Wait...What...July Is Over??!!
To say summer is fast approaching is a falsity! More like summer is now half over! As August opens up this long weekend here in Alberta, the following is a recap from June and July's trips out on the river and ponds.
June, 2016
At the beginning of June my wife's work, Rock It Out Salon rockitoutsalon.ca, took us on a family retreat to Terratima Lodge, terratima.com, in central Alberta. This quaint, quite, rustic lodge, A frame log cabins sure was about to get a dose of the big city. Or at least we did our part to think we did, for one night...ha ha!
On this property there lie a brown trout stream, Prairie Creek. So in my mind regardless of what the accommodations were and how crazy the party was, I could escape to search out Trout on a section of private water I had yet to fish. Just had to find a clever way to convince the wife and son that daddy was "running away" for four hours.
So what better way to do so than to convince the bosses boyfriend (Jason) to join in on my adventure time. That way I had an accomplice and since I was taking the bosses boyfriend along how could I get grief for that, right? Now the bosses man, Jason, who's a golf pro, but never fly fished in his life needed a few basic casting lessons and tips for working the drift. With his ability as a golf pro I knew that Jason would understand rhythm and timing for fly casting, much like in a golf swing. I busted out my rod, showed him a very basic roll and single hull cast and with in 15 casts he was showing potential. Now it was going to be up to him to advance on his own as we hit the water the following morning.
The morning came and saw a mixture of unsettled weather but here in Alberta the weather can change with a flip of a solo cup. Since we had the property to ourselves there was no rush to get on the water. Would I have preferred to head out early, yes, but a nice chill breakfast and some morning badminton with the wife while the baby shouted orders at us was fun also. Then the green light was given by wives and girlfriends to the big boys to go play, without hesitation we were gone! By the time we hit the water it was sunny, blue sky's and not a sole in site...perfect!
Now since Jason didn't have any gear I had to lend him a set of leaky waders, with no boots, and my spare rod. With the rod being the only good thing about using my back up gear. Not once did I hear Jason complain and for that he was rewarded. But we will get to that later.
Here in Alberta we saw a very dry winter and spring which left the creeks and streams on life support. With all of us fly fishing junkies praying for rain in one form or another. That being said it was pocket water fishing only and we really had to work to get to water that looked as if it was holding fish. Half way through our session we both still had skunks on the board with no signs of fish activity so we decided to make our way back to where we started and fish downstream.
Downstream there were a couple of promising pools so not to spoil them we entered the water just below them and planned our attack. Just as we were about to make our move Jason encountered the ever hated birds nest knot. Many beginners to the fly fishing scene, myself included, have been in similar situations where you cast to fast and the line, leader, two flies become snarled is this god awful mess of a knot that even the best rubrics cube players couldn't solve. So a quick snip and a sting of a new leader with preferred fly combo we were back in action.
At the tail end of what we were calling the "last pool to rule all pools" I showed Jason how to roll cast while fishing a two fly rig so not to have it end up snagged in the tall grass behind him. That's when I heard it, "Kerr Splat!" I ask Jason if that was a fish that jumped behind me and he confirms that it was, so we pause for further evaluation. This time just a nose pokes the surface so I know we need to act fast to try and have a crack at the only fish we've seen all day. I lay a perfect cast just a head of the last rise and wouldn't you know it the fish tried to kill my Caddis but missed. Now normally I would be greedy and take a second shot but I moved out of position for Jason to have a crack at his first ever anything on a fly.
Jason pretty much duplicated my cast and I had to yell, "Hold it, Hold it, Hold IT!!" so that he didn't muck up a nice drift. That's when I saw the surface fly dip and yelled, "SET!" Bingo fish on, netted, photo taken (Above) and a few congratulatory profanities later it was a good way to end the day. Also one hell of a way for Jason to earn his fist ever fish on the fly and a Brown Trout too, well done sir!
July, 2016
Normally in May or early June I head out to a private section of the Raven River with my father in law George to chase Brown Trout during the golden stone-fly spring hatch . This year that wasn't the case and our annual trip was pushed to mid July. But I wasn't complaining as this section of water is pure, untouched Brown Trout heaven and has consistently produced fish regardless of bug activity.
With that in mind I was stoked to get out on the water and play with my good old pal Mr. Brown. Now spring here in Alberta the last two seasons had been uncommonly dry bringing low flow rates and tough conditions for the trout to flourish. To be fair to the trout and not to put any more stress on fighting them in these warm conditions then need be it was time to up the tippet size in order to catch and release them quicker. I put on a 9' 4x tappered RIO leader rigged with a hopper dropper tandem fly rig and George went strictly dry fly.
George and I started about half a kilometer down stream of where we normally fish just to see what pools, if any, might be holding fish. Result, there were three pools. Two of which produced fish, a small 8" Brown and a surprisingly large (for this creek at least) 16" White Fish. Both of which took my dropper fly, similar pattern to a prince nymph but with my own spin on it.
Remainder of the afternoon saw only two fish attempt to take the dry fly's George would present and all the fish caught came at the end of my line on the nymph. So it was a rather productive day for myself and a rather frustrating day for the old pro George. In total we netted a solid ten fish, all released to play another day and missed about four or so more. Not bad for about three hours of fishing but not as good as times past when that number was 60+. I hate to say it but we need a true winter this year to bring water levels and bug activity back to the norm.
July has also seen some time put in on the belly boat and since my favourite Muir Lake had a lake wide winter kill it was time to find a new trout lake to haunt. So the next two closest to home were Heritage Lake and Cardiff Park Pond both about twenty minutes from home. Yet to try out Cardiff as I've come to enjoy Heritage Lake as I seem to be he only boat out on the water when I go. There are lots of families that use Heritage Lake and fish from shore but that's not what seems to be the draw for the kids. Last time I was out there I discovered why, crayfish. Yes you heard me correct, crayfish, non native to Alberta and a shock to say the least to see them. Might be time to invest in a trap or two and have a good old fashioned crawdad boil...mmm!
So let's review the fishing at Heritage Lake. Been there only a handful of times and the last three times have netted five or more fish. So technically I caught my limit per our provincial regulations however eating trout from a mud bottom man made lake doesn't appeal to me. The mud trout, I mean Rainbow Trout, they stock here I am told over winter and can get to the twenty inch mark. I have yet to catch one of this inch class but have filled my net with many in the ten to twelve inch slot. I know fish in the fourteen inch size exist as I've seen people still fishing from shore with worms catch this slot size.
The lake itself is not very big but the one side of the pond closest to the town of Mornville is over twenty feet deep per my depth gauge. This deep pocket I am sure is where the big ones are hiding from the mid summer heat. So the next time I go out for an evening fish I am going to search out the deep for big fish or at least try...ha ha!
The magic fly combo of late is hanging a balanced leach paired with a bionic worm under an indicator. To see both fly patterns head over to flycraftangling.com or visit Phil Rowley's YouTube page to get the information required to make your own flies like I did shown below.
Tight lines and best of luck to you all as we head into mid summer and fall. Please keep a look out for more posts as I will be reporting back as much as I can, Cheers!
June, 2016
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| Gold Panning |
On this property there lie a brown trout stream, Prairie Creek. So in my mind regardless of what the accommodations were and how crazy the party was, I could escape to search out Trout on a section of private water I had yet to fish. Just had to find a clever way to convince the wife and son that daddy was "running away" for four hours.
So what better way to do so than to convince the bosses boyfriend (Jason) to join in on my adventure time. That way I had an accomplice and since I was taking the bosses boyfriend along how could I get grief for that, right? Now the bosses man, Jason, who's a golf pro, but never fly fished in his life needed a few basic casting lessons and tips for working the drift. With his ability as a golf pro I knew that Jason would understand rhythm and timing for fly casting, much like in a golf swing. I busted out my rod, showed him a very basic roll and single hull cast and with in 15 casts he was showing potential. Now it was going to be up to him to advance on his own as we hit the water the following morning.
The morning came and saw a mixture of unsettled weather but here in Alberta the weather can change with a flip of a solo cup. Since we had the property to ourselves there was no rush to get on the water. Would I have preferred to head out early, yes, but a nice chill breakfast and some morning badminton with the wife while the baby shouted orders at us was fun also. Then the green light was given by wives and girlfriends to the big boys to go play, without hesitation we were gone! By the time we hit the water it was sunny, blue sky's and not a sole in site...perfect!
 |
| Gearing Up! #guidelife |
Here in Alberta we saw a very dry winter and spring which left the creeks and streams on life support. With all of us fly fishing junkies praying for rain in one form or another. That being said it was pocket water fishing only and we really had to work to get to water that looked as if it was holding fish. Half way through our session we both still had skunks on the board with no signs of fish activity so we decided to make our way back to where we started and fish downstream.
Downstream there were a couple of promising pools so not to spoil them we entered the water just below them and planned our attack. Just as we were about to make our move Jason encountered the ever hated birds nest knot. Many beginners to the fly fishing scene, myself included, have been in similar situations where you cast to fast and the line, leader, two flies become snarled is this god awful mess of a knot that even the best rubrics cube players couldn't solve. So a quick snip and a sting of a new leader with preferred fly combo we were back in action.
At the tail end of what we were calling the "last pool to rule all pools" I showed Jason how to roll cast while fishing a two fly rig so not to have it end up snagged in the tall grass behind him. That's when I heard it, "Kerr Splat!" I ask Jason if that was a fish that jumped behind me and he confirms that it was, so we pause for further evaluation. This time just a nose pokes the surface so I know we need to act fast to try and have a crack at the only fish we've seen all day. I lay a perfect cast just a head of the last rise and wouldn't you know it the fish tried to kill my Caddis but missed. Now normally I would be greedy and take a second shot but I moved out of position for Jason to have a crack at his first ever anything on a fly.
 |
| They Are Not All Record Breakers But When It's Your First It Doesn't Matter, Jason Left Me Right. |
Jason pretty much duplicated my cast and I had to yell, "Hold it, Hold it, Hold IT!!" so that he didn't muck up a nice drift. That's when I saw the surface fly dip and yelled, "SET!" Bingo fish on, netted, photo taken (Above) and a few congratulatory profanities later it was a good way to end the day. Also one hell of a way for Jason to earn his fist ever fish on the fly and a Brown Trout too, well done sir!
July, 2016
Normally in May or early June I head out to a private section of the Raven River with my father in law George to chase Brown Trout during the golden stone-fly spring hatch . This year that wasn't the case and our annual trip was pushed to mid July. But I wasn't complaining as this section of water is pure, untouched Brown Trout heaven and has consistently produced fish regardless of bug activity.With that in mind I was stoked to get out on the water and play with my good old pal Mr. Brown. Now spring here in Alberta the last two seasons had been uncommonly dry bringing low flow rates and tough conditions for the trout to flourish. To be fair to the trout and not to put any more stress on fighting them in these warm conditions then need be it was time to up the tippet size in order to catch and release them quicker. I put on a 9' 4x tappered RIO leader rigged with a hopper dropper tandem fly rig and George went strictly dry fly.
George and I started about half a kilometer down stream of where we normally fish just to see what pools, if any, might be holding fish. Result, there were three pools. Two of which produced fish, a small 8" Brown and a surprisingly large (for this creek at least) 16" White Fish. Both of which took my dropper fly, similar pattern to a prince nymph but with my own spin on it.
Remainder of the afternoon saw only two fish attempt to take the dry fly's George would present and all the fish caught came at the end of my line on the nymph. So it was a rather productive day for myself and a rather frustrating day for the old pro George. In total we netted a solid ten fish, all released to play another day and missed about four or so more. Not bad for about three hours of fishing but not as good as times past when that number was 60+. I hate to say it but we need a true winter this year to bring water levels and bug activity back to the norm.
 |
| Barb Less Extraction |
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| Fish Of The Day, 18" Alberta Brown Trout |
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| 14-1/2" Gold Brick Brown Trout |
July has also seen some time put in on the belly boat and since my favourite Muir Lake had a lake wide winter kill it was time to find a new trout lake to haunt. So the next two closest to home were Heritage Lake and Cardiff Park Pond both about twenty minutes from home. Yet to try out Cardiff as I've come to enjoy Heritage Lake as I seem to be he only boat out on the water when I go. There are lots of families that use Heritage Lake and fish from shore but that's not what seems to be the draw for the kids. Last time I was out there I discovered why, crayfish. Yes you heard me correct, crayfish, non native to Alberta and a shock to say the least to see them. Might be time to invest in a trap or two and have a good old fashioned crawdad boil...mmm!
So let's review the fishing at Heritage Lake. Been there only a handful of times and the last three times have netted five or more fish. So technically I caught my limit per our provincial regulations however eating trout from a mud bottom man made lake doesn't appeal to me. The mud trout, I mean Rainbow Trout, they stock here I am told over winter and can get to the twenty inch mark. I have yet to catch one of this inch class but have filled my net with many in the ten to twelve inch slot. I know fish in the fourteen inch size exist as I've seen people still fishing from shore with worms catch this slot size.
The lake itself is not very big but the one side of the pond closest to the town of Mornville is over twenty feet deep per my depth gauge. This deep pocket I am sure is where the big ones are hiding from the mid summer heat. So the next time I go out for an evening fish I am going to search out the deep for big fish or at least try...ha ha!
The magic fly combo of late is hanging a balanced leach paired with a bionic worm under an indicator. To see both fly patterns head over to flycraftangling.com or visit Phil Rowley's YouTube page to get the information required to make your own flies like I did shown below.
Tight lines and best of luck to you all as we head into mid summer and fall. Please keep a look out for more posts as I will be reporting back as much as I can, Cheers!
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| 10-11" Heritage Lake Stocked Rainbow Trout |
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| Bionic Worm |
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| Balanced Leach |
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