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Five Favorite Autumn Streamers

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2:04 pm 2:04 pm

My tying seems to go in spurts and in checking my fly boxes, it seems this is a good time for a spurt – especially in the streamer department.  I was assessing what I needed to tie for the autumn season and that go me thinking about my top streamers.

I fish a lot of streamers throughout the year but with autumn approaching, its definitely streamer time.  Everyone has their personal favorite flies including myself.  I doubt mine are more effective than any one else’s (quite possibly less) but they are the streamers I like to fish which counts for something.  So here they are:

  • Wooly Bugger – must be on everyone’s list.  I tie them in olive, black and brown but the last few years it seems brown has been my preferred color.  I like a bit of brown crystal flash in the tail. Sizes range from 6-12. Of course there is always room to vary the patterns.  Here is a version I tied the other day.  I haven’t tried it yet but I am curious to see how the Krystal Hackle body works.Wooly Bugger
  • Palmer Chenille Bugger – not withstanding the name, this is definitely a unique fly and one I recently posted about.  It has become one of my go to streamers.  I tie them in black, brown, olive and am trying a new orange version. These tend to be smaller than traditional buggers – size 8-10 usually
  • Hamill’s Killer – despite its New Zealand origins this is a consistently good pattern for me here in Canada.  Colors include olive, yellow and orange.
  • Mrs. Simpson - to me this pattern is a generic minnow imitation.  I find them tricky to tie because of the multiple wing pairs and the need to keep them tight against the body but they sure work well.
  • Grizzly King - I got on to this one a couple years ago.  It has worked well for me but I seem to have a problem tying them in a way that they don’t fall apart after the first fish.  More practice I guess.

There are so many others that I say I should fish – and I may try them for a bit but I seem to revert back to these five pretty consistently.

Having said that, I can always be convinced to try something new. So, let me know what must have streamers I am missing.

Summer Fishing for Trout

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7:48 am 7:48 am

Fly fishing for trout that reside in lakes can be challenging.  With warm summer days comes warm water temperatures.  And, most fly fisherman know that means trout go deep – not ideal from a fishing perspective.

I came across an interesting article that discusses the physical reasons for why trout go deep as water temperatures warm.  The challenge for trout is really one of lack of oxygen – the warmer the water, the less capacity it has to hold dissolved oxygen.  At the same time, as water temperatures warm, the fish’s metabolism rises.  A trout must balance its metabolic rate against availability of oxygen so it tends to move to water temperatures where the two are in balance.

While trout have varying tolerances for water temperature, typical surface water temperatures in the 70s F (21-26C) are uncomfortable for them and they will typically seek cooler locations – meaning deep down.  At 75F (24C) the maximum dissolved oxygen capacity of undisturbed water is 3ppm (parts per million). This is the limit below which trout will not survive.

In general trout metabolism and access to oxygen (and hence predisposition to feed) peaks when water temperatures are between 55 and 65F.  Having said that not all species are equal in this regard.  For instance brook trout and lake trout have a lower tolerance for warm water than rainbow trout which have a lower tolerance than brown trout.

That’s my rough interpretation of the biology. So how does this play out for a fisherman?  It seems to me, the issue is more relevant to catch and release fishing.  Obviously if you plan to keep the fish, its mortality is greatly at risk anyway. Assuming catch and release, here are a couple general rules that I try to follow.

  • Avoid fishing for less tolerant species when water temperatures are high.  Even if they have moved deep and you manage to catch them, excessive play may be harmful to them.
  • For more temperature tolerant species, play and release them quickly – preferable without a lot of out of water time.

So after all that – what did I do?

Bob Jurmain and I decided to head out in search of lake rainbows yesterday.  Air temperatures had cooled somewhat the last little while so that was encouraging.  We also picked a lake where we know subsurface water temperatures are consistently cold through the sumer.

Our start was pretty leisurely getting out on the water by 9:30am.  It was a calm, sunny day with cool air temperatures. Surface water temperatures were around 22C (72F) and down around 25 feet the water temperature was close to 15C (60F) and that’s were the fish were located.

Float Tube Fly Fishing

Rainbow Trout Lake

Rigging of choice (or necessity) was full sinking lines, short leaders and streamers.  We let the line sink until we estimated we were close to the 20-25 foot depth and then began stripping in.  And the fish were pretty cooperative.  Both of us were on to fish within a few minutes of putting in.  None were huge, consisting of this year’s stockers and some hold overs but they were energetic. When caught they were quickly released.  As the morning wore on the fishing slowed so we stopped for lunch which was a combination of sandwiches and a couple kept rainbows Bob smoked over his travel stove.  They tasted pretty good too.

Shore Lunch

Fishing was even slower after lunch although we did manage a few more fish just before we packed it in around 4pm.

In the interest of quick release the tin foil trout were the only ones photographed.  It was a good to get out.  A couple more weeks and the fishing should be in fine form.

Rideau River Drift

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8:52 pm 8:52 pm

You see all sorts of watercraft along the Rideau River so nothing should seem strange however drifting down the river in a fly fishing float tube is a bit unusual.  It is not a speedy process but it can be a great way to access less frequented fishing spots along the river.  Last Saturday some of us drifted a section – probably about 3 kilometres in length with the intent of locating small mouth bass.  This was a continuation of a trip started last year cut short due to darkness.  Drifting this section of the Rideau in a float tube is not a speedy process - three kilometres in three hours is leisurely by my definition.  But it can be a great way to fish.

Last Saturday’s float began at a put in near St. Paul University and ended at Strathcona Park – both accessible urban Ottawa locations.

Upstream Rideau River

We started out in mid afternoon with high hopes for some great fishing.  However in keeping with the casual float, the fish were pretty casual about biting too.  After one and a half hours – four fishermen (and who knows how many fly changes) – zero fish.  This was not turning out as planned.  But about the time it seemed like this was going to be a kick down the river and nothing else, we moved out of a slow moving, weedy section of the river to a set of riffles with good bottom structure and the fun began.  The bass were suddenly much more cooperative hitting first on deep drifting clousers and weighted streamers but eventual experimentation led to hook ups with near surface flies as well.

The fish varied in size, some probably close to two pounds but regardless of size, they were adept at using the current to great substantial resistance and when they were able to locate some of the long weeds things became even more interesting.

Rideau River Smallmouth Bass

Eventually the river dynamics changed as we moved out of the riffle section but the weeds were not as heavy as we first encountered and there was still lots of structure so the fishing continued to be interesting.

As we started to think about the possibility of sunset, our take out spot presented itself around a bend in the river.  Three hours passed quickly considering we didn’t go far.  Fish during the last half of the trip definitely helped.

This map shows the put in and take out spots for the drift.  There are other sections along the Rideau that are also quite suitable for float tube drifting.

MapSherpa Rideau River Float

Where Have the Bass Gone?

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7:58 pm 7:58 pm

It was one of those nights. Everything seemed prime for a great evening of bass fishing.  Nice warm summer evening, stable barometer, calm conditions (maybe more farourable for me than the fish).  We hit the water around 6pm in search of small or largemouth bass.

Bass WaterThe setting seemed perfect.  But where were the bass.  We managed to find a few smallmouths in the one pound range but not much else.  Persistence wasn’t paying off despite varying the approach.  The biggest thing we saw was a beaver who seemed upset that we were fishing in his home waters.  At least the slap of the tail a couple times suggested it to us.

Although the bass proved elusive, as the sun started to set the crappies started to feed.   Positioning ourselves off the edge of the massive weed beds expanding out from the shore, we hit upon a school of crappies that were more than willing to cooperate for the last half hour or so before the oncoming darkness forced us back in.

Despite the lack of bass, any evening out fishing is a good evening and the crappies were a bonus.

And one take away – bring in your fly line before you kick through the weed bed.  I didn’t and my line is in sore need of a good cleaning!

Float Tubing for Bass

Fly Fishing, Cameras and Dust

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8:50 pm 8:50 pm

I enjoy fly fishing and I enjoy photography and frequently enjoy them together.  Some of the time that involves bringing my digital SLR along with me.

One of the keys to good fishing pictures is keeping the camera lens clean which is pretty straightforward although having a camera around water does pose some challenges.

Another problem one encounters is dust and not dust on the outside of the lens but dust inside the camera where it is not nearly so accessible.  Dust on the internal sensor plate is a fact of life with digital cameras although some seem prone to it more than others.  Notice the black blob in the lower right corner of this image?  That is caused by dust on the imaging sensor – or more accurately on the glass anti-aliasing filter or optical glass cover protecting the sensor.

A challenge – but not an insurmountable one.  The difficulty is that the sensor is not easily accessible and can be damaged if care is not taken in its handling. However cameras have been designed to help you with this.  If you have a camera with an in-camera sensor cleaning function, use that regularly as your first line of defense in dust management.  Failing that, check your camera manual to determine how to set it in “sensor cleaning mode”.  This varies from camera to camera but essentially what it does is expose the imaging sensor in a way that allows you to carrying out your cleaning activity.

Once you have exposed the sensor the next step is to take a careful look (doing so in a well lit environment helps) which should reveal dust on the sensor.  And how do you remove the dust you observe? Not with your finger or with your breath.  The finger can scratch or displace the sensor while your breath can deposit moisture on the sensor – none of which are good.

Your first approach should be to use an air blower – either a manual one or a compressed air variety which does not emit propellants which can gum up the works of your camera.  With either air source be sure to keep the end point of the applicator well away from the sensor plate.

In talking to my local camera store, they indicated indicated that a burst of air was almost always sufficient to remove any pesky dust bunnies.  If that doesn’t work then it is on to the next level of cleaning where you will actually clean the sensor with some form of brush or sensor swab designed for cleaning camera sensors.

My DSLR happens to be a Nikon.  Thom Hogan has a great article on his site describing in detail how to clean Nikon image sensors.  He goes into a great deal of detail about choices of sensor brushes and swabs and their correct use.  Even if you have another brand of camera, the process he outlines is extremely helpful.

Cameras are made to be used and that implies wear and tear and dirt but the bottom line – a bit of careful maintenance will keep your camera in top shape and put you in a position to capture images to match those quality fishing experiences.

MapSherpa – Custom Mapping at Your Fingertips

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9:41 am 9:41 am

You want to check out MapSherpa an interesting web application that allows you to create custom maps that can be printed and taken with you on your fishing trip.

Ok, if this seems like a commercial, I guess it is – and in the interest of full disclosure, I have been working as a consultant with this company as they first rolled MapSherpa out for Canada last summer and recently launched a major upgrade that includes full US coverage as well.  These guys have been in the web mapping business for over 10 years and have done a great job creating a service that is easy to use and gives you great quality maps.

MapSherpa allows you to create topographic, shade relief or road maps for any place in North America.  You can set the scale to fit your needs, annotate the map with your personal information.  And if you have someone you trust with your secret fishing locations, you can share the map with them.  You can also choose to publish your maps for the whole world to see but you know how that goes over with some of your fishing buddies so don’t say I told you to do it.

Here is an excerpt from a map I created to give you an idea of the look of the data.

Its free to sign up for a MapSherpa account.  You can create and save maps and only pay when you decide to download a map for printing.

Check it out.  I’d be happy to hear what you think.

More Rideau Fishing

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9:26 pm 9:26 pm

The two fly rods I planned to use this afternoon had been left in the vehicle my wife took so what did I decide to do – move firewood in preparation for this winter’s load. It seems to be wrong to be moving firewood in the middle of summer but that’s what happens when you don’t keep your fishing gear together.

I did manage to get out later in the day, hitting one of my favourite close by spots on the Rideau River around 6 pm. It was still warm but for some reason I decided against wet wading and donned the chest waders. Breathable maybe – but not enough. The warm air temperature and higher than expected water levels meant for warm work in search of suitable fish habitat.

Because of the high water, my planned route downstream was not possible so I elected to go upstream instead (not that there were any other choices).  This typically meant smaller fish but they would be mostly smallmouth bass.  Sure enough, once I managed to wade across to the far shore, the bass started hitting small streamers.  And true to form, they were the smaller sized bass.

After a while playing with willing small fry, I decided to work my what up towards the small dam a few hundred metres upstream.  The pool below the dam holds a variety of fish.  I had never caught much of size (other than a snagged carp) but thought it was worth the effort working my way upstream.  Remember the chest waders and warm temperatures?  The effort to move upstream through the moving water was greater than expected and by the time I made it to the pool, I was dripping in sweat.  Should have gone with wet wading since I was wet anyways.

Almost immediately there were fish willing to take my fly.  It was particularly effective to cast into the foam line that moved across the pool.  It seemed almost every cast into the foam line produced a hit or a fish.  Many were blue gills and suprisingly, a crappie which was not expected in this location at this time of year.

Although I hadn’t caught many bass here in the past, this evening was different.  Most were small but one decent sized bass decided to check out the larger streamer I put on in an effort to get deeper into the pool.

By 8 it was time to pack it in.  A short time out but not bad considering the spot is 10 minutes from home.

Wet Wading Relief

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1:03 pm 1:03 pm

The posts have been few and far between recently – reflecting my lack of fishing. It has been a busy spring and early summer and fishing has been decidedly absent from the agenda.

But Matt and I did manage to get out for a couple hours the other night. It was urban fishing in search of smallmouth bass. And it was wet wading, a major attraction given the heat wave we have been experiencing. With 34C air temperatures, the water was starting to feel like a bath tub.

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the water. There was lots of swimming and general splashing about.

I am sure it had some impact on the fish but they didn’t seem too put off as we managed to hook into a few in the short time we were there. Nothing huge but still entertaining. It was good to get out again, catch a few fish and cool off.

Panfish Saturday

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7:22 am 7:22 am

Other that a feeble attempt right around ice out, it seems panfish have been forgotten this spring. So last night it was off to Appleton to see if we could find where the crappie were hanging out. Since past experience suggested they seem to turn on towards dusk, Bob and I agreed to meet around six thirty. Unsettled weather later in the day seemed like a good sign. We arrived to a brief shower after which things calmed down completely.

We geared up and the float tubes were in the water.

This spot is below a dam on the Mississippi River (Canadian version) where a nice bay forms. Smallmouth bass are most common closer to the flowing current alongside the dam but there are a number of places where crappie congregate in the spring. Other fish include bluegills, perch, pike, pickerel and largemouth bass – so lots of variety. Conditions go from virtually weedless at ice out to a jungle in short order. And it was clear that growth was well on making it impossible to fish some of last year’s crappie holes. Water levels are probably at mid summer levels (low) which didnt’ help either.

We quickly found fish but they were mostly out of season smallmouth bass so I moved around in search of crappie. While initially that proved less than successful, there were several willing bluegills who showed interest in my Palmered Chenille Bugger. Palmer Chenille Bugger I was introduced to this pattern last year and it has become one of my favourite searching flies. Its an easy pattern to tie and works well for panfish, bass and trout.  I tie them using white, black, olive and root beer palmered chenille.  Tonight the root beer seemed to be the ticket.

The fly’s  bead head gives it a bit of weight so that even on a floating line it drops below the surface pretty quickly.  Fishing it on a floating worked best as it would get down but by slow, steady stripping kept it from getting caught up in the weeds. The bluegills seemed to be attracted to it.  They were fat and brightly coloured and always entertaining when they hit the fly. I mentioned the various fish species earlier but now can add one more to the list – bullhead catfish.  After a few bluegills it was a bit of a surprise to see a small catfish at the end of the line.  My first on a fly but no picture since he slipped off the barbless hook as soon as I got him up to the float tube.

Towards eight o’clock as the sun set lower the crappie seemed to become more interested in my flies – or maybe I just managed to figure out where they were located.  They weren’t there on every cast but things did pick up somewhat.  Past experience has included some crappie in the 12 inch range but tonight they big boys seemed to be on a diet. 

Quebec Fishing

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1:57 pm 1:57 pm

Got out earlier this week in search of larger than average rainbow trout on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. I was being treated to a lake with limited public access with promise of rainbow trout to 6 plus pounds so how could one refuse. Its always hard to know how to measure the weather. The forecast called for warm temperatures and sunny skies – a pleasant way to spend a day in a float tube but maybe not the most productive weather for fishing. We sided on the pleasant tubing weather and headed out.

We arrived just after 8 in the morning to blue skies and relatively calm winds. After stringing up the rods and getting our tubes organized we were on the water. I had barely pushed back from shore when Wade shouted he had a fish on. It wasn’t one of the big ones but it was definately a promising start to the day. As it turns out, the first one was a teaser with the fish slow to come after that – at least as far as trout were concerned.

We decided to work our way around the lake in opposite directions and meet up somewhere along the way (I guess if you keep to the plan it should work that way). Not too long after we made the split I floated over a section of shoreline with some really rocky structure. Looking down through the clear water, this looked like such a fishy spot and I wasn’t disappointed when I felt a sharp hit. There we go I thought, first trout on my line. However I was somewhat surprised when I worked the fish into sight to see a bassy looking mouth. No one told me there were bass in the lake but sure enough it was a smallmouth bass. Since they were still out of season, it was a quick flip of the hook to release him. But at least there were fish in this spot so I decided to stick around to see what else I could coax onto my line. Sure enough, another hit. This time a lot harder. With some heavy duty head shaking, it seemed this might be the trout I was looking for. It was definitely a big fish and eventually I worked it to the surface only to see another smallmouth. And talk about mixed feelings – it was easily the biggest smallmouth I have hooked into. Without picking him up or measuring him before a quick release, I guess 4-5 pounds. Too bad it wasn’t bass season.

From there things slowed for a while. Despite trying every sort of fly imaginable, fishing shallow and deep, fast and slow retrieve there didn’t seem to be anything the fish were interested in. Lunch and a bathroom break was a welcome break from kicking around the lake.

With the store bought ham sandwich and apple gone, it was time to solve the trout problem so back into the float tubes. Wade indicated he had caught fish further along so we decided to push into the wind for a bit more before beginning the drift back to our put in spot. And a good thing we did. A short time later I had a hit on a brown wooly bugger. After a nice fight, a healthy, silver-sided rainbow trout came alongside the tube and was quickly released. That was more like it and hopefully an indication of things to come. But sadly, no more trout felt in a cooperative mood. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the anticipated drift with the wind didn’t exactly work out when the wind shifted so it was a bit more work getting back than expected.

Despite the slow fishing, it was a great day. We packed it in around 3 which was probably a bit early. With the expectation of better fishing this is certainly a lake I would return to for another try.