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Fall Colors
October 28th, 2011The 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
Murphys Point Largemouth
August 3rd, 2011This past Monday was a civic holiday here so Brian, Todd and I headed out to Murphys Point in search of largemouth bass . I didn’t keep track of the temperature but it must have been close to 30C. It was a sunscreen type of day – which I actually remembered to apply before heading out on the water.
First stop (actually the second after meeting Todd and Timmies) was the the Murphys Point Park gate to pay our daily access fee. We were on the water by 10 and already it was warm.
The lake we headed for has a reputation for nice sized largemouth bass so I decided to go with the new 7wt switch rod. This was only my second time out with a two handed rod and it was going to be from my float tube. It promised to be interesting but just in case, I had a spare rod in the car. It didn’t take long to find fish although they were not exactly in keeping with the backbone of the 7wt. The first fish were overachieving bluegills and perch.
As we worked our way along the shore Todd started finding largemouth intermixed with the panfish.
We all managed a few before stopping for lunch. After lunch the fishing slowed although we manage to hook into a few more including one Brian estimated at close to 4 pounds that he lured with a surface popper!
Despite the bright sunshine, the fishing was good. Good enough to warrant a return trip.
Wednesday Night Fishing
July 28th, 2011I finally managed to join the OFS weeknight fishing group. Tonight we met at Hog’s Back Falls along the Rideau River – my first time fishing this spot. There are several pools and riffles below the falls.
It was warm and humid and I was sweating by the time I got down to the river. I guess my slip and subsequent filling of the waders was a way to cool off but it didn’t help much. 
This was my first real test of the Korker rubber soles on rocks. The rocks were a bit slippery but not seriously so. However it was more than the rubber soles could handle. I will have to switch to the studded soles and see how that works.
As far as fishing was concerned, I caught a number of smaller bass and several fall fish. Todd did pretty well pulling in a couple good sized bass and four walleye.
Nice night out.
Switch Rod Initiation
July 28th, 2011I decided to enter the two handed world. Actually I have been thinking about it for some time but finally bit the bullet this past weekend purchasing a TFO Deer Creek 7wt switch rod. After trying a few different rods I settled on the TFO based on feel, a variety of reviews by others, price and the fact that I am partial to TFO these days based on their excellent support.
Monday night I headed down to Burritt’s Rapids not far from home to give the rod its first on the water test. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Two handed casting is new to me and if anyone was watching they could probably tell. I definitely need some practice – and some instruction would help too. However, I can see the advantages.
Despite that inept casting, there were a few sympathetic fish who found their way onto my line. That included my largest smallmouth of the year.
Looking forward to more.
Free Fishing in Ontario!
July 1st, 2011Ontario Family Fishing Weekend starts tomorrow and continues through to next Sunday (July 2-10).
What a great time to introduce someone to fly fishing. If you live in Ontario take advantage of the opportunity!
Thanks TFO!
June 20th, 2011Its been an up and down spring and early summer as far as fishing goes.
One of the downs occurred three weeks ago when I broke my TFO Axiom rod in three places destroying the top two sections of the rod. A major up arrived today in the form of two replacement pieces courtesy of TFO.
I know several people have vouched for their warranty support but I would like to echo them in saying a big thanks to Temple Forks Outfitters! Much appreciated!
Not about the catching ??
May 20th, 2011With forecast for a cloudy, showery day it seemed like great conditions for fishing. Donna was busy in the evening with her dress rehearsal so it meant there were no limitations if I fished a bit later in the day. Thus was good since I had to wait for the internet service guys to do their thing with the antenna before I headed out to meet Bob.
I managed to get away before 11 and was at the agreed upon lake around noon. The inclement weather was no where to be found – good in one sense but not great from a fishing perspective as this lake can be difficult on sunny days. None the less it was good to get out on the water.
I expected to find Bob there but also found Doug fishing not far from the launch. He had landed one and had a hit from another. All very encouraging.
Unfortunately, the fishing didn’t materialize as I might have imagined. Three hours without a single hit. And that included kicking all the way to the far end of the lake where I have had success in the past. Bob managed one rainbow trout before we decided to pull out and head over to lake number two to see what was happening with the brook trout.
One of the things the warm weather brought out (actually millions of things) was the black flies. They were mildly annoying under the warmth of midday so I was anticipating the worst as evening approached. The access to our second lake is via a mucky, boggy trail from the parking area. The plan was to organize the gear as quickly as possible and get on the water before they know we were there. All was going according to plan until I realized I had forgot to switch to my floating line. Wasted minutes! Still it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and I was in the water without serious incident. And then they hit. It was like a massive swarm was sitting at the shore ready to attack the minute I was in the float tube. Of course there was no wind and the lake is small so it took a while to get clear of them.
By comparison to our first lake, this one is tiny. With the wind at bay it was possible to talk to each other with one at either side of the lake. As it turned out, the wind wasn’t the only thing quiet this day.
The only evidence of fish was some smaller ones chasing bugs in the shallows. A small dry fly was enough to attract their attention and soon we were playing around with a bunch of scrappy little brook trout. Sizing any of them at eight inches would have been a stretch but they were still fun. And I count it as community service since half of them couldn’t seem to time their attack quite right, missing the fly with their charge to the surface After a couple hours of this and with little evidence that there would be any activity from larger fish we decided to pack it in.
If fishing is not always about the catching this was one of those days.
Back on the Water
May 11th, 2011A week has passed since returning from three days fishing. No wonder the season goes by so fast.
Our early season trip to Quebec for trout has to be considered a success. Four lakes fished, catching plenty of rainbows and brook trout, good food and good friends.
It was particularly good to have Brian back with us after almost three years in Japan. Here he is less than ten minutes in with a nice rainbow. Obviously he never lost his touch! And it was one of many that first morning.
Three Days of Fishing – Power or No Power
April 30th, 2011Tomorrow marks the start of three days of fishing. I have been looking forward to this trip for a long time.
Every trip has its prerequisite preparations and purchases. However I had not anticipated this purchase.
The Generac XG4000 was not exactly what I had in mind but Thursday’s windstorm and subsequent power outage necessitated purchasing the generator to keep the sump pump working – something I have been putting off for a long time. It is now close to 48 hours into the power outage (this post is coming via a local Starbucks – yeah for free WiFi). We are told power will be back this afternoon but Donna has given me the ok to go fishing tomorrow regardless. She has had the prerequisite generator training training. I love my wife.
Google Knows!
March 1st, 2011He may have had strange symptoms but I had a good laugh over this one from my friend Eric. Thanks man.
