, eager to take a fish on the surface. The sun shone brightly, and I took off my jacket to enjoy the heat. Could this be real? Warm weather, picture perfect water, gigantic fish, dry flies, tight loops and no one around to distract me? I thought back to all the times I had sought such perfect solitude, only to head home at the end of the day disappointed and discouraged. I remembered the fantasy that I had so long ago lost hope on. Had I finally found it? Had I finally matched the picture that I had created in my mind when I first entertained the thought of fly fishing? As a salmon broke the peace and smashed my fly, I knew I had found my answer. On my final day of fishing we opted to spend a half-day on the Grande Cascapedia, taking one last shot at the fish of a lifetime. Our guide, Glenn, took us to a long stretch of river that was wide and rocky with overhanging trees and slippery wading. Glenn pointed to the far bank and matterof-factly said, “Cast there”. I looked to where he pointed. It was a long haul, and I’d left my Spey rod back at the lodge. Suddenly, my single-hander and I felt very small, tucked between the boulders and with a strong current pushing at my thighs. After a number of casts, I started to cramp. My guide showed no sympathy, and he pushed me to throw farther. I was beginning to like this guy. He kinda reminded me of me, with his “no pity,we’re fishing” sort of demeanor. He meant business.

ENJOYING A LUNCH FIT FOR KINGS.

We looked at each other as a drop of rain fell from the sky, melting into the river around us. More soon followed and the sound of thunder bellowed from above. He looked at me. “You know,” he said, “we usually wrap it up about now… lightning and fly rods don’t seem to go well together….”

AUTHOR WORKING HER WAY THROUGH A LONG RUN.

But I was determined, and I couldn’t let the rain bully me into leaving my last shot at hooking a beauty on the Grande. I turned to him and grinned to let him know that I wasn’t budging. He smiled, and we continued to cast that ridiculous line as far as I could towards the other side of the river.

As quick as it had started, the rain stopped, and the sun smiled through the clouds again. As if on cue, my line tightened mid swing and the water exploded with a jumping salmon. “Yes!” Sometimes the fish that mean the most are the ones that make you work the hardest. B

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 37

CONSERVATION QUÉBEC

I BY DUNCAN HARDIE

Megafish at Montebello

All fly fishers, at some point, relish the time on the water when the fish of their dreams takes their fly. When, and if, it does happen, we relive the experience in a variety of ways–everything from playing it over and over again in our memories, to telling the story, to writing it up in our fishing journal, to capturing it on film. We can recount the tale over and over without missing a detail, although with time, the telling does tend to experience a stretching of the truth.

(LH) DR. ZEB HOGAN EXPLAINF MEGAFISH PROJECT TO WEEKEND PARTICIPANTS (RH) THE HATCHERY AT KENAUK

owever, trophy fish took on an entirely new meaning when I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in the summer of 2009 at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello just outside Ottawa with Dr. Zeb Hogan, Associate Research Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and the leading researcher in the MEGAFISH project. Dr. Hogan’s visit was part of the 2009 Global Explorer Series, a partnership between Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and the National Geographic Society as an expression of Fairmont’s commitment to responsible tourism, the environment, and sustainable hotel

38 I

management. The series of guest lectures, five in all, took place around the world at Fairmont Hotels as far afield as Kenya and Greece. The lecture series offered guests the unique opportunity to engage with National Geographic experts in a range of activities from guided tours of cultural landmarks and guest speaking engagements featuring renowned oceanographers to fly fishing and safari excursions. On the occasion of Zeb’s visit, we were hosted by Deneen Perrin, Director, Public Relations and Bill Nowell, Manager, Recreation and Fisheries for Kenauk. Participants were given a tour of the Chateau Montebello, the new conference centre, and the Kenauk fishing preserve.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

On Saturday, guests were introduced to Fairmont’s Green Partnership Program, which is geared to sustainable hotel management, and were later treated to a video presentation and lecture by Dr. Hogan describing his Megafish project. This was followed by a dinner hosted by Deneen Perrin in honor of Zeb’s visit. On Sunday, guests headed off to Kenauk where they participated in a fly fishing seminar and casting clinic hosted by Bill Nowell and John Huff, a well-known fly fisher from the Ottawa area. Participants were provided with an overview of the Kenauk preserve, including its history and its uniqueness as one of the oldest private fishing preserves in Canada.

Conservation

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: THE AUTHOR, ZEB. BILL NOWELL, ZEB WITH HIS FIRST KENAUK BROOKIE, THE WEEKEND PARTICIPANTS

We were then turned loose to pick a lake and spend the rest of the day relaxing and fishing on the preserve, which offers excellent opportunities to fish for brown, rainbow, and brook trout in a variety of lake and river settings. My conversation with Zeb during our time on the water together at Kenauk (he was thrilled with his first 14” rainbow) focused on the goals of his four year project, funded by the National Geographic Society and the World Wildlife Fund. Zeb articulated his passion to protect the Earth’s largest freshwater fish (i.e. species which grow larger than 200lbs), while raising awareness about the ecological status of the world’s rivers. His travels have spanned six continents and entailed expeditions to study 14 of the most diverse freshwater systems including their megafish populations. Included in the project is a diverse assemblage of poorly understood fish such as rare species of catfish, trout gar, stingrays, lungfish, and the white sturgeon found in Canada’s Fraser River. A key aspect of the project is the collection of life histories, population status, geographic ranges, and threats associated with the world’s largest species of fresh-

water fish—hence the name “Megafish”. From the giant Mekong Delta catfish to the taimen of Mongolia (the world’s largest trout species), these freshwater giants face habitat destruction, over-fishing, and pollution. These threats are so acute and extensive that some 70% of megafish are at risk of extinction. Zeb noted that “most of these special fish have been ignored by the global community and virtually overlooked by scientific study”. Some of the species Zeb is studying are targeted by fly fishers, including taimen, giant catfish, carp, the lungfish of the Amazon, and the giant gar found in the southern U.S. We are familiar with hooking longnose gar on the fly here in Canada, but the giants Zeb described (6 feet plus) seemed to me just a tad on the scary side! In Mongolia, Zeb is working with the academic community and recreational fishers to protect the endangered taimen, pursuing research to enable creation of a special catch-and-release fishing zone to generate money for local community-based management. Another key component of the study is raising awareness at the local, national and

global scale, as well as education about the importance of freshwater conservation, including increased visibility for freshwater science. For Zeb, it’s a race against time to document and protect these rare and endangered species and to help countries implement conservation strategies before it is too late to rescue them from the brink of extinction. As a fly fishing community we should support this effort to protect these far flung species, even if our opportunity to fish for them personally might be limited. The freshwater ecosystems of the world will be poorer places should these majestic fish be lost. B

Information about the MEGAFISH project is available by e-mail at givinginfo@ngs.org, or by writing to the National Geographic Society, Office of Development, 1145 17th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036. For information about the fly fishing opportunities at Kenauk, contact Bill Nowell at bill.nowell@fairmont.com

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 39

PRESENTED BY

& 1

13. W. Paul Furminger W. Paul Furminger with a beautiful Saugeen smallmouth bass caught on a “home tied hair frog”, released unharmed last August. 14. Rob Toth Rob Toth from Ottawa Ontario is a recent addict to fly fishing, and sent in this pic of his first ever salmon-the-fly from the Ganaraska River, ON. Congrats Rob! 15. Craig MacDonell It was the final day of the fall salmon season and I was fishing my favorite stretch of river for salmon fishing here in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I hooked into this beauty of a hen and luckily managed to land it, it turned out the be the fish of my life so far. The fish was 39” long and had a girth of 22” around the belly. After a couple quick photos and a measurement we released her back to the river. What a day! What a fish!

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

16 & 17. Frank Frank, a reader from Australia, (sorry, Frank but we can’t decipher your last name in your signature) has fly fished in Canada four times in the last six years. Fish like this 23lb Arctic char taken on Nunavut’s Tree River and a 14 ¼ bull trout the Wigwam River, BC will surely keep him coming back. 18. Andrew McDermot-Fouts Andrew McDermot-Fouts from Brandon, Manitoba, believes that the manitoba Parkland region is a prairie fly fisher’s paradise. This fine brown caught in Patterson Lake last fall, appears to confirm his belief. Visit our Web site at www.canflyfish.com for more contributions from readers that we were not able to fit into the pages of the magazine.

1. Gerald Hardy Gerald W. Hardy from Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia found this gorgeous 34” male Arctic char in Nunavut sipping tiny caddis off the surface, and lured it with a #12 Comparadun. Well done, Gerald! 2. Robert Bauer Robert and his son, Braedon, took this 25lb Chinook on 16 mile Creek in Oakville. Braedon is now enthusiastically hooked on fly fishing. Congratulation to you both. 3. Evan Gillis It looks like Evan Gillis enjoyed a pretty decent season, back in Mabou, Cape Breton. 4 & 5. Steve Kavanagh These beauties were caught on the Chehalis River in B.C. by Steve Kavanagh and his friend Andrew Hardingham.] 6. Steve Hepworth Steve Hepworth and his egg-sucking leech caught coho on the Adams River in British Columbia.

7 & 8. Leon McIntosh Fishing in Shuswap lake with minnow patterns can be rewarding, as Leon McIntosh has proven! Peter Stick photo. 9. Chris Leger This trophy Atlantic was hooked by Chris Leger on New Brunswick’s Miramichi River during the 2009 season. How about that mighty Miramichi! 10 & 11. Steven Buesink Steven Buesink, wanted to share a few pics of fish from his home waters in and around the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta from past summer. 12. Jordan Tanner Here’s a 20 inch eastern slope cuttie caught in the Oldman River in Southern Alberta during the annual Rocky Mountain Fishorama by Jordan Tanner. Nice lookin’ fish Jordan!

15 17

For your chance to win great gear from Sage, Redington and RIO, keep sending your entries to showcase@canflyfish.com or via Canada Post to: The Canadian Fly Fisher Magazine, 256 1/2 Front St., 2nd Floor, Belleville, Ontario K8N 2Z2. Please send only pictures showing fish in good health. Keep checking future issues of CFF to see if your entry has been published. Good Luck & Tight Lines! - The Canadian Fly Fisher Team

PRESENTED BY

This issue’s winner is... Steven Buesink

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 41

N O V A

S C O T I A

I BY PAUL MARRINER

A VIEW INTO “COSSEBOOM CORNER.”

Often, when starting to write a piece, I search for interesting quotations about the subject. What I found had been written about museums generally truly shocked me: most were negative, some very negative. A typical example is the observation of Michel Leiris, a 20th century French surrealist writer and ethnographer, that “nothing seems more like a whorehouse to me than a museum. In it you find the same equivocal aspect, the same frozen quality”.

A PANEL OF PHOTOS, IN THIS CASE ON ANTIQUE POSTCARDS.

THE “DOCTORS’ CORNER” IS ON THE RIGHT BEHIND THE MANNIKIN.

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Happily, this is not the case with Atlantic salmon anglers, who find great value in preserving our heritage. Institutions such as the Margaree Salmon Museum keep as much of it as possible where it belongs— off Ebay and accessible to all. In 1963 an ad hoc group of interested anglers considered that a salmon museum in the Margaree valley would be a laudable goal. Consequently, they formed the Margaree Anglers Association, an unusual name for an association whose only raison d’etre was, and is, the creation and subsequent operation of a museum to preserve the history of fishing on the Margaree River.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

It took only two years for their vision to materialize. In the summer of 1965 the Margaree Salmon Museum opened its doors in the shuttered Rossville school. After only a few months, Frances Hart assumed the job of curator, and she has been growing and caring for the collection ever since. Originally a one-room project, in 1978 an expansion almost doubled the exhibition space. Funds for this work came from government grants and private donations. In 2007, additional grants permitted further renovations. These projects ensure the museum will have sufficient room to expand in the future. The Margaree River is ideally suited to having a museum, for it is the last truly public, healthy, big-salmon river in North America (and likely the world). On any given day

The muse one might encounter Cosseboom. The um is ope J u n n anglers from the UK, fly (originated e 15 - Oct ob Germany, Switzerland, circa 1923) and Admissio er 15, 9 to 5. n is a too and a half-dozen US its creator, John nie for adult states. In many ways the C. Cosseboom s and a loonie fo museum is a “people’s of Woonsocket, r children . museum.” Exhibits do not RI, have a corner originate with Governors to themselves. Many General, or the CEO of General more intriguing displays Foods or Oriental Petroleum, but rather await visitors. from a host of enthusiastic anglers from Community involvement, Eastern Canada, New England, and Europe. particularly with youth, is an Three of the more recognizable, at least to essential component of a museum’s mission. my generation, are Harry and Elsie Darbee Fish Friends, an Atlantic Salmon Federation and Poul Jorgensen. sponsored program, enables children to raise Golfing is the sport of choice for many salmon from egg to fry in their doctors’, but the most enlightened prefer classroom. In the Margaree salmon angling on the Margaree. The “docValley region, participating tors corner” celebrates three of these, includclasses visit the museum for ing famed pediatrician Dr. Edward A. Park an educational session during (Massachusetts), Dr. A.W. Ross (Moncton), the day the fry are released into and Nobel Prize winner, Dr. George Whipple local waters. (Rochester, NY). In a room featuring antique Recognition has come from rods and a river diorama are leather rod home and away. A former and reel cases belonging to Major W.G. executive director of Nova Greenaway. His Bond-like story of teaching Scotia museums called it one Herman Goering the finer points of casting of the finest museums in Nova while gathering intelligence for Britain in preScotia. “It has a clear focus on war Germany is remembered by the gift from its mandate, a fine collection his celebrated wife, Cora de Jong Greenaway and a genuine orientation to (Order of Canada plus several bowls of alphapublic service. Its goals reflect the lifestyle bet soup). Greenaway settled in Paradise, NS, and economics of the people of Margaree and published The Way to Better Angling in and the heritage of fishing on the Margaree 1954. While the book doesn’t specifically R iver.” Far ther south, the mention Margaree experiences, the major American Association of State explored the best the province offered for and Local History awarded a salmon in addition to trout and other species. commendation (1983) with the Each season my brother Jim and I scour following citation, “Certificate the displays of photographs for new arrivof Commendation for The als. Prepare to be astonished by the size of Margaree Salmon Museum, some of the yesteryear salmon captured Inverness County, Nova Scotia on film. For those familiar with the current for preserving and interpreting landscape, a century of documented changes the history of angling on the proves equally fascinating. Photographs also Margaree River.” remember many of the guides who played an A dilemma known as “the important role in the enjoyment and success tragedy of the commons” sugof visiting anglers. Another case that regularly gests that what everyone owns, draws my eye contains a veritable history of no one owns, and so individuals the salmon reel, from wooden winders to will maximize personal gain at the expense of modern iconic Bogdans. For tying enthusithe resource. Belying this pessimistic view is asts, thousands of salmon fly patterns, both the enormous amount of continuing care and modern and classic, have a home in several attention paid to sustaining a salmon fishery display cases. Others join donated art on the on the Margaree River by many valley resiwalls. Many of the contributors are repredents and anglers from away. The Margaree sented in my books. Perhaps the best-known Salmon Museum is a dynamic reminder of this pattern associated with the Margaree is the bond. B

CURATOR FRANCES HART DISCUSSES ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION WITH JIM MARRINER.

SOME OF THE REELS ON DISPLAY.

A DISPLAY OF ANTIQUE RODS AND OTHER FISHING TACKLE. MAJOR GREENAWAY’S ROD AND REEL CASES ARE ON THE CENTRAL TABLE.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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fernie, bc I

J U N I O R N A T I O N A L S STORY BY TODD OISHI PHOTOS BY TODD OISHI AND COLETTE STROUD

Kids Fly Fishing School

On September 26 and 27, 2009, The Canadian Fly Fisher magazine and Fly Fishing Canada (FFC) organized a fly fishing school, which was held in Fernie, British Columbia, in conjunction with the 7th Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships and Conservation Symposium. The free, two-day course, which was held on the Elk River and Summit Lake, was attended by kids from across Canada. The students learned the fundamentals of fly fishing and were provided with hands-on instruction and coaching.

WALKING ALONG

Some of the students that attended the fly fishing school were selected through a written essay contest that was held by The Canadian Fly Fisher. The contest asked the kids to explain why they would like to attend the fly fishing school, and why fly fishing is so important to them. Four of the contest winners had their expenses covered through donations from the staff and writers of The Canadian Fly Fisher, Fly Fishing Canada, and several other generous individuals. The fly fishing school also provided the opportunity for the coaches and members of FFC to assess the potential of those that were interested in applying for a spot on future Youth Fly Fishing Teams that represent Canada at international fly fishing championships and conservation symposiums.

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BRET T SELBY WITH

MENTOR TERENCE

COURTOREILLE

THE ELK

Day One:

The students spent the morning in a classroom setting at the Best Western Hotel, where Bob Sheedy (coach of FFC’s Youth Team) and Rebecca Clarke (Elk River Guiding Company)

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

taught them the fundamentals of fly fishing and gave demonstrations on fly fishing equipment, leaders, knots and fly patterns. The fly casting lesson was very popular with the kids. A few of them we re a l re a d y q u i te proficient casters, but still benefited from the personal coaching they received. The Fly Kid Foundation provided fly rods and waders, which were used by some of the students for the casting lesson and during their time spent on the water. During the afternoon the students fished a stretch of the Elk River that flows right through

Send a Kid on the FLY FISHING Experience of a Lifetime EMILY BRUNEAU WITH MENTOR TERENCE COURTOREILLE

In 2009, The Canadian Fly Fisher raised funds to cover the expenses of four youngsters to attend a Fly Fishing Canada Youth Fly Fishing Workshop held in conjunction with the Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships in Fernie, B.C. It was a resounding success (see the feature, editorial, and Wandering Aengus column in this issue). The four youngsters we sponsored, as well as the others who made their own way to the workshop, were inspired by the coaching provided, especially by their contemporaries—members of the current youth team. The donations we received helped to make this possible. Therefore, we’re replicating the offer for the second Youth Workshop to be held at the 2010 Canadian Fly Fishing Championships in Russell, Manitoba at the end of May 2010. Your donation will contribute to encouraging more youngsters to get more involved in fly fishing.

How to donate BRANDON GUDJONSON WITH MENTOR JOHN NISHI

the heart of Fernie. Several members of FFC’s youth and senior fly fishing teams (Team Canada) were on hand to help mentor and coach the students. The students received instruction and one-on-one coaching from Rebecca Clarke and Team Canada members: John Bransfield; Terence Courtoreille; John Nishi; Todd Oishi; Chris Pfohl; Rob Stroud, and several other volunteers. From my experience, teaching kids how to fly fish tends to be a much easier task when compared to working with adults, as kids tend to be much more open and receptive to new concepts and instruction, which helps them to learn and progress at a much quicker pace. This was most definitely the case with this fine group of kids! The students fished with a variety of nymphs, streamers and dry flies. Not all of them hooked a fish right away, but most of them seemed to be just as happy and excited to watch the trout rise with great enthusiasm to inspect their flies. By the end of the afternoon’s lessons, most of the students had managed to hook at least one or two of the remarkably beautiful westslope cut-

Cheques, money orders, and credit card particulars (made payable to The Canadian Fly Fisher) should be mailed to The Canadian Fly Fisher office at 256 ½ Front St., Belleville, ON K8N 2Z2, or on-line at www.canflyfish.com . Individuals wishing to sponsor a youngster of their choice should send us the name of the recipient, along with all the information requested in the registration directions for kids. Deadline for donations: April 30, 2010

How kids can register Send us the following information by snail mail, e-mail, or our Web site: Your name and address. Your Age (to be eligible, kids must be under 17 as of Sept. 30, 2010). In no more than 250 words tell us about yourself—whether or not you’ve fly fished before, and, if you have, where and to what extent. Also, tell us why you’d like to attend the workshop and why fly fishing is important to you. Deadline for Registrations: April 15, 2010. On-line: info@canflyfish.com Write: 256 ½ Front St., Belleville, ON K8n 2Z2

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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Kids Fly Fishing School throat trout that inhabit the river. One of the students even managed to hook an impressive bull trout within the depths of a pool, but lost it after it ran several times and eventually freed itself of the hook. The students and participants thoroughly enjoyed their time spent together on the river and walked away with a far greater understanding and passion for fly fishing, as well as a much deeper respect and appreciation of the fish and their fragile environment. My personal belief is that youngsters’ sense of accomplishment and achievement can easily be measured by the size

of the smile on their faces, and the day’s lessons and their time on the river definitely confirmed my theory!

Day Two:

The second portion of the fly fishing school was held the following day at Summit Lake, which is situated high in

WAITING FOR THE

HATCH

the Rocky Mountain Range right on the British Columbia/Alberta border. Summit provides a very popular fishery that produces some impressive rainbow, westslope cutthroat, and brook trout. For safety reasons, it was

CUTTHROAT WERE

AD STACKED IN THE SH

Y POOL

GETTING INTO POSITION

fernie, bc 46 I

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

The Fly Fishing Experience of a Lifetime!

decided that the kids would be fishing from shore during their lessons. The day’s lessons began with a detailed talk on the basics of lake fishing, equipment and leader setups. The students walked the shoreline in search of insects and other food

Origin Design + Communications Client: Tourism Fernie File: TF015_CanFlyFish_ad.indd Size: 7.375” x 4.875” [Bl=][LI=]

items that are basic staples of the trout’s diet. They were then shown the corresponding fly patterns that imitated these food items, as well as the retrieves that best imitated their natural movements. The bank setting allowed the students to work on their casting technique, while the volunteers freed any flies that became entangled in the surrounding brush, which occasionally interfered with their back cast. A few fish were caught, but overall the fishing was generally quite slow, as they were fishing the same area of the lake that had been heavily pressured during the National Fly Fishing Championships. This was, however, a valu-

Photos: HR Logos: HR Res: 300dpi Des: GM

able lesson in patience and perseverance, as it forced the students to focus on their casting, retrieval and overall presentation. In the end, the Kids Fly Fishing School was deemed a huge success by all who attended, and exceeded their expectations, as the kids all had a great time and learned a ton about fly fishing, while creating some new friendships and memories that will surely last a lifetime. The next Kids Fly Fishing School will be held in Russell, Manitoba, on May 22nd and 23rd—preceding the 2010 National Fly Fishing Championships. The fly fishing school will be provided free of charge and is available to kids under the age of eighteen. Members of Team Canada and coaches from Fly Fishing Canada will be on hand to provide instruction and to assess the potential of any participants that might wish to apply for a spot on future Youth Teams. B

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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I STORY AND PHOTOS BY TODD OISHI

7th Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships & Conservation Symposium The small, picturesque, Rocky Mountain town of Fernie, British Columbia and Fly Fishing Canada hosted the 7th Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships (NFFC) and Conservation Symposium, and a free fly fishing school for kids during the third week of September 2009. Fly fishers from all across Canada gathered in Fernie to participate in this year’s event. The breath-taking scenery within the Elk Valley, along with the Elk River’s reputation as being one of North America’s premier dry fly fisheries, helped set the scene for this year’s events.

Team Gold: Team Cormorants As this year’s NFFC was held in British Columbia, the competitors had to abide by the province’s strictly enforced “single-fly-only” angling regulation. This rule modification increased the degree of di fficulty for this year’s competition - in comparison to previous ones that were held in provinces where the use of multiple flies (droppers) are permitted and were allowed for those competitions. The five, three-hour-long sessions of the NFFC were held on three sections of the Elk River and on the banks of Summit Lake. The species of fish that were eligible for scoring points were: West-slope Cutthroat Trout; Rainbow Trout; Brook Trout; and Rocky Mountain Whitefish. Bull Trout were excluded from the competition due to their status as a

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“species of special concern”. Although 20cm was set as the minimum length for the scoring of points, the average size of the fish that were caught and released was well over 30cm.

The Venues:

The Elk River is an exceptionally beautiful freestone river which snakes and carves its way through one of the most rugged and yet stunning landscapes in all of North

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

America. Although the Elk is most famous for its spectacular dry fly fishing for the remarkably beautiful Westslope cutthroat trout, the competitors were equally as enthused about having an opportunity to target its Rocky Mountain whitefish. Whitefish were included in Fernie’s competition, as they are the rough equivalent of grayling—an eligible species in most U.K. and European-based competitions. Notorious bottom feeders, whitefish can be quite difficult to catch at times, and are even more difficult to keep on a barbless hook. These two characteristic would ultimately challenge and help to hone the nymphing skills of the competitors, while increasing their overall knowledge and respect for these magnificent silvery-sided beauties. The more densely populated stretches of the Elk River and any obvious “honey-holes”

7th Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships & Conservation Symposium

The five, three-hour-long sessions of the NFFC were held on three sections of the Elk River and on the banks of Summit Lake. Team Silver: Team Double Hauls

Individual Results: Gold: John Nishi - Millarville, Alberta Silver: Ryan Suffron - Winnipeg, Manitoba Bronze: Todd Oishi - Maple Ridge, British Columbia

Team Results: Team Gold: Team Cormorants Mac Stark (captain) Terence Courtoreille John Nishi Rob Stroud Chris Pfohl Todd Oishi

Bronze Team: Trout Wrestlers

Team Silver: Team Double Hauls Ryan Suffron Byron Shepherd Jason Doucette Sorin Comsa Matt Majors Bronze Team: Trout Wrestlers Clayton Hobbs Steve Harris Marius Dumitru Matthew Sparrow Ron Courtoreille

were excluded from the river-beat selection process. This decision was made based upon the premise that all of the river beats should be equally challenging and as consistent in fish numbers as possible. Fishing under adverse conditions such as these, mentally and physically prepares the competitors for the conditions that they should expect to encounter if they were competing at the international level. After all, the vast majority of fly fishers already know how to catch fish in the easy water and “sweet spots”, but it is the

more difficult water that truly challenges and tests their angling skills. The Elk’s width and its gentle gradient make it very wadable, but the narrower and steeper stretches make wading treacherous. Several competitors (present company included) swam across the river several times, in order to access the stretches of water that were considered to be impossible to reach and to cover with a conventional fly rod. Adopting these extreme tactics paid-off in the end for me and the other competitors that were crazy enough

to brave these waters, as it allowed us to successfully target the fish that had experienced the least amount of angling pressure. The Elk River fished fairly well for the duration of the competition, with conditions during morning sessions providing the greatest challenges due to a lack of insect activity, which generally peaked later on in the day. Consequently, the competitors who were highly-skilled at Euro-nymphing techniques and streamer-fishing seemed to fare best in the mornings.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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7th Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships & Conservation Symposium At the conclusion of the competition, a grand total of 453 fish (of eligible size) were caught and released. Summit Lake was fished from its banks rather than from boats—a common practice at national and international fly fishing championships where access to boats is often very limited or not a reasonable option. At the conclusion of the competition, a grand total of 453 fish (of eligible size) were caught and released. The fishing was challenging, to say the least, with some competitors wrongfully assuming and proclaiming that their river beats were “completely void of fish”. Two competitors that shared one particular river beat actually gave-up and stopped fishing long before the time in their session had expired. But during the fifth and final session of the competition, John Nishi and Aaron Laing fished that very same beat, and both managed to catch fish, which placed them 2nd and 3rd (respectively) in their session even though this particular beat had failed to produce a single fish until they unravelled

NEW FEATURE

he ASF and the NB • TSalmon Council are having their annual Moncton Dinner at the Royal Oaks Golf Club- Moncton on Saturday March 27th.

For more information, contact Geoff Giffin at ggiffin@asf.ca Fly Casting aisle • As ponsored by the Atlantic Fly Fishing School.

its mystery. Several other competitors also managed to score fish in other supposedly “fishless beats”, which in its own is a great testimony to their angling skills and perseverance...

Kudos

Kevin McIsaac and his organizing committee, as well as volunteers from Fly Fishing Canada did a great job organizing and running this year’s events. Gord Silverthorne of Kootenay Fly Shop volunteered his expertise and time to select and mark the river-beats for the competition. Local guide, Rebecca Clarke, from Elk River Fly Shop donated her time to help with the Kids Fly Fishing School. Individuals from several provinces and territories stepped forward and unselfishly volunteered their time to serve as sector judges and controllers for the competition. The

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Conservation Symposium:

The Conservation Symposium focused on habitat destruction caused by mining, and the steps that the provincial government and local mining companies have been taking in order to reduce impact on fish and their environment. A local biologist gave a highly informative on the current status of the bull trout populations of the Elk River and its tributaries. He also spoke about the problems caused by the introduction of brook trout (a non-native species) into the cutthroat and bull trout’s natural environment. B

The Dieppe Fly Fishing Forum The Dieppe Fly Tying Club presents the seventh Fly Fishing Forum on March 27th and 28th, 2010 at the New Brunswick Community College in Dieppe. The principal objective of the Forum is to promote the sport of fly fishing in general and attract underrepresented demographic groups like women and youth to this activity; while this continues to be our goal, the Forum has become the harbinger of Spring for fly fishing enthousiasts throughout the Maritimes.

7thR! YEA

The Dieppe Fly Tying Club is pleased to announce that since the beginning of the Dieppe Fly Fishing Forum, more than $23,000 was given to different conservation and river associations of NB.

www.flyfishingforum.ca Dieppe New Brunswick Community College 505, College Street, Dieppe, NB

cooperation, hospitality and individual acts of kindness that were displayed by the volunteers, local politicians, merchants, guides and the residents of Fernie and Sparwood made everyone feel extremely welcome and at home during their visit.

HOURS

ADMISSION

Adult: $5/day Youth under 16: Free

• Colfords Atlantic Salmon Fishing: Miramichi Salmon Fishing Trip 1 day / 2 rods • Rip Tide Tackle: Fly fishing rod • LG Fly & Rod: Fly fishing rod

DOOR PRIZES

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM

I BY RON MARINI

Remembering Ted Knott:

Fly Fisher, Innovator, Mentor, and Friend

It’s now five years since the passing of Ted Knott. As well as writing a popular regular column for The Canadian Fly Fisher, Ted was one of Ontario’s best loved teachers and ambassadors of fly fishing, fly tying, cane rod building, and conservation. As a commemorative tribute, his close friend Ron Marini has collected a number of reminiscences about Ted and shares them below. Ed.

n the river, near a bend where fast water met slow, Ted stood knee-deep and quietly grasped at fluttering flies. He wore a tan fishing vest over his loose jacket and a wrinkled cotton fedora hat. A photographer from a local newspaper was posing him for an article on fly fishing. “Stand here.” Click. “Now lift your arm.” Click. “Can you turn your body and face that way?” Click. The picture taker was pleased with both his subject and the surroundings and commented on what a fine piece of river the angler was standing in. “Must be a good spot to catch trout,” he remarked. “Actually,” said Ted, “it’s probably the worst spot on the river. Too much mud there; too shallow there. It looks pretty, though.” And so began a basic lesson for the photographer in reading the water and the secrets of trout fishing from Ted Knott, teacher, friend, mentor, and innovator—as always, delivered with compassion and even a dose of devilish humour.

Ted was 69 when he passed away April 4, 2005 after a battle with cancer. He left behind a legacy of fly fishing friendship, commitment to the environment and a passion a for teaching.

Dave Pout, a long-time friend, recalls one day when the pair were fishing out West. They walked a path to the river and, along the way, Ted obstructed a sign so Dave would not be able to read it. Only on the way back up the trail after a day of fishing did Dave notice the sign, and he was horrified to read the warning: “Beware of Bears.” On another outing on a Western river, Dave and Ted had an even closer call. Dave noticed a bear nearby and became skittish. Ted, simply turned and whispered: “Keep quiet. I don’t want to attract his attention.” Bill Christmas, a noted fly fisher and past president of the Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club, and Ted were childhood friends. He observed that there were traits about Ted that never changed. “Even at [a] young age, Ted demonstrated his lifelong traits of goodness, civility and love of good fun.”

Ted’s many friends, acquaintances, fly fishing companions and his wife, Josephine, identified four essential elements about Ted: his desire to learn, his teaching ability, his innovation, and his inherent goodness and humour. Josephine tells a story about Ted that gives some insight into his playful nature. She met Ted when the pair worked at International Harvester in Hamilton, Ontario. Ted invited her to a CMA dinner, and she promptly accepted, as she knew her boss at International Harvester was a member of the CMA (The Canadian Manufacturers’ Association). When she arrived at the dinner, she was somewhat surprised that the men were dressed a little casually for what she believed would be a prestigious dinner. It was only when the occupants stood up for the roll call to introduce themselves as Steel City Riders, Flying Dutchmen, and other similar names that Josephine realized the CMA dinner Ted had invited her to was actually the Canadian Motorcycle Association. Ted loved motorcycles and in his early years was a competitive rider. It was just one of his many passions. Ted had a lifelong love of learning and was a natural teacher. After landing his first full-time job, he enrolled in night school and persevered, while working full time, until he completed his M.Ed. George Genyk of the Hamilton Area Fly Fishers and Tyers and the Izaak Walton Club

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 51

In 2005, Ted passed his last bamboo rod blank to his good friend Carl O’Connor, who lovingly finished it to Knott’s high standards and has donated it to the Ted Knott Chapter of Trout Unlimited to raise funds for the chapter. It will be auctioned, fittingly, at the 2010 Canadian Fly Fishing Forum banquet on April 10th.

knew Ted for over 35 years and recalls his commitment to teaching, which included teaching fly tying at Hamilton’s Mohawk College night school, as well as beginner fly tying classes at the annual Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Forum in Toronto. Genyk describes Ted as meticulous and enthusiastic and recalls how he organized and bagged all the materials for the flies to be tied at the beginners’ table at home before the event. He put the same energy into his instruction with students while pond fishing at Rainbow Ranch, fishing for mooneyes on the Grand River, or instructing river fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Credit River. Professionally, Ted administered the Co-operative Education Program with the Hamilton Board of Education. Genyk recalls participating in the Co-Operative Education Program as an employer and remembers how Ted groomed his students for the work experience, showing great care and trying to ensure the experience was successful for all concerned. He was a co-founder of the Ontario Co-operative Education Association, and he had a major influence on the development of high school co-op programmes in Ontario. Looking for new ventures was second nature to Ted. He began building cane rods

when others were building them with fiberglass. Josephine and Genyk remarked how he persevered to perfect his skill in building with cane. Ted was instrumental in creating an organization of Canadian bamboo rod makers. Carl O’Connor, fellow cane rod builder and good friend, said that Ted came up with the idea after attending a gathering of bamboo rod makers in Grayling, Michigan in 1996. The idea blossomed into the Grand Bamboo Rod Gathering in 1997 in Fergus, Ont. Since then, the Canadian Bamboo Rod Builders has hosted some of the finest bamboo rod makers in the world at its biannual gatherings. About the same time, Ted joined forces with the venerable Harold Becker to found the Hamilton Area Fly Fishers and Tyers, which now annually in their honour, presents the Knott-Becker Award to the club member who demonstrates exceptional service to the club over the previous year. Like Ted, the club is dedicated to teaching

fly tying and fly fishing, as well as engaging in conservation projects. Well-known expert fly tyer and long-time Izaak Walton club member, Elliot Deighton’s fondest memor y of Ted was a spring fishing clinic on the Credit River after opening day of trout season. Ted was instructing a large crowd how to fish currents, and Deighton was helping out by demonstrating fishing the river. When he tied on a black Woolly Bugger with a lot of weight, Ted suggested he might hook a late spring rainbow trout. After just two casts, Deighton got a heavy strike and landed a 19-inch, out-of-season smallmouth bass, which he promptly released. He kept casting and was rewarded with three more. Ted turned to Deighton and with a grin on his face and observed, “That’s not what we are here for, but it still counts.” Ted’s fishing prowess is commemorated in the Catskills Fly Fishing Center and Museum in Livingston Manor, New York. He is honoured for his contribution to rod building and the sport of fly fishing. Closer to home, a pool on Ontario’s upper Grand River, where Ted spent a lot of time chasing brown trout, is known as the Ted Knott Pool; a chapter of Trout Unlimited focused on protecting the cold water creeks of Hamilton and neighbouring Halton Region

There can be no finer tribute to a great and giving man than to say: “He taught us all by his example.”

52 I

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

THE IZAAK WALTON FLY FISHING CLUB P

flowing into Burlington Bay and Hamilton Harbour is named after him; a club of Hamilton and area fly fishers and tyers is grateful for his foresight and vision; and each gathering of Canadian Bamboo Rod Builders is a testament to Ted. Among his most endearing characteristics was his love for his wife and his daughters. Josephine observed that Ted never criticized. His daughter Kristina said: “I always remember my dad as being the one to drop everything and come and help.” Ted’s other daughter, Sandra, recalls her father helping out by shepherding her children to school in the morning. Josephine revealed that Ted’s grandchildren loved to have grandpa in charge in the morning, because he would take them to a coffee shop for donuts and hot chocolate while he had coffee with Dave Pout. Sandra misses the look he got when he was the one with good news, such as when he was asked to be part of the Canadian Fly Fishing Team or when an article he wrote was published. The human side of Ted Knott is the most enduring aspect of his life, and no one said it better than his friend Bill Christmas: “As long as I have known him, he never demeaned anyone in word or deed. I now use Ted’s examples as a model for relations with others and as a result have experienced a change in my own life and how I treat people.” Ted Knott was known for being a generous man and at times donated his cane rods to raise money for charities and as gifts for at least two retiring mayors. He refused to act as a fishing guide, preferring to share his love and skill for the sport freely. B

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 53

AURO I

BY CHRIS MARSHALL AND NAOTO AOKI F E A T U R E PHOTOS BY NAOTO & YOSHI AOKI

The Aurora trout is the rarest member of the salmon family in the world. It is native to just two lakes located about 110km north of Sudbury, Ontario — Whirligig Lake and Whitepine Lake.

YOSHI WITH HIS AURORA

AuroraTrout Back from the Brink of Extinction 54 I

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

ORA TROUT Fortunately, Auroras were saved from outright extinction, thanks to the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests...

Salvelinus fontinalis timagamiensis

Species or Sub-species? The Aurora trout was discovered by a group of anglers in 1923. Initially, it was considered to be a distinct species, but subsequently, others designated it as a sub-species of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and this became the more widely held view. However, when the Aurora trout was put on the endangered species list in 1987, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) chose to retain the subspecies designation, Salvelinus fontinalis timagamiensis. But whether it’s a separate species or a sub-species, there’s no doubt that the Aurora trout is unique. It has the same brilliant general colours of the brook trout—olive green on the back and sides and vermilion/pink on the belly. However, the Aurora lacks the brook trout’s distinctive vermiculations and yellow spots on the back and upper sides, and the numerous blue-haloed red spots found on the sides of the brook trout are much fewer or completely absent on the Aurora.

The Road to Extinction— and Back In less than 20 years after their discovery, the Aurora trout populations in both Whirligig and Whitepine lakes were observed to be in decline, and by 1967 had disappeared altogether, due to acidification—a catastrophe which affected so many lakes around the Sudbury smelters at that time.

Fortunately, Auroras were saved from outright extinction, thanks to the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests in the late 1950s, who initiated a very modest hatchery breeding programme with only nine native fish—three females and six males. For almost 40 years, succeeding generations of the offspring of these few were successfully nurtured in captivity. By the late 1980s, pH levels in both native lakes as a result of a combination of liming

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 55

AURORA TR Salvelinus

and cleaning up of smelter emissions, had been raised to about 6.5, sufficiently high for sustaining populations of trout. Consequently, hatchery offspring of native Auroras were reintroduced to the lakes from which their ancestors had been captured—Whirligig in 1990 and Whitepine in 1991 and 1994. Today, although there has been a slight decline in pH

levels to between 5.1 and 5.3 (still considered high enough to sustain trout), self-sustaining populations of Aurora trout are well established in both lakes. Currently, under the auspices of the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and implemented by the Aurora Trout Recovery Team (ATRT) along with Fisheries and Oceans Canada,

federal and provincial government and nongovernment experts and stakeholders, a rigorous Aurora trout recovery programme, both short range and long range, is underway for both original lakes, as well as for a number of others, which have also been stocked but, as yet, are not self-sustaining.

Aurora Trout Lake Open Season Rotation: August 01 – October 15 Annually. Currently, under the

Lake

2010

2011

2012

2013

auspices of the federal

Borealis open Wynn open Timmins #57 open Carol closed Liberty closed Tyrell #21 closed Big Club closed Pallet closed Nayowin closed

closed closed closed open open open closed closed closed

closed closed closed closed closed closed open open open

open open open closed closed closed closed closed closed

Species at Risk Act (SARA) and implemented by the Aurora Trout Recovery Team (ATRT) along with Fisheries and Oceans Canada...

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

ROUT

Back from the Brink of Extinction

fontinalis timagamiensis Fishing Regulations

While sport fishing is prohibited in Whirligig and Whitepine, nine other lakes in the same general area (which previously had no native populations, but have similar features to the native lakes) have been stocked with Auroras to provide anglers with an opportunity to catch them. These are as follows: Liberty Lake, Carol Lake, Pallet Lake, Nayowin Lake, Big Club Lake, Wynn Lake, Borealis Lake, Tyrell Lake #21, and Timmins Lake #57. Understandably, sport fishing on these lakes is strictly regulated: 1. Only three of the nine lakes are open to fishing in a given year, which means that each lake is closed and rested two years out of three. 2. Open season on all lakes is from August 1st to October 15th. 3. Catch and possession is limited to one fish per day. 4. Live bait is prohibited. 5. Motors (except for electric trolling motors) are prohibited.

A Rare and Elusive Quarry: Aurora Foray

In the summer of 2009, we were invited to fish one of the open Aurora trout lakes. Our roving field editors, Naoto and Yoshi were selected for the expedition. This is their story, narrated by Naoto. I stood at the edge of a small Northern Ontario lake, almost in disbelief, watching one of the rarest fish in the world disappear into the depths. The sense of excitement and accomplishment and sheer happiness was overwhelming! Finally, I had caught and released my first Aurora troutâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it was a perfect moment! For years now, Aurora trout have fascinated me! Out of all the fish in Canada, they were on the very top of my fish wish list! My brother Yoshi and I had tried to catch them before, but had always returned home disappointed, as we never were able to get so much as a sniff from one of these rare fish.

However, in 2009, at Big Club Lake everything changed. Yoshi and I had every intention of being the first people on the water when the season opened on August 1st. We headed north the day before, following a handful of directions that took us down gravel roads until we hit a small trail heading into the middle of nowhere. The map indicated that Big Club Lake was at the end of the trail. There was no turning back, as I listened to branches scraping along both sides of the truck for what seemed like an eternity. All I could hope for was that the scratches would be souvenirs of a few days of great fishing!

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER â&#x20AC;˘ FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 57

AURORA TR After years of dreaming of this moment, I was actually, at last, living the dream!

Finally, we arrived at the lake and were greeted by a large Aurora trout sign; we had made it! Battling the mosquitoes, we set up our tent, built a fire and started cooking our dinner. We were trying to keep ourselves as busy as possible while we prepared to be the first ones on the water the next morning. The anticipation was almost too much to handle. There we were with one of the rarest fish in the world at our fingertips, but it was still hours until the season opened! That night as we were lying in our sleeping bags, hopelessly trying to fall asleep, a haunting howl broke the silence and echoed throughout the hills. There were wolves all around us. Yoshi, who is able to imitate a wolf perfectly, unzipped the tent door and let a couple of howls rip out. Within minutes, there were wolves within twenty yards of us. They went on howling for the better part of an hour, never stopping for more than a minute or two. It was an amazing experience. With the first sign of daylight I was immediately out of my sleeping bag and into my waders! I don’t think we were awake more than a few minutes before we had our pon-

toon boats in the water. We had walked the lake shore the previous day, and had decided the far end would be the best place to start. So, with trolling motors set on high, we made our way down the lake as quickly as we could. As everything we had researched told us the fish would most likely be in deep water, we decided to run heavy sink tips with large, bead head streamers. I couldn’t strip line from the reel fast enough, and as my first cast hit the water, I just had to smile. With each cast, however, came disappointment, and as the early morning grew into mid day, neither of us had seen a fish. We really had no previous experience to draw upon of how to fish for Aurora trout. As they are so similar to brook trout, we simply figured that we could approach them with the same techniques. We were wrong! Nearly six hours went by without even a smell of a fish. Eventually, we were compelled to accept that we needed to change our approach. It was time to slow down the retrieve! As I dredged the mud 20 feet beneath me, I felt a small tick on the line. I’d felt the same thing a thousand times before as the fly

A HAPPY AUTHOR!

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Salvelinus

picked up leaves and sticks from the bottom. But in the remote chance it just might be a hit, (as I always do) I automatically set the hook. I was shocked out of my complacency by a huge headshake and line screaming from my reel. It became very apparent that Auroras fight nothing like brookies. I couldn’t believe the power behind each run. My nerves were shot as I played the fish towards the outstretched net. I was sure my heart was about to leap out of my chest! The fish dove time and time again until, finally, I was able to guide him into the soft mesh of my handcrafted net. After years of dreaming of this moment, I was actually, at last, living the dream! And there it was—a huge Aurora trout, and he was in my grasp. I was completely speechless for a moment until the truth began to sink in! Yoshi and I cradled him gently in the water, admiring his bright colours and snapping a few photos before releasing him. At last, I had finally caught an Aurora trout, one of the rarest and most elusive fish on earth! We were also elated because we’d discov-

ROUT

Back from the Brink of Extinction

fontinalis timagamiensis ered a technique for catching more, so we continued to dredge our streamers as slowly as possible along the bottom. Nevertheless, we also knew that these fish were not going to make it easy for us. It wasn’t until late that afternoon that we hooked another fish. I looked over at Yoshi after he yelled out that he had one on! His rod buckled as it charged its way into deeper water. Again, it was impossible not to immediately notice how much more powerful these Auroras were than brookies. Yoshi nervously laughed out loud as his first Aurora peeled out 30 yards of line. I think I was more nervous watching him fight his fish than I was fighting my own, but after what felt like a lifetime, he successfully brought it to the net. Once more, we stood there in awe before snapping a few photos and then watching as it swam away. As we sat around the campfire that night, we kept retelling the stories of the two

Auroras we had caught that day. Although we only had two hits in almost 14 hours of fishing, we couldn’t have scripted a better day on the water! We actually felt that it really didn’t matter whether we got another Aurora or not. We had accomplished what we had set out to do, and anything else from that point on would be icing on the cake. The following morning we awoke to the sound of rain bouncing off our tent and the wind howling through the tree tops—and it was cold. Neither one of us had brought warm clothes, but we decided we could tough it out. I mean, how often did we have Auroras at our doorstep? We battled the wind and the rain for nearly 12 hours that day! We really had no idea how the fish would react in such a cold front, but once again we were each able to coax an Aurora into hitting! Just like the day before, we had to slow right down,

barely moving our streamers along the bottom. It was by far the most challenging two days of fishing I’ve had in a long time. I have no idea if the weather played a role in the fishing being so difficult, or if that’s just how Auroras are—difficult—although I rather like to imagine that they are always that tough to catch. Really, something so rare and majestic should not come easily, and they most certainly did not! In total, we put in upwards of 26 hours on the water in those two days, managing to fool four fish and landing them all; it would have been heartbreaking to lose even one of them! Feeling that we had done all we had set out to do, we decided to end on a high note. After releasing Yoshi’s second fish, we packed up our gear and started the long drive home. It was a perfect ending to two days of fishing that will remain in our memories forever. Moreover, we knew that we would be back. B

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 59

F L Y

T Y I N G

I BY SHELDON SEALE

In the November/January issue of The Canadian Fly Fisher, I covered a variety of techniques for using yarn and hair as the materials for spent spinner wings. In this issue, I will focus on spent spinner wings made primarily from whole feathers or sections of them. There are many ways to use feathers for spent spinner wings. You can use whole feathers from birds, such as partridge and grouse. You can wind them as hackle and either trim them or concentrate the fibres to make the wings. You can use quill slips tied flat, and I have seen many other variations. The key is to get that distinctive “cross” shape that seems to be the key to the success with spinner patterns. STEP 1

STEP 2

When using small feathers in their entirety, be sure to select feathers from opposite sides of the cape. This is why having entire skins or capes is better than loose feathers in a bag. You will want to choose two feathers of the correct size (that is, the part you will use will generally be equal to the hook length). They should be well marked, and you can enhance the colour with a waterproof marker if you wish (either tint the whole feather or darken an edge of the wing to imitate some specific species of mayfly). Grey partridge is a favourite of mine, but almost any small flank or shoulder feather from appropriately sized and coloured birds will work. There are two schools of thought about how to orient the feathers you tie as spent wings. One school (the floatability school) likes to tie them so their concave side will float on the water. This will trap air and assist in the floatation of the fly. The other school

60 I

STEP 3

prefers to tie the feathers so the convex side will float on the surface. This forms, in their opinion, small boats to help float the fly but, more importantly, the colours are stronger on the convex side. Whether you belong to the floatability or colouration school isn’t terribly important, because the feathers are tied on with the same technique. Prepare the feathers by stripping away a little of the flue at the base to expose the stem. The amount of flue you remove will depend on how long the wing will be. If you wish, there are feather burning forms you can use to get the exact shape you want or you can trim the feathers with a small pair of sharp scissors. I prefer to trim them, because I don’t like the smell of burning feathers. If you do choose to form feathers with a burning kit, I recommend you do it in a wellventilated place. Generally, I tie the wings on the hook first and build the rest of the fly after I am happy

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • NOVEMBER/JANUARY 2010

with the wings. (Step #1) Tie the prepared feathers on top of the hook as if you were going to stand them upright (don’t try tying them flat across the top of the hook as they are not very secure that way). I like to build up a little bit of thread, so that when I tie in the stems, the thread helps bend the stems to 90 degrees. When you tie in the feathers, they may twist a little. Don’t concern yourself with that problem now, as we’ll deal with it later. Now, carefully pull the feathers out to the side and secure them in place with a

few X wraps of thread (Step #2) (three or four turns each way should be sufficient). If you have tied the wing feathers in correctly, there should be just a very small amount of stem sticking out from the hook. You can reinforce the base of the wing feathers by taking 2 or 3 turns of thread around that little bit of stem. This is also how we level the feathers in the event they have become twisted during the tying in process. The wing feathers, when viewed edge on from the side of the hook, should be tied in so they are level with the hook shank. They often twist a little during the tying in step. The leading edge of the feather (that edge closest to the hook eye on each side) may be twisted upward or downward a little. You can correct this by the direction you wrap the thread at the base of the feather and by the tension you apply. If the leading edge is up, then

SPENT SPINNER WINGS II STEP 4

a couple of clockwise wraps and a little tension will straighten it out. Just take an extra wrap of thread around the hook shank to secure the wing. If the leading edge is twisted downward, then a couple of counter clockwise wraps will straighten it out. (Step #3) This will become second nature to you after youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve tied a few flies. To finish the fly, you can tie in the tail and dub a body right to the hook eye and

STEP 5

STEP 6

tie off. (Step #4) Spinner bodies generally require a thin profile so do not build up too thick a dubbing noodle on your thread. By dubbing the body from the eye to the tail, you can reinforce it with your tying thread. This takes a little practice to build just the right length of noodle. This approach can be used on just about any wing type including quill slips. Simply tie on the quill slips as if you were tying

an upright wing and then follow the steps above. One final step that some tyers employ is waterproofing the wings with silicone spray used for waterproofing hats and jackets. This does two things. The first is obvious, helping to repel water and aiding in floatation. The second thing it does is stiffen the wing, helping it to maintain its shape when on the water. The last thing you want is for

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I 61

3/31/2009 12:23:44 PM

SPENT SPINNER WINGS II the wings you spent such care with simply collapsing or rolling up into a narrow tube. It kind of defeats the purpose of establishing a strong profile on the surface of the water. Another method of building spent spinner wings is with hackle. (Step #5) Simply leave out the wings, wrap the hackle as normal for a dry fly and then trim the fibres flat on the bottom and, optionally, on the top. This is a very simple approach and something you can do on the stream when you’ve run out of spent spinners or need a spent spinner of a size or colour you don’t have with you (isn’t it always the way?). Many anglers think that spent spinners are a pattern you fish only at last light. While this is an excellent time for spent spinners, it certainly isn’t the only time. Try fishing a spent spinner first thing in the morning (I have caught some wonderful trout this way). Early in the season, depending on weather conditions, a spin-

ner fall can occur at almost any time of the day. Fish also key on spent spinners simply because they are so easy to catch and are apparently still quite nutritious. When you see fish rising on cool, overcast days and you cannot identify what they are taking, try a small spent spinner pattern (a size 16 or 18 in a red/brown or olive colour is often just the ticket). This is especially true if the rise seems casual and unhurried. If it’s early or late in the season, it could be emerging midges, and, if it’s mid season, it could be small ants or beetles. Nonetheless, a small, spent spinner pattern is probably a close enough imitation in either case. There is one spent spinner pattern that breaks all of the rules. If you ever have the occasion to meet a cicada emergence, like the 17 year cicadas, you will need very large spent spinners indeed. The last time I came across these enormous insects, the background noise of uncounted millions

of them was almost deafening. However, when one of those cicadas fell to the water, it brought out the biggest trout in the stream. To match these spinners, I was tying gaudy, bright imitations on size 2, 3X long hooks (Step #6) and casting with at least a 6 weight rod. The rises were incredible and occurred all day long. You would hear a plop on the water, then a few seconds of silence followed by an eruption as a 20” plus fish engulfed the insect on the surface. B

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • NOVEMBER/JANUARY 2010

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 63

Casting Spells Y

I BY JIM BAILEY

The Magic and Mystery of Yukon Fly Fishing I watch the big, husky sun wallow, turn crimson then gold and grow dim… - ROBERT SERVICE, “THE SPELL OF THE YUKON”

It is well past midnight; there is no moon, but the night remains

aglow in this landscape of gold, the Klondike, where for over a century people from across the world have journeyed lured by the promise of riches and adventure. In the ebbing light I can still see the dimpled rises on the lake’s calm surface. The day started on the water at 6 a.m., targeting lake trout in the morning, pike in the afternoon, then back to trout. And now, as the midnight sun bleeds to twilight, I find myself transfixed, casting aimlessly to rising Arctic grayling and, although my vision blurs and my arm aches, I feel mysteriously invigorated and awake. As the fly settles on the water another grayling slashes the surface, inhales my offering, then ploughs for the depths. I smile as I release another beautiful fish. MIDNIGHT SUN

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Casting Spells: The Magic and Mystery of Yukon Fly Fishing I journeyed north as a guest of Bernard Stehelin, the proprietor of Wilderness Fishing Yukon, to spend eight days with my wife, Natasha, at a fly-in-fishing camp. But this is no ordinary fly-in, fish-for-a-day, guided excursion where you kick back with a cold one as your guide does all the work.

This trip is different.

JIM CASTING OVER SHOAL

MANDANNA LAKER

JIM WITH PIKE

FLOATPLANE AND BOATS

Wilderness Fishing Yukon holds tenure over nine remote fly-in lakes, each with comfortable rustic cabins with flush toilets, hot and cold running water, as well as generated electricity for fridge, stove and other appliances. Each lake has a selection of 14-foot, deep-hull aluminum boats with 9.9 hp motors, gas and some fishing gear. Once the DeHavilland seaplane touches down and unloads your gear, the pilot instructs you in the operation

of everything from the generator and the emergency two-way HF radio to the water pump. Then as the plane disappears into the horizon, the realization settles that now you are alone—no guide, no caretaker, cook or cleaning staff, no other guests, just you and your friends and family alone in the wilds of the Yukon on a pristine lake teeming with fish. Of course, if you’re not quite ready for roughing in the northern wilderness, Stehelin will

provide a guide/caretaker to accompany you. While we were there he checked in by radio almost daily to be sure all was well.

In the Beginning:

We met Stehelin at the float plane dock on Shwatka Lake, near Whitehorse. Stehelin is in his mid-thirties, lean and muscular from hard work and clean Yukon air. He speaks a hand-

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 65

Casting Spells: The Magic and Mystery of Yukon Fly Fishing CONTACT: Bernard Stehelin at Wilderness Fishing Yukon, Box 33137 Whitehorse YT, Canada, Y1A-5Y5, Ph: 867 667 2846, email: info@fishingyukon.com For complete info visit his Web site: www.fishingyukon.com

CHOCOLATE LILY

HOW TO GET THERE: By air: Air Canada and Air North fly into Whitehorse International Airport where Stehelin can arrange to meet you. By road: drive the scenic Alaska Highway or Stewart Cassiar, but give yourself plenty of time. Air transportation from Whitehorse to the fly-in lake and return is included, with the exception of Coghlan Lake, and is provided by fully licensed charter airlines with Cessna, DeHavilland, Maule and Found Seaplanes, flown by experienced local bush pilots. All lakes are within 110 miles of Whitehorse.

ACCOMMODATION AND RATES: The size of outpost cabins varies depending on the lake. All are clean and comfortable, ranging in size from those that sleep four to 12. Rates also vary, but range from $1200-2100/week/person. See Web site for details. Bernard’s parents’ B&B, the Stehelin Ranch: www.stehelinranch.com. In Whitehorse you’ll find many hotels, motels, B&B’s, campgrounds and RV parks. Visit www.travelyukon.com for more info.

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GRAYLING IN NET

ful of languages, plays a mean guitar, can fix anything that flies, and when he is not guiding and piloting bush planes in the Yukon, he is a prospecting guide/interpreter in Mexico during the hard-water season. The business is a family-run effort. Wife Amanda helps with bookkeeping and administrative duties while his mother and father, Mel and Eva, run a luxurious B&B where his guests often stay before heading into the

wilderness. They also help ferry clients back and forth from the airport to their accommodations, then to the seaplane docks at either Shwatka or Braeburn Lakes. Before boarding Stehelin’s diminutive Cessna 180B, we chatted cordially with Mel who was explaining to Natasha how a wayward gust of wind can easily upset the plane when touching down on the water. “Well first of all you’ll be upside down, but the plane’s floats will keep you from sinking completely. The person in the back, that’ll be you because you’re the lightest, is responsible for opening the door of the plane, but before you can do that you have to wait for the cabin to pressurize.” He paused as Natasha paled. “You’ll first have to unbuckle your seatbelt and get upright.” Then as he moved his hand slowly

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

from his chest, up to his neck, then over his face, and above his head, he said, “As the freezing water rises you’ll have to hold your breath until the cockpit fills with water. Once it’s full you’ll be able to get the door open… but then again, the water will be so cold....” Fortunately, his son interrupted before Natasha could learn about the horrors of hypothermia in a confined space; he assured us that the chance of that occurring was extremely remote. “It’s just dad’s idea of a joke.” We soon

squeezed our gear and ourselves into the plane and took flight. The morning sun shone full and bright in a cloudless sky, enabling wonderful, panoramic views. Our course followed the meandering Yukon River. As we flew over Lake Laberge I could see the glistening peaks of the Ruby Range rising in the distance. Vast tracts of twisted lodgepole pine, black spruce, and alpine fir stretched into nowhere—untouched wilderness as far as I could see. Then, northwest of Lake Laberge, Stehelin pointed to our destination, Coghlan Lake: a seven mile stretch of clear, glacier-blue water with shimmering white shoals that would prove to be our favourite fishing spots in the upcoming week.

The Big Three:

The three main species of freshwater sport fish found in Yukon lakes are lake trout, Arctic

Casting Spells: The Magic and Mystery of Yukon Fly Fishing LICENSES AND TACKLE: Sports North: see Glen Babala, 408 Baxter St. Whitehorse: ph. 867 667 7492 or e-mail: sportsn@northwestel.net for all your fishing tackle, rods, reels and flies. Angling licenses are $25/year for Canadian citizen, $35/year for non-resident. There are also six day and one day licenses available.

EQUIPMENT:

TYPICAL COGHLAN LAKER

JIM FIGHTING FISH

grayling and northern pike. I had tied a good selection of bulky flies in anticipation of large “lakers“ and “northerns“ as well as some mayfly and caddis patterns to toss to Arctic grayling. On the menu were Clouser Minnows, Deceivers, Bunny Leeches, and Zonkers: typical fare for large fish. I knew from experience that it is always a good idea to see what the residents are using, so while in Whitehorse I visited the local fishing shop, Sports North. Owner Glen

allow retention of one fish over these respective limits, but, as Stehelin suggests, “Keep one or two small trout for dinner, but release the rest. They’re our prime spawners and ensure good fishing for years to come.”

Babala recommended a selection of large gaudy flies called “Sparklers“ tied by local fly tyer Claudia MacPhee. I also picked up my Yukon Angling License and the Yukon Fishing Regulations. I found that local fisheries are intent on preserving the quality of fishing in the North; specifically they endeavor to protect the mature males and females of the three main freshwater species. As a result, fisheries has designated 42 Yukon lakes as “Conservation Waters.” Each of these lakes, Coghlan included, has special regulations that require barbless hooks and slot limits. I use barbless hooks regardless of regulations, but adhering to the slot limits means you must release some really nice fish. For instance, all lake trout caught between 26 and 39 inches, all grayling 16-19 inches, and all pike 30-41 inches must be returned. They

For pike and large lakers an 8 or 9-wt rod is recommended with a selection of floating and sink-tips, and/ or intermediate and fast sinking lines. I used a custom made 10-foot, 6-weight that handled most situations well, 9 feet of 0X leader and 20-lb mono for tippet on my dry line, as well as braided-wire tippet for pike. For sinking line I used 3-4 feet of leader, so the leader gets down as fast as the line. Pink and chartreuse streamer patterns worked best, though black, blue, and red combinations also worked from sizes #2-4/0. For grayling I packed my 4-wt rod with floating line, 9 feet of 5X leader and tippet, along with a good selection of caddis and mayfly imitations—sizes 10-14 adults and 8-12 nymphs.

THE MACPHEE SPARKLER - tied by Claudia MacPhee of Tagish Lake, Yukon

Lake Trout - Salvinus namaycush

Lake trout are members of the char family and are close relatives to Arctic Char, brook trout, and Dolly Varden. They live up to 40 years and grow very slowly but can grow very large (up to 70 lbs or more) depending on their habitat and genes. Fly fishing for big lakers can be difficult and approaches vary. If you are going after really big fish, then 8-10 weight rods with plate-sized arbor reels and miles of backing are recommended. However, the really big fish (30 lbs plus) are usually deep, well below the thermocline, and hardware fishermen employ

Hook: 1/0 - 4/0 Partridge single salmon Tail: Krystal Flash the length of hook Body: Chenille Throat: Krystal Flash Underwing: Krystal flash and Flashabou Overwing: Tinsel Eyes: Large bead chain Vary colours: blue on black body, chartreuse on light green, red on blue, or hot pink on silver. MacPhee told me these flies were of European origin, adapted by her to attract the various sport fish of the Yukon. She has been tying flies for 30 years now and lives on Tagish Lake, south of Whitehorse.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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Casting Spells: The Magic and Mystery of Yukon Fly Fishing JIM AND NATASHA BY CABIN

downriggers or weighted planer boards to reach them. Your best bet is to fish them either early or late season. From ice-off in mid-May to midJune is considered the best time, as large lakers can be caught near the surface and close to shoals during this cold water period. As the summer progresses, fly fishing for them gets more challenging, as they prefer the cold, very deep water, but in late September and October they return to the shallows to spawn and the fly rod action can be furious. On our trip, I discovered that larger fish tend to act like salmon, pushing baitfish against shoals or cliff walls in order to trap them, when the boat’s fish finder indicated baitfish and larger fish feeding off the cliff wall at a depth of 40-60 feet. I stripped out 60 feet of full-sink line and cast a blue and silver MacPhee Sparkler into the void. I counted, letting it sink fully, and then, after a few brief strips, I was into a respectable five-pound lake trout. By varying the depth and retrieve, I caught and released many more between three and six pounds and a few pushing ten. Trolling flies, while uninspiring, can be an effective way to locate fish.

Arctic Grayling - Thymallus arcticus

Arctic grayling cruise the white limestone shoals foraging on emerging and adult insects. As chironomids, caddis and mayflies are abundant in southern Yukon lakes, it’s best to observe and identify what is hatching and match the hatch. On one occasion, during the late morning and early afternoon, caddis flies buzzed across the surface as grayling fed leisurely. I tied on an

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Elk Hair Caddis and cast to a cruising shadow. The fly settled and then was gone in a splash. The shadow turned out to be an 18-inch grayling. I was surprised at how feisty these fish were, making short but hard runs and tailwalking leaps. After landing it, I admired its long dorsal fin and silver blue sheen as I gently released it back into the frigid water. Grayling feed almost exclusively on insects, so topwater action is fairly steady. One stormy afternoon we sought refuge from the wind in a calm, shallow cove. A large fin cut the water near a stream mouth, circling, then rising to a steady hatch. As I looked closer into the water I could see scores of mayfly nymphs emerging. Soon the pool was filled with grayling chasing the emergers, then surfacing to take the duns. We cast a #14 Adams and a #12 bead-head Prince Nymph and caught a few nice fish, but we were more interested in observing this amazing spectacle. It was over in thirty minutes. As the last of the duns flew off to complete their metamorphosis, the school diminished, then vanished, the water calm once more.

Pike - Esox lucius

The weedy shallow bays of northern lakes make for perfect pike habitat. Pike lurk in the cover of vegetation in the lake’s shallow, warm waters near shore, although they retreat somewhat deeper in midsummer. Pike consume large numbers of smaller fish (about 90 percent of their diet), but seem willing to supplement their diet with any living creature their huge jaws can engulf, including frogs, crayfish, waterfowl, rodents, and other small mammals. It is important to approach potential pikeholding shallows with stealth. Before entering the shallow coves, shut down the motor and continue by paddling quietly. Search for cruising pike, because cruising pike are generally feeding. If you see a large pike lying motionless in the shallows, it’s much less likely to attack your fly—for what it is doing, other than nothing, is digesting a recent meal. In human terms it’s like having a tryptophan induced nap after Thanksgiving dinner—all that’s missing is the couch and remote control. Pike will take up to three days to digest a healthy meal and, until then, they will remain perfectly content and largely immobile.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

The first pike I spotted was cruising in three feet of water just off the shore. I aimed my bullet-head streamer 10 feet in front of its nose, but overshot my target and landed it on the bank—intentionally, I told myself. I twitched it into the water, and stripped it three times before the shadow struck: violently and fast. My rod tip hit the surface as the pike burst from the shallows and rocketed toward deeper water. I was amazed and a little fearful of its power and speed, for, in seconds, it had reached the terminus of the small cove, had turned and was now charging straight back at me. I stripped line fast, dropping it in untidy coils on the boat deck. The pike dove under the boat and emerged on the other side. Somehow, I managed to regained tension as he swam casually by, all four feet of him. I could see the streamer buried in his jaw, like a wisp of black bile drooling from his mouth. His baleful eye staring menacingly. I lifted the rod to bring him closer in what I hoped would be an opportunity to tail him. As I reached for him, he blew up in the water and sent a gush of water into the air with two massive strokes of his tail. And just like that, the great fish was gone and with it my streamer and wire tippet, leaving what remained of my 14-lb leader curled up like a scared kitten. It didn’t take long before Natasha landed a 39-inch northern, while I boated many in the high thirties and one 42-incher. But these paled in comparison to the 52-inch, 38-lb specimen fellow fly fisher Tom Ong landed on nearby Claire Lake that same week. The big Sparklers turned out to be the fly of choice, as pike hammered them with abandon. Despite our overall success, the pike were not always co-operative. They too have their finicky side. Many times I would cast to a large one only to have it ignore my offering. At other times, they would follow the fly, mouth it, but not take it. When this happened, altering the retrieve tended

Casting Spells: The Magic and Mystery of Yukon Fly Fishing to solve the problem. I found that casting beyond the fish, then stripping the fly in short erratic bursts usually worked best. As the imitation approached from behind, the pike would whirl and strike as soon as it

entered its field of vision. If it didn’t strike, I would pause briefly then rapidly twitch the fly past it. Sometimes they’d hit promptly, while at others they’d follow it to the edge of their territory before striking or turning away. B

Yukon Vigil: On the final evening we relaxed on the cabin’s porch, sipping Alaskan Amber Ale and enjoying the patter of a light rain as we gazed over the great expanse of lake and mountains. A warm, golden twilight enveloped the land, pervading the stillness, and, just as the rain stopped, a sundog lit the eastern sky. After a week of battling lakers, Arctic grayling and great northerns, we were pleasantly exhausted and touched with that hint of melancholy which can accompany the end of satisfying fishing trips. We spoke little, preferring to feel our way through that last night, a silent vigil to peace and beauty, and to wilderness fly fishing in the Yukon Territory.

It’s the great, big, broad land ‘way up yonder, It’s the forests where silence has lease; It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder, It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.

OTHER INFORMATION Whitehorse is the capital city of the Yukon, where 23,000 of the Yukon’s 32,000 residents live. Despite its relatively small population, it has all amenities and accommodations, including a thriving arts community, first class restaurants, two golf courses, and world-class sports facilities. The word Yukon comes from the Athapaskan native language, yu-kun-ah, meaning Great River. The river is the fourth largest (2,300 miles) in North America. The Yukon Territory covers an area of 186,661 square miles, larger than the state of California. For more info visit www.writeyukon.com or www.travelyukon.com. For more adventure visit nearby Kluane National Park, or Skagway, Alaska and hike the Chilkoot Trail from Dyea to Bennett Lake. Wildlife abounds in the Yukon, so be bear aware and ready for great photo ops of moose, elk, grizzly and black bear, bison, mountain goats, Dahl sheep, wolf, caribou, trumpeter swans, eagles and a variety of other birds and mammals.

“THE SPELL OF THE YUKON,” ROBERT SERVICE

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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SUPA PUPA N E W

Z E A L A N D

BY PETER CHRISTENSEN F E A T U R E AND MIKKEL POPPELHOEJ

THE ULTIMATE SECRET WEAPON

THE AUTHOR WITH BROWN DECEIVED BY A SUPA PUPA

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

SUPA PUPA - THE ULTIMATE SECRET WEAPON

Fly fishing has its share of puzzles and challenges. Perhaps most enigmatic and frustrating is encountering a giant brown trout sipping dries when it appears that there’s not a single insect on the water, and watching helplessly as it arrogantly ignores every single dry in the fly box, in spite of frequent white flashes betraying that it’s feasting away just beneath the surface. Here’s how I managed to solve the enigma.

SUCCESS!

NATURALS AND IMITATIONS

A TOUGH NEW ZEALAND STREAM

My fishing buddy, Mikkel, belongs to that most annoying company of anglers who always seem to catch the biggest fish—and the most. He rarely makes a wrong cast, and never a wind knot. He fishes with an authority and concentration which is highly suspicious considering his youth. It’s almost as if he were a direct descendant of the great IZaak. Fishing with Mikkel has obvious advantages for an ordinary mortal fly fisherman

like me. No matter what the situation, Mikkel always has an ace up his sleeve, although he has a rather annoying habit of keeping his cards close to the chest. Take last winter for instance. We were exploring a small stream on New Zealand, casting to a couple of extremely irritating, rising browns. Whatever we offered was refused; so sick and tired of impossible trout, I made a retreat to a nearby meadow,

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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Recipe The Supa Pupa is an easy fly to tie. However, choosing the right hook is important. The key is finding the perfect balance between buoyancy and weight, to ensure the fly is as close to intermediate as possible. For small to medium sized fish, a light hook such as Tiemco’s TMC 103 size 10-16 is perfect. For bigger fish a slightly heavier hook, such as a Tiemco TMC 107SP or a Mustad R70 will be a better choice. The different varieties of caddis differ in colour. Hence, the Supa Pupa can be tied in quite a few colour combinations to match the specific caddis perfectly. Fortunately, the trout are generally lenient judges when it comes to the Supa Pupa. Good colour combinations include: Yellow abdomen with grey thorax Green abdomen with brown thorax Chartreuse abdomen with red thorax An effective alternative is to mix brown and olive dubbing, and make the entire body with this mix. The following colours of Fly-Rite dubbing are particularly useful: 46 Dun Olive, 15 Light Olive, 7 Dark Grey, 5 Rust, 4 Bright Yellow, 24 Tiny Blue Wing Olive, 23 Olive Sulphur and 6 Chocolate Brown. It is important to use good quality hackle, such as Metz, to make sure the finished fly will have some long fibres to hold onto the surface. Good hackle feathers should be longer and more uniform, to insure a homogeneous hackle. Alternatively, instead of a hackle, the Supa Pupa’s buoyancy can be secured with a thin carapace of foam. This variation has a habit of floating a bit too high, but it’s still effective.

Tying Steps

MIKKEL WITH FINE NEW ZEALAND BROWN

Essentially, the Supa Pupa is a severely amputated palmer dry fly, with most of the hackle cut off, leaving only a thin but broad, V-shaped collar of fibres. 1. Attach the hackle feather to the shank. 2. Dub the thread with your preferred dubbing material, and then form the body either in one or two colours. The abdomen should be twice as long as the thorax. The dubbing material must be synthetic, and highly buoyant, such as Fly-Rite. 3. Wind the hackle over the body, making 5-6 turns depending on the size of the fly. 4. Finish tying the fly by winding the hackle behind the eye of the hook, anchoring, cutting off the excess, and whipfinishing. 5. Finally, with a sharp pair of scissors, trim the hackle to create an open V-shape, pointing slightly upwards.

confident that the afternoon would be better spent sleeping in the grass, than in trying for uncatchable trout. But as soon as I had turned my back to him, in a brief backward glance, I noticed him start to fiddle with his fly box. Instantly, my suspicion was roused: he had a secret weapon and had waited the entire morning to put it to use! Pretending to sleep, I secretly observed what he would do to try to lure those difficult brownies. He glanced nervously over his shoulder in my direction, which almost caught me out, but I quickly closed my eyes and let out a few loud snores. Satisfied that his actions were unobserved, he tied on a new fly, took a tube of Poogoo from his pocket, and applied a bit of it to the fly. After a few practice casts,

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he flicked his secret weapon just upstream of one of the trout and drifted it perfectly downstream. The trout took it without even a hint of hesitation. Five minutes later, I was helping him to net a beautiful four pound brownie. Normally, I would have admired and photographed such a fish, but not this time. Pretending to help unhook the fish, I violently bit through the leader, grabbed the fly, and started running! The only thing going through my mind was the imperative importance of abducting this secret weapon—so much for friendship and bank side etiquette! Since Mikkel had to release the trout, I got a decent head start and soon found myself alone with the fly. As I studied the simple

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

body of dubbing and the cut-down hackle, I couldn’t help but wonder why this unimpressive creation had proved superior to all our other meticulously tied imitations. Then a whistle woke me from my speculations. Even though only a few minutes had passed since I stole his fly, Mikkel had hooked a second trout. He must have had another copy in his fly box. It took no further evidence to convince me that Mikkel was onto a winner, and I put him through a lengthy interrogation that slowly led to his unveiling his secret weapon—the Supa Pupa.

The Secret Weapon Unveiled The Supa Pupa is one of countless caddis imitations. But what makes it particularly effective is that it imitates the caddis’ final stage before it hatches, completing its fleeting transition from aquatic larvae to airborne insect. Caddis can be loosely divided into free-living, net-making and case-making behavioural groups. The Supa Pupa imitates the case-making variety. Once the caddis is ready to hatch, it cuts through its case with a special pair of

SUPA PUPA - THE ULTIMATE SECRET WEAPON mandibles, swims to the surface, casts off its skin, its now obsolete gills and mandibles, and emerges as a fully formed adult. The Supa Pupa imitates the stage just before the caddis casts off its skin. Although still a larva, the caddis is, nevertheless, able to swim to the surface wrapped in this silky skin. However, some varieties of caddis develop a small bubble of gas, enabling them to rise effortlessly to the surface like a tiny balloon. The final transition takes place in the surface film, when the true fly hatches, breaking free from the confines of its larval skin. It is during this final transition that the caddis becomes an easy meal for trout. Since the larvae drift just under the surface, it is easy to mistake takes for trout eating insects on the surface, but they’re actually feeding just under the surface. Hence the enigma: lots of rising fish, but no insects visible on the surface. Takes often reveal themselves as gentle sucks, rather than obvious rings, due to the caddis’ drifting slightly under the surface. The key, both when tying the fly and fish-

ing the Supa Pupa, is to make it sink ever so slowly, so that it just penetrates the surface film during the drift and hangs weightlessly just under the surface film, supported only by the very sparse fibres of the hackle. To help achieve this, a tiny amount of a dry fly

gel such as Loon’s Aquel or Rio’s PooGoo should be lightly applied to the hackle fibres, avoiding the actual body of the fly. Gel on the body will make the fly too buoyant, hindering the crucial 1-2 millimetres of submergence. B

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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I BY MATT SYMONS

Tattoo

Dave Allen

It has always been interesting to me watching people make “Tattoo Dave“ Allen’s acquaintance for the first time. First impressions are funny things. The image of a big, shaven-headed, heavily tattooed man tends to bring out all sorts of preconceived notions in people, but spend just a few minutes in conversation with this intelligent and articulate tattoo artist and it becomes clear that any snap prejudgments you may have made based on his appearance could not have been more off-base. Tattoo Dave is polite, respectful, well mannered and well spoken.

FISH ‘TIL You can actually see pleasant surprise in people’s faces sometimes when the real “Tattoo Dave“ dashes their expectations for someone more hostile.

Photo contributions by Matt Moisley, Ron Hjorth, Parker Jefferson, James Whalen, Steve Richardson and April Vokey.

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

Dave has been my pal for some 15 years, so I know a bit about the guy. His bizarre career path from snowboard shop dude to tackle shop guy to tattoo artist and former tattoo shop owner, and from snowboard bum, to trout bum, to journeyman tattooer, could be a parable on how to live life to its fullest, which would read a bit like a Hemmingway or Kerouac novel. Most of my friends who travelled to BC from Ontario to taste the mountains and live the ski or snowboard bum lifestyle lasted a few years before returning home. However, Dave lived in BC for 16 years, a continent away from his friends and family, but never far from a stretch of promising water to lay a fly. A two-year stint in a retail tackle shop prior to his tattoo career helped Allen to forge a reputation as the specialist for fish or fly fishing motif tattoos when he began to tattoo full time. After a grueling three-year tattoo apprenticeship that allowed little time for recreation and fishing, old industry buddies came calling and spread the word. As well

as fishing with a number of fishing heavies in BC and tattooing some of them with everything from rainbow trout, to stonefly nymphs, to Royal Coachmen, he also designed the logos for three fly-and-tackle shops in that province. Allen spent his last few years out West living and working in Vernon, BC, close to the legendary Thompson River and interior lakes of the area. Before relocating eastward in 2008 to the province of his birth, he spent seven months on a tour of Alaska and BC helping to film and produce two TV episodes for Fly Max Films. Now Allen is back in Southern Ontario doing his tattooing in Kincardine, a location chosen by design to place him close to some of the province’s top trout rivers. Tattoo Dave’s connection with the sport fishing industry and fly fishing in particular continues with the launch of Fish ‘Til Death last fall, a slick new line of fishing T-shirts featuring his original art and traditional American tattoo-inspired designs. Recently, Dave and I exchanged e-mails, catching up on old times. The following excerpts provide a profile of this remarkable and unique fly fishing addict.

Q: How did you get started fishing? A: I grew up fishing Lake Kushog in Ontario’s Haliburton Highlands. I was always a stillwater bass kid. I started fishing at age three or four. It was the holistic nature of fishing I fell in love with—understanding your environment, searching for bait, diving to figure out the underwater habitat. Catching fish was fun too.

Q: You lived in BC for 16 years. What drew you out there? A: I moved out West after a short visit to

L DEATH Whistler. I moved for the mountains. I moved for the adventure. I moved to find myself. I stayed for the rivers. The rivers intrigued me. They still haunt me.

Tattoo Dave’s connection with the sport-fishing industry and fly-fishing in particular continues with the launch of Fish ‘Til Death last fall, a slick new line of fishing T-shirts featuring his original art and traditional American tattoo-inspired designs.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

I 75

Tattoo Dave Allen

Q: Change has been a constant in your life. You went from working in retail snowboard shops to working in a retail tackle shop. How did that happen? A: I worked in the snowboard/skateboard industry for years. I liked the lifestyle. But after years of abuse on my body, I took a long break. It was then that I took up fly fishing. It was new. I loved the freshness of it. I fished more than 200 days that year. I started at Berrie’s tackle Shop about then, where I met my close friends and fishing mentors Scott Baker-McGarva and Peter Morrison and my West Coast fishing education took leaps forward.

Q: Then you went from tackle shop guy to tattoo artist, a pretty big leap. How did that happen? A: I got my first tattoo when I was 23. Since I can remember though, I wanted to be covered in tattoos. It seemed like a great way to commemorate my growth and I felt compelled to get them. Before I had any idea about a career I was hopelessly covered. I was so hungry for knowledge of the craft and art that I’d hang out at tattoo shops all the time. I’d trade snowboard gear or art for tattoos. I even traded some of my own salmon catches for tattoos. Eventually one tattooer offered to teach me the craft. I never considered tattooing. I

didn’t draw. But I decided I needed to take the opportunity. I’ve always followed my heart and chased my dreams. Here was a chance to create a new dream and learn from some of Canada’s most talented tattooers. I worked for three years as an apprentice. I rarely went fishing and I nearly went crazy, but I kept at it.” I apprenticed at Sacred Heart in Vancouver. I have always made a point of working with some of the best tattooists in the country. Not unlike fishing for me, I’ve been fortunate to learn from great mentors. Mentorship is very important to me.

Q: Why is being a tattoo artist a good job for a fly fishing nut like yourself? A: Tattooing allows me a lot of free time to travel and fish, if I choose. I love to work and my job is very rewarding. One of the rewards is the ability to control my schedule. I can take off and go fishing whenever or wherever at a moment’s notice. I’ve travelled all over Canada tattooing and fishing. Some say I tattoo to fish. I like to think I’ve struck a balance. I like constant change. It’s where I find a lot of inspiration: Adventure and hard work.

Q: Tell me about Fish ‘Til Death. A: For a few years now, friends of mine had been urging me to use my art skills to do a series of shirts. It took awhile to get started because I was on the road fishing and tat-

I want to see the young anglers take up the torch and rejuvenate our industry. VISIT WWW.FISHTILDEATH.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

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THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

tooing for 13 months. By the time I settled in Ontario, I knew I didn’t want to just draw fish shirts like the ones already available. I wanted to make sure I was drawing stuff that was a reflection of my lifestyle and of all the other fish bums and guides I know as friends. This emerging “lifestyle“ subculture in fishing is awesome. The same thing happened in snowboarding and skateboarding: A hard-core art fusion.

Q: The times they are a changing. How would you like to see sport fishing change? A: When I started in the [sport fishing] industry, no one would take me seriously because of my tattoos. Now I enjoy a certain amount of notoriety for my craft and art. I want to see the industry grow. I want to see the young anglers take up the torch and rejuvenate our industry. B

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ONTARIO

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Ontario Drift Boat Guides

Markdale, Ontario www.ontariodriftboatguides.com Ken Chandler Fly Fishing Adventures Phone: 519-820-8506 E-mail: ken@ontariodriftboatguides.com

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Orangeville, Ontario www.anglerspro.ca 312 Broadway St., Orangeville, Ontario, L9W 1L3 Phone: 519-941-4218 E-mail: anglerspro@bellnet.ca

Cast Adventures

Niagara Falls, Ontario www.castadventures.ca Phone: 1-888-512-8127 E-mail: castadventures@sympatico.ca

Glen Hales

Belleville, Ontario Phone: 613-396-6797 E-mail: willow.glen@kos.net

Grindstone Angling

QUEBEC Quebec Sporting Inc.

PO Box 6174, Gaspé, Quebec, G4X 2R7 Toll Free: 1-866-747-5511 Office: 1-418-368-7735 Cell: 1-418-355-9191 www.QuebecSporting.com

Robidoux Lakes Outfitter

Waterdown, Ontario www.grindstoneangling.com 24 Mill Street North Waterdown, Ontario, L0R 2H0 Phone: 905-689-0880 E-mail: flyshop@grindstoneangling.com

Fly Fitters

Toronto, Ontario www.wilsonstoronto.com Phone: 416-869-3474 Toll Free: 1-877-347-4460 E-mail: info@wilsonstoronto.com

Gerard Gonzalez New Richmond, Quebec www.robidouxlakes.com Toll Free: 1-888-441-2555 E-mail: info@lacsrobidoux.com

USA & INTERNATIONAL

Goderich, Ontario www.flyfitters.ca Benmiller, Ontario Phone: 519-524-7474 E-mail: mike@flyfitters.ca

Hush Fly Fishing

First Cast Fly Shop

Capt. John Meskauskas Stuart, Florida, USA www.stuartflyfishing.com Phone: 772-529-4484 E-mail: Info@stuartflyfishing.com

Woodstock, Connecticut, USA www.hushfishing.com Phone: 866-724-8618

Stuart Fly Fishing

Guelph, Ontario www.thefirstcast.ca Phone: 519-766-HOOK (4665) E-mail: hls@on.aibn.com or info@TheFirstCast.ca

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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BY THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER STAFF

Loop’s Classic reels G.Loomis VersaSpey Fly Rods With the recent excitement in cross-over Spey casting techniques over the past few years, more and more fly anglers who have never picked up a Spey rod are giving it a shot. New G.Loomis VersaSpey fly rods have recently hit the floors of fly shops everywhere. Designed for the primary two-hand casting techniques used on waters worldwide (traditional, Skagit and Scandinavian), these rods offer a long casting stroke to cover water without retrieving or lengthening line on each cast with short, mid, or long-belly lines. Available in five models, all in a 4pc configuration, the VeraSpey series of rods is designated in both line weights for traditional Spey lines, as well as grain weights for modern shooting lines. These new rods come bundled with their custom-paired lines! The dual fly line rating and weight rating in grains helps with the selection of the proper line if you choose to spool up with your favourite.

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Desired by switch and Spey rodders from all over the globe, and designed in Sweden, Loop’s Classic reels are a perfect blend of traditional styling and ultramodern performance, such as the completely waterproof and corrosion resistant Power Matrix Drag System, designed for the most demanding fish. Available, in three models/sizes, accommodating lines from 5wt through 11wt, the all-aluminum Classic reels offer a perfect companion to switch rods, or full blown Spey rods. Each reel features rock solid carbon matrix drag system, a new ergonomic handle design with integrated leader retainer on the counterbalance which ensures the reel stays smooth during blistering runs. Available in either left or right-hand wind, each reel is individually numbered and presented in a handcrafted leather case and comes with a lifetime warranty! To check out Loop’s Classic reels, visit your nearest loop dealer or click over to www.looptackle.se

To learn more about the G.Loomis VersaSpey rods, click over to www.gloomis.com or visit your nearest fly shop.

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

ABC Conception Custom Furled Leaders ABC Conceptions, an innovative Canadian company out of Quebec, has introduced an impressive new lineup of custom tapered, furled leaders, to cover just about any fly fishing situation. From traditional floating leaders of various lengths, to colour-coded, pre-treated sinking versions that penetrate the water column at different sink rates (measured in inches per second - IPS) ABC Conceptions is out to redefine when and how furled leaders can be used. ABC handcrafts each leader with meticulous attention to detail which includes integrated loops on each end. There is even a custom “toothy critter” model, which is shorter than most and comes complete with a wire leader bite guard. We immediately tested this model on a late fall muskie outing and had excellent results with turnover of large, heavy flies. The leader stood up to two fish that day without any problems. To checkout ABC Conception’s complete lineup of custom leaders visit www. abconception.com

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Pool Reflections TEXT AND WATERCOLOURS BY PERRY MUNROE

Jack Ripley Pool The pools on a salmon river have always had a fascination for me. The names

of the pools are varied and named for different reasons, sometimes for a geographical or topographical feature such as the Island Pool or the Corner Pool or after the name of a landowner, a camp, or a lodge. Some pools are named after events which occurred there—Calf Pool and Cripple Pool come to mind. Then there are the pools which are named after anglers who fished them frequently and successfully in the past, names which were not given lightly, many of which have become legendary. However, there is on pool on Nova Scotia’s River Phillip which is named after an angler for a very different reason. A few decades ago a number of Nova Scotia anglers who were becoming increasingly concerned about the salmon stocks and the way the numbers were declining. Determined to do something for the future of the province’s salmon fishing, they started to practice and speak out about the need to practice and show by example conservation of salmon and work to protect and enhance the rivers and the salmon which entered them to spawn. Recently, I was fishing the River Phillip with a local angler and I asked the name of the pool

we were fishing. He replied most of the locals call it the Jack Ripley Pool. When I asked about him, he described a man who loved the River Phillip and the salmon that came in the river to spawn. His desire to improve the river and its habitat, to conserve the salmon resource for the future, moved him to work to improve the infrastructure on the river, providing benches, garbage containers to help anglers develop and maintain a positive feeling about the river. Consequently, he earned the deep respect of most local anglers. One them, when I was

chatting with him about Jack, also praised all he had done to care for the river, but added that if you wanted to find Jack during salmon season, you would find him on the pool which was named after him. Yes Jack was an excellent angler, but that was not the reason the locals called this the Jack Ripley Pool. It was the respect the anglers gave the man for his love of the salmon, fellow anglers, and his desire to improve the river and the salmon runs for everyone to enjoy well into the future. B

Clealands Pool Every person who has been blessed with the opportunity to fish for Atlantic

salmon in a variety of rivers and pools over a number of seasons has certain pools that form special memories. Some of these pools, having produced a number of salmon to the fly, are remembered as taking pools and are visited with anticipation and haste. The need to get on the water and place your fly over the lies is the focus and the need to yell “Fish on” to your companions is tempered as time passes, but the anticipation remains as memories of previous fish are relived.

Should you ask your companions or other fishermen to describe these pools, they will describe every rock and riffle, but if you asked what the far bank looked like the description would be vague at best. It stands to reason that we all value these pools, but there are the other special pools on which the journey and the destination become one and the pool is valued for itself. To visit it and to fish it becomes, in a way, as important as actually catching a fish there. It is a “fishing” pool rather than a “catching” pool. Clealands Pool on the Little Southwest Miramichi River is such a pool for me, and it will always a pool I will visit with

friends to enjoy the experience of the journey as well as arriving at the destination, especially in the fall. The journey takes you miles upriver and, the further you go, the smaller the road becomes. The road travels through miles of hardwood forests ablaze with colour, with hints of the river flashing between the trees. The miles slip away as you travel both in distance and time. When you arrive you have to cross the river upstream before the pool becomes visible downstream In the fall, you do not have to watch the pool for very long before you’ll see salmon jumping and rolling in front of you. Clealands is a major hold-

ing pool and it stacks with salmon from the spring, summer and fall runs. The fish tend to have other things on their minds than the flies that you drift past them, but, on occasion, one will rise, rewarding you with a spirited battle. The combined experiences of colour, the smell of the crisp fall foliage, the pull of the water on your legs, the sounds of friends in conversation and excitement, and the taste of a decent wine shared on the river bank are relived on the long drive back—and throughout the long winter following. Clealands Pool is a special pool for all the right reasons. B

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

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Wandering Aengus

Trip of a Lifetime B Y E M I LY B R U N E A U

Emily, from Whitby, Ontario, was one of the youngsters The Canadian Fly Fisher sponsored to the Youth Fly Fishing Workshop at the Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships in Cranbrook, B.C. in September 2009. Ed.

The trip of a lifetime. That was what my step-dad told me when I got the news. It seemed too good to be true…all expenses paid to go fishing in British Columbia? What an opportunity! I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I got to travel with another girl from Hamilton who had also been selected for this once in a lifetime opportunity, which made traveling more fun. Lexie and I took a plane from Toronto’s Pearson International to Calgary and then caught a tiny connector flight to Cranbrook, British Columbia. I’d never been on such a small plane! It was great flying over the Rockies with such a phenomenal view. W h e n w e g o t t h e r e, w e m e t with two boys who had also been selec ted for this trip, Tyler and Brandon. All of us were excited and couldn’t stop talking about life, our travels and of course…fly fishing! It was neat to connect with other kids my age who understood what I meant when I said, “Finish it off with a whip-finish, because it holds better,” or “Mend up—your line’s behind!” It was great to talk about what fishing techniques to use where, and to learn about other young fly fishers’ experiences. I must say that I was honoured to fish with all three of my new friends. Saturday was, in my opinion, the best day of the entire trip. We started off with a half-day class where we learned about insect life cycles, how to tie blood knots and most importantly…why the River Ninjas (the Canadian Youth Fly Fishing Team) are so successful. We got to

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see video footage of a competition in which they were crawling up to banks, kneeling behind boulders and hiding behind bushes. If that kind of fishing doesn’t get

THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER • FEBRUARY/APRIL 2010

a kid interested in the sport, I don’t know what would! The afternoon was spent on the Elk River. That was where I caught my first cutthroat trout! There are no cutthroats around here in Ontario! It was exciting to catch a type of fish I had never even heard of before. Sunday was a whole other story. We fished Summit Lake, but there were slim pickings. Only a couple people actually caught a fish. But, with the Rockies as a back-drop I could not complain. I was just happy to see the sights and be out in the beautiful weather. I think the most valuable part of my trip was getting the chance to fish with such experts. We were there while the National Championships were taking place, and some of the competitors, such as Todd Oishi and Terence Courtoreille, volunteered to help teach us a few things about fly fishing. It was both an honour and a privilege working with such skilful fly fishermen. Bob Sheedy (coach) and John Bransfield (captain) of the Canadian Youth Fly Fishing Team also spent the weekend with us. It was great to learn from such experienced people. But the best was yet to come. After I got back home, I received a phone call which changed my life! I was invited to join the Canadian Youth Fly Fishing Team, the River Ninjas! What an honour! Now, I’ve been reading up on fishing techniques and insect lifestyles. I’ve probably tied more flies in the last month than I have in years! I’m hoping to join the team for the 2011 competition, and I’ve never been more into fly fishing than right now. I had been losing interest, but this trip has inspired me to be the best fly fisher I can be! I couldn’t have asked for anything better in life. B

What are you wading for?

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