Fly Fishing 2014, A Year Of Years In Review.
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| Death Of A Pike Fly |
January / February,
Were a wash as nothing happens here in the frozen north. Unless you live in the southern half of Alberta and get one of those freak warm weeks and can get on to open water, you're pretty much shut out till spring. My body thought this was a perfect time to get a blood infection that kept me in the hospital until March. So it was a bit touch and go as to if I would even make it to opening day.
March,
Saw my health stabilise and I was starting to round into form to make a full recovery. This is when my father in law George took it upon himself to teach me the basics of fly tying. He says it was for my own good and to beat the boredom of my recovery. But I think he just grew tired of me mooching flies off of him for the past two years, ha ha. Regardless of George's motives, I am lucky to have mentor as I know some are not so lucky, like George who had to venture and learn this craft on his own.
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| Loaded For Trout! |
In a few weeks I had a small box of dry flies and nymphs tied up and ready to hit the waters. With my bill of health given the green light to return to work, George decided that I needed a mental health break. He was going to take me fishing and Stauffer Creek was the place on his hit list. We left Edmonton with no expectation in catching fish, it was just a day to enjoy life and to celebrate my recovery. It was around eleven in the morning when we arrived at Stauffer, sunny, above zero, with a light breeze, perfect. The two of us geared up and made the short hike to our first pool. While hiding in the willows selecting flies and stringing our rods together I couldn't feel more content. George gave me the honour of fishing the pool first. Having not cast a line since October the first cast was not my best. I let my fly drift through the leading edge of the pool and just as I was about to lay my second cast I had a strike! "Fish On," I yelled to George and came to my assistance net in hand ready to scoop the fish up. This is when we saw the flash of colour, it was a HUGE brown trout, and my heart rate sky rocketed. The biggest brown I had caught was only 14" and this one looked to double that at first glance. After a good five minute fight I was able to get the head pointed at the net and with one quick swoop my personal best for brown trout was set. He wasn't the 28" fish I originally thought it was but he measured just over 20" in the net. A couple of quick pictures for proof and that gem of a brown was released for me to chase the following spring. The two of us had the biggest grins and hooted and screeched like a couple of school girls, ha ha! The rest of the day at that point didn't even matter and that one fish was the only fish we saw all day.
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| 20" Brown Trout Caught On A Fly Tied By My Own Hands |
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| 18-19" Easter Brown Trout |
May,
With opening day for Alberta lakes fast approaching it was time to focus on Walleye and Pike. So George and I took to the vise and started to experiment with different streamer fly patterns. In the attempt to finally land Walleye on the fly. We tied up, Zonkers, Double Bunnies and Articulated Bait Fish patterns in a rainbow of colours, enough flies to fill an entirely new tackle box. With all the new hardware it was finally time to hit the open water. My brother Jordan, George and I loaded up the boat and were off to hunt Walleye on the fly. My brother, not having a fly rod setup for lake fishing, used his spinning gear. So it was a battle of new school versus traditional. It wasn't long before Jordan had jumped to an early lead so the pressure was on to finally land a Walleye on the fly. A short while later and seven more fish for Jordan I finally landed my first ever Walleye on the fly! Once we had the Walleye figured out there was no looking back. George and I both ended up catching seven or eight Walleye that evening. Yes Jordan spanked us by catching seventeen, however the total numbers combined showed that it was a pretty even fight. A great success all around and an amazing start to the Buck Lake fishing season.
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| First Walleye On The Fly |
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| Fish Selfie With Jordan & George |
June,
With the major spring run off in full effect, keeping the majority of the prime trout waters closed, it was time to seek out little trout in a little spring fed creek. I am pretty sure for the 2015 season I am going to invest in a Tenkara Rod, or at least use George's, for days on creeks like these. Mostly because you don't need traditional gear to fish these small creeks as you don't really cast, you more like plop and drop. Heck, twenty feet of level line and a nymph on the end of a stick would even land you fish, basically Tenkara right there, ha ha. Saying that George and I went out to fish a little creek we like to have our season warm up on called Shunda Creek. Shunda plays host to several fish species, even some that escape from the stocked pond that lays upstream. There are White Fish, Brown Trout, Brook Trout and the odd escaped Rainbow Trout from the stocked pond. That day we got into them all. They seemed to love the stimulator fly pattern coupled with a dropper nymph, as shown in the below pictures. There are not a pile of big fish holding pools on Shunda Creek. So you move upstream blasting and casting water you normally would pass up and end up being surprised by the end result. If you play your cards right on Shunda you can have a fifty plus fish day, no record beaters as the majority of the fish are under ten inches. So the eleven inch Brown Trout I caught that day was the biggest fish George had seen on that creek in the past ten years, a real treat!
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July,
With the Canada Day long weekend fast approaching it was time for old George and I to find some new water to haunt. Since this year was off and running at a torrent pace, it was time to test our luck. "We," I mean George, put a call into one of his many fishing buddies to see if we could get on to some private waters. With our gear loaded in the truck, we were off to sacred Alberta Brown Trout heaven. I cannot disclose the location or many details, all I can say is if I never get to fish there again I will die a happy man. I will forever remember the sound of those Browns slamming the Golden Stone fly and George giggling like a school girl. Best part of that day was when George and I hooked a double header on Browns. Now that day will haunt me until I get a chance to go back in 2015, thank you Roman!
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| Brown Trout Nirvana & The Golden Stone Fly Hatch Of The Century |
August,
August saw lots of day trips out to lakes, Wabamun and Buck, to get friends hooked up on their first Walleye and Pike on the Fly. The picture shown below is of Derek and I out on Buck Lake on the hunt to get Derek's first Walleye on the fly. It was a sweltering thirty above and made the fishing tough during the day but man did the fish ever turn on that evening. The afternoon heat only produced three fish. But once we hit the water at 7pm, we landed eleven before 8pm, when Derek had to head back home. I've always found that Buck lake produces extremely well between the hours of 6am-10am and then 7-pm-10pm during the summer. It sure is fun to expose friends and family who traditionally fish spinning gear the sport of fly fishing. The common miss conception they have is that fly fishing is too difficult and too expensive to take up. I know I was one of these people until I was shown the true art of this hobby. I love proving the doubters wrong! Just showing them a basic set up, techniques and what flies to use coupled with putting them on fish changes their out look completely. You can see their attitude change by the size of the grins on their faces when they hook into their first fish on a fly rod. Heck after that day out with Derek he had me ordering materials for me to make him some flies. So the fly fishing gods had sunk their teeth into another victim, ha ha!
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| Derek Holding His First Buck Lake Pike & Walleye On The Fly |
September,
With summer coming to a close it was time to put all the hours on Buck Lake stalking Pike and Walleye to test on a true Alberta trophy lake, Winefred Lake Lodge. I didn't have as much luck with getting the big ones on the fly like George did. But I did ok on traditional spinning gear when no fish seemed to want to take a fly. First beast was a 44" x 20lb Northern Pike (top left photo), 25" x 8lb Walleye (top right photo) and a 34" weight unknown Northern Pike (bottom left). George was the true champ landing a 36" and a 34" Northern Pike on the fly on back to back casts. I will take partial credit on these fish of Georges as I tied the fly he used to catch them! I would like to go back there and do it again one day but next time I will go in mid June when the weeds are not up so high. Plus now that George and I know what size of flies and colours work best on Winefred Lake, we won't have to spend a whole day hunting we can just go into full on attack mode.
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| 29" Pike On A Perch Pattern Fly |
October,
There is nothing better then fly fishing in Alberta in the fall. All the tree leaves in their amazing spectrum of colours and plump trout feasting before the winter freeze up. Last October George and I headed out to the North Ram River with the intent of landing some big "Pumpkin" Cutthroat Trout. I call them "Pumpkins" as the big males turn a gold brick colour with a flash of orange on their belly, gorgeous! My brother Jordan has recently taken up fly fishing and the biggest trout he had caught to date was in the range of 10-12 inches. So being the good brother I am, it was up to me to get him hooked up with a big trout. That being said, there was no better time to get him out on the river for his chance to land a "Pumpkin" of his own. The three of us, Jordan, George and I headed back to the North Ram, mid October, with my intent of getting Jordan his first big trout. Jordan struggled out of the gate with only one small trout about 14" but that afternoon was a different story. Shortly after we finished lunch I landed a nice 18-19" female Cutty and I knew this hole held bigger and better fish. That's when it happened, George and I backed out of the pool, and Jordan finally landed a trout of size but just before I could net her she was gone. I told Jordan that sometimes the fish gods are cruel but if you wait it out they will reward you mightily. So we moved down stream to a hole where last season I landed three "Pumpkins" on back to back to back casts. Since this hole was the last of our day it was time to work the water hard and accomplish what we came for. George and I gave Jordan the prime head of the pool and with in his first five casts I heard the familiar zing of a fly reel in distress. I was working the tail end of the pool so George grabbed my net and went to Jordan's aid. I didn't want to jinx it by saying was a big fish but I could tell by the fight and the bend in his rod this fish was something special. I hustled to shore dropped my gear and dug out the camera so I could capture what was unfolding in front of us. With a quick scoop it was all over and Jordan now had the "Pumpkin" I was hoping to see him pluck from the water. Quick measure against the net, spot on 20" and the big guy was released for us to do it all again next fall.
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| 24K Gold In The Net |
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| RELEASE THE HOUNDS!! |
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| Jordan & His 20" Bull Cutty |
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| 18-19" Cutty Hen In Her Fall Colours |
Bring On The 2015 Season!!!
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| 24K Gold "Pumpkin" Hen Cutty |
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