Leader to Tippet to Fly

One thing connects to another….

Leader to Tippet to Fly

Kenauk Fly Fishing

The annual spring trip to Kenauk has come and gone.  While the usual crowd of ner do wells headed out for 3-4 days, I was only able to get away for one night which meant a one full day of fishing (Thursday) and a few hours the following morning.

For those who don’t know Kenauk is a fish and game preserve managed by the Fairmont chain of hotels as part of its Montebello Resort.  It is located close to the Ottawa River about and hour and a half from Ottawa itself.  Kenauk maintains several individual chalets on lakes that it manages – most with rainbow and brook trout.

Given the compressed timeframe, I made sure to get an early start Thursday morning, made it through the check in process at the main gate and up to Muskrat Chalet by 8:30.  After unloading food, clothing, etc. and some brief greetings and inquisition as to the past days fishing it was off to Collins Lake hopeful for some cooperative brook trout.  Fishing had been good – which is what I wanted to hear!

The weather forecast had changed considerable through the week and by Thursday the sky was overcast, there was a steady, cool wind and the air temperature was probably in the 5-9C range.  The surface water temperature was around 13C (56F) which bode well for active fish.

I quickly assembled my gear by the road, shouldered my float tube and made the short walk to the launch point.   Launching quickly, I headed to the rocky shore where I have had past success.  Fish being what they are, they weren’t there or weren’t interested in feeding.  It took a while to get going but after about an hour I got my first not so agressive hit and then my first hook up.  The timing of the first fishing activity was consistent with others experience from previous days when the fish seemed to turn to feeding around mid morning.

By the time of my first fish I had kicked my way to the far end of the lake to a shoal area that reportedly had been a good producer earlier.  As it turned most of our success on this day also came on the shoal or along the drop off.

While the weather was cool and the occasional burst of rain made it necessary to pull on the hood of my fishing jacket it didn’t seem to bother the fish and by  around 1pm I had landed around a dozen fish.  My largest was probably in the 14 inch range but others had landed a few approaching 18 inches.

By this time the cool wind and rain was having an effect so we decided to head in to warm up and grab some lunch.

We returned to the lake for some late afternoon fishing.  The activity was not as busy as the morning but I still managed to land a few nice brook trout before heading back to the chalet to prepare our steak dinner (did I mention we rarely suffer in the food department on these trips?).

Most of the fish caught by myself and others were taken on bait imitation patterns.  Various patterns and colours seemed to work.  Despite the overcast conditions which some suggest favours duller coloured patterns, I had most of my success on a yellow Hamill’s Killer although this particular brookie went for a black leach pattern.

Friday morning and the sun was now shining.  Nice for the fisherman but as it turned out, not so pleasing for the fish.  We fished for a few hours after breakfast and managed to coax a few fish to take our food imitations but without the success of the previous day.

Most of the chalets at Kenauk are situated on a fishable lake.  In the case of Muskrat Chalet, while it is situated on a lake, the trout lake linked to the chalet is Collins Lake which is about a 10 minute drive away.

The deal is that when you rent the chalet you also get exclusive access to the associated lake. Check out from the chalet is typically 10am on your last day and you are to be off the water by 11 if another party is coming in – sometimes one can stay longer if the chalet will remain unoccupied.

Friday morning when we arrived at Collins we found a guide preparing for his fishing guests to arrive.  He had commandeered the two row boats which presented a problem for one of our party who did not fish from his own float tube.  Despite some subtle reminders of the rules on our part he wasn’t inclined to wait until we had officially relinquished the lake.  So for a time after his party arrived we fished the lake together.  Interestingly he was quite diligent to point out that when it was 11 and time for us to get off the water.  It was an interesting experience – the first of its kind and one that hopefully doesn’t repeat itself.

Despite that, it was great to get out for even a short time at Kenauk.

Photo Tips – Use Your Camera’s Flash

I enjoy photography and generally try to combine it with my fishing.  My photos are mainly for my enjoyment but even so, I have learned that there are simple techniques I can use to improve the quality of my photos.

I thought I would share some of them on a semi regular basis. If you are really serious about photography you can likely find better and more thorough tutorials somewhere on the web.  These tips are geared to the picture taking fisherman who is trying to get a good shot while dealing with the likes of fish, lines, boat gear, etc. (ie, keep it simple).

Using Your Camera’s Flash

I generally think of my camera’s flash as a tool for helping when the scene is too dark – most often indoors.  While this is true, it is probably more accurate to think of the flash as a means for infilling dark or shadowed areas in a photo.  This doesn’t have to be in low light conditions.  Even on bright days parts of the image can have shadows that detract from the overall picture.  Using your flash can help to fill in these shadows.

Here is an example I shot not long ago.  The image on the left was shot without flash.  In general there is sufficient light to illuminate the image but detail around the fly rod and reel is lost.  Flash was used in the picture on the right and the results are quite pronounced showing much more reel detail.

While this example was taken on an overcast day, the results on a sunny day can be equally dramatic.  Whether you use a full DSLR, a point and shoot or a mobile phone camera, you usually have some options to control the flash settings.  Learn how to adjust your flash settings, play around a bit and be prepared for that next prize catch.  You will greatly improve your photos.

2012 Fishing Season – April Wrap Up

I think its more sad than strange that the first monthly wrap up of my 2012 fishing season comes in April.  Sad because there is nothing to summarize for the first three months of the season. That changed in April – but just barely.

Actual Fishing

April 7 – Checked out a local pond stocked with rainbow trout.  I have only fished it in the fall and had good success.

The day was breezy, overcast and around 5C.  My fish finder wasn’t working so I was not too sure about the water temperature however judging from the feel of the water on my toes it wasn’t too bad.

The fishing wasn’t what I was looking for.  There were lots of willing rock bass in the shallows and I also landed one decent out of season smallmouth bass at the far end of the lake (not sure where that came from) but I couldn’t find a trout.  Could the lack of trout in April be related to the fact they stock later in the spring?  At any rate, it was good to get out.

April 15 – I headed down to the river not far from home.  Generally there is an abundance of pan fish to be found and later in the season plentiful smallmouth and the occasional muskie.  The water was low – hope we get rain or they release more water into the river.  Other than checking out the workings of my new fly rod there was not much success on the fish front.

April 28 – The month is almost gone before I finally get another opportunity to get out.  The destination is Bing Retreat a private lake a couple hours from home.  I usually get there once a year – usually in the spring.   My notes tell me last year it was April 18 and that the water was very cold.  Today looks more promising.

I decided to fish a full sinking line and a streamer since the work was the fish were being caught deep.  I took a while but I after about a half hour I had what I thought was a hit.  And then another but no takes.  After about an hour I finally hooked into a fish for sure but he slipped the hook after a bit of vigourous head shaking.  This happened a few more times before I managed to land my first fish.  It was a small brook trout which explained the head shaking behaviour.  By lunch I had landed three and lost about as many.  All were small – two rainbows and one brook trout.

Judging by more frequent hits the fish were more active in the afternoon.  Perhaps in response to warmer water temperatures (approaching 50-51F).  I was trying a few different bugger patterns and finally settled on a smaller (size 10) olive bead head bugger with crystal flash in the tail.  It seemed to work as well as anything.

By the end of the day I had landed half a dozen fish, lost at least as many and had numerous other hits.  A good way to end the month

Upcoming Fishing Plans

May will be a busy month work wise but there should also be some fishing opportunities including a couple days at Kenauk which has been an annual destination for some years.  I hope to find time to check out a few local lakes that I haven’t been too for several years and hopefully some time to dip a line in New York later in the month.

Images of Arctic Light

The winter months are a slow fishing period for me. One measure of relief is the vicarious enjoyment of other people’s fishing activity – often set in warmer climes than eastern Ontario. That makes sense I think.

But other distractions present themselves. Recently I came across a video created by Terje Sorgjerd. It is a spectacular display of light shot in the Norwegian Arctic. He describes an annual phenomenon.

This was filmed between 29th April and 10th May 2011 in the Arctic, on the archipelago Lofoten in Norway.

My favorite natural phenomenon is one I do not even know the name of, even after talking to meteorologists and astrophysicists I am none the wiser.What I am talking about I have decided to call The Arctic Light and it is a natural phenomenon occurring 2-4 weeks before you can see the Midnight Sun.

The Sunset and Sunrise are connected in one magnificent show of color and light lasting from 8 to 12 hours. The sun is barely going below the horizon before coming up again. This is the most colorful light that I know, and the main reason I have been going up there for the last 4 years, at the exact
same time of year, to photograph.

Take the time to enjoy this amazing video.

Post Christmas Synopsis

Christmas has come and gone once again.  It seems like it arrives suddenly and is gone all too quickly.

 

This year was special in that there was a new elf in town.  Liam stole the show as he should. The future looks bright for fishing companions.  Perhaps a little young for his first fly rod but it won’t be long.

 

Speaking of fishing there was little to report on the gift front but that is fine.  The one item I had requested was a river knife.  And I was rewarded with an NRS Pilot which will provide a measure of safety on the water. It’s not that I have experienced frequent need for a knife of this sort but emergencies to arise.

 

The knife is sturdy, has a flat tip (always an important consideration around pontoon boats and float tubes) and comes with a rugged sheath.

Goodbye to A Friend

Last week a good friend succumbed to cancer. Though there was nothing formal Brian was an important fly fishing mentor to me. I met him a number of years ago not long after we had moved to Ottawa. I was relatively new to fly fishing and knew even less about local fishing spots.

 

I think we first met at a Trout Unlimited meeting. I listened as the guys there – none of whom I knew talked about fly fishing in the area. I tried to make as many mental notess as possible hoping to capture names of a few hot spots, techniques and whatever other bits of information they shared.

 

I don’t remember how Brian and I connected as a result of that meeting but the upshot was he invited me to fish with him and also introduced me to the local fly fishing club.

 

Those were the true beginnings of my entry into the world of fly fishing.

 

Last year while working in Japan Brian began to have some serious health issues and was eventually diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The prognosis was not good.

 

After what I am sure were difficult deliberations Brian and Ryoko decided to return to Canada for treatment and his final days.

 

Brian arrived in spring and although the cancer was taking a toll in his physical well being his fishing buddies were glad he felt up to joining us for our spring trip to Kenauk. On this trip most of us fish from float tubes so none of us, including Brian were sure how much fishing he would manage.  As it turned out he did pretty well.  The two of us drove up together and headed to a lake where we thought everyone was gathering before we checked into our cabin at Lac Sugarbush.  For what ever reason the plan had changed unbeknownst to us so Brian and I fished alone.  We had a great afternoon catching plenty of feisty rainbows.

 

Following a great start on Sunday, we had a couple days of pretty tough fishing conditions, too much good food and lots of talks and laughs. As usual Brian was full of opinions especially as we anticipated the results of the federal election.

 

Check out was Wednesday morning and different options were discussed as to how people wanted to fish the last few hours. Brian and I decided to try our luck at a brook trout lake that was on the way out of the preserve where we were fishing.

 

We got there to cold and light rain but decided to go for it anyway. From the put in Brian worked one side of the lake while I worked the other. It wasn’t long before I heard his firm “Fish on!”. And it continued for both of us for a couple hours before the cold and rain began to take its toll. I don’t have any photos of Brian catching his favourite square tails but he mentioned several times it was a highlight of the trip.

 

Through the summer it was clear from his weight loss that Brian’s condition was deteriorating. We managed to get out fishing a few more times but when I asked him about another trip in mid October to a local trout-stocked quarry it just wasn’t possible. Shortly after he landed in intensive care and then a hospice.

 

This week the battle came to an end. So I say goodbye to a fine fisherman and a good friend. Tight lines Brian.

 

Fall Colors

The fishing season is coming to an end up here but the transition through autumn is pretty spectacular.

On Canadian Thanksgiving Donna and I headed out for a drive. Strangely we happened to pass by some of my favorite fishing spots. These shots were taken along the Mississippi River (the Canadian version). Besides the great view, it is an excellent spot to fish for smallmouth bass.

Check out other fall color posts at Outdoor Blogger Network

A Week Late and …..

Work has taken me to Iqaluit, Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic.  I took a short walk this afternoon to Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park just outside town.  Here is the river by the same name.  Apparently it is a great place to fish for Arctic char.  But I am a little late.  Winter comes early and quickly.  Last week most of this ice was not here.  Maybe next time…