Not Just Me.

Its not just me.

The bass have been less than playful as of late. The weather has been yoyo'ing up and down, and the fish have noticed.

Now, I had been second guessing myself a bit on recent outings. I was doing all the things that I thought should equate to success, but they weren't panning out. Why? Me? The fish? The weather? The planetary alignment? A butterfly flapping its wings in China???

I had to meet with my builder at the house recently. He is also a fly guy. I hate to say it, but I was a little happy when he started telling me that he was having to work for his fish lately. Hey! So, it's not me. He, like I, are both suspecting the weather. Makes the most sense.

We have had three days of high temps, with fairly stable weather, so I was hopeful for this evening. I wasn't disappointed. Things were definitely more active tonight. I hooked into a good number of bass, and some sizable ones. Had I landed them all, it would have been a stellar outing. As luck would have it, few fish actually made it to hand. Still, much better than things were.

Most of the fish were caught deep, on a muddler variant. Some fish were hooked up top, but the numbers were nowhere as good as subsurface.

Esten

So, I finally made it out.

Recently, its either been the weather, or my banged up body, but I have only rarely made it out. When I did, the results weren't up to par. Things weren't a whole lot better tonight, but better it was.

It was pretty windy, much more than I prefer. Usually I would have passed on such a night. However, it had been a while and I was itching to play. I caught enough fish so that it was fairly steady action. None were great, and only one landed would qualify as 'good'. Most of the fish were caught on a popper, though the larger fish were all hooked subsurface.

Bottom banging.

I decided to take a full sinking line with me tonight. The fish have been hanging down deep. Today I found them in a little shallower water than the last few outings, but they were still hugging bottom. My floating line setup with a Clouser just wasn`t doing the trick.

In the few hours I was out, I managed a few bass. One was fairly decent. I tried the floating setup to no avail. All the fish were deep. The perch to. No interest in flies at the mid to high part of the water column. Down deep the flies would get a fair amount of attention. I managed a good number of perch. Also on the clouser.

New toys.

So, as I mentioned, I picked up a new rod the other day. I ordered it online from Amazon, sold by Fishwest.com. The reason for the Echo? Easy. The company has a great reputation. So when I was searching around for rods that would fit my low end budget, it was hard to pass up the Solo for 99$. Well, thats what I paid. When I ordered, I was contacted by Fishwest to say they had recently run out of stock. No biggie, I wasn`t in a hurry and I was very interested in the rod. I noticed that after my purchase, the price of the rods went up a few bucks. When it shipped  it became a debacle. No fault on the seller. USPS managed to somehow hold onto the parcel for almost 2 weeks before it even entered their system. Incredible. Even better, when it did finally arrive, one end have the tube had been completely removed. The rod ( in its protective case ) was free to slid in and out of the shipping container at will. In the end, it is a wonder that USPS an CanadaPost managed to get it here at all.

So, whats the Echo Solo like? Well, I had the same reaction to it that I did with the White River Hobbs Creek reel from Basspro. I was shocked that such a nicely made, and appointed rod could be had for so cheap. The low end entry level gear has come along way since I first started in this sport.  I have paid a lot more, for a lot less. I`ll likely do an in depth review of it some time in the future.

The second two is a Classic Accessories Roanoke Pontoon boat. This is also an entry level model from the manufacturer. I had it out for a bit this evening. Impressed with it so far, though there are a couple of minor complaints I maybe able to make. It was fairly easy to assemble. Again, a more in depth review will be forthcoming when I have used it more.

Vid Clip

I took out an Echo Solo 8wt I had recently purchased. Here's the first fish.

Well........

....................as much as I profess the whole " you don't know till you go." bit, its like this. Cold front. Fuck it. Been waiting for a positive change in the weather.

Some times you win........

..........and sometimes you lose.

Birthday Bass.

G.F.C.

I had taken the last couple of nights to clean up my shop. I'm about to start turning out lures and needed to get it into shape. Today, being my birthday, I decided to take it easy, away from workish type endeavours.

I enjoyed a perch feast for my dinner that was just amazing. The recipe we have rivals anything that Fish and Chip joints serve. Better actually. I far prefer our fare. I headed down to the lake around 7:30pm. Mom was with me, but we ended fishing different sections of the lake. She was looking for perch, and I was hitting bass. She ended up finding a school and bagged us some table fare.To my delight, the bass were happy to take topwater patterns, and I did very well on the GFC. The weren't huge bass, but decent. One was looking like he was close to deserving the title of big, but was just shy. The bass are in close. I watched one chase a rock bass around a log before given up, and saw the evidence of bass slamming minnows in the shallow. The largest fish of the night I saw smash some minnows along the shore from 50 yards ( or so ) away. I worked my way into casting position and found he was still hanging around.

You'll see in the video,  that most of the fish sucked the fly in, as opposed to smashing it. Its always a surprise as to how they hit it. Often those small sips hide the nature of the leviathans hidden just beneath the surface. You get some very pleasant surprises. 

Plastic fantastic.

I know I have mentioned it before, but plastics can be used on a fly rod. I reminded myself of this once again this evening.


I had wandered down to the lake before I realized I had left my flies in the van. There was pretty much no way I was going back to the car.......just way to painful an experience to have to do that walk anymore than I have to..........I don't move too well.

I figured I would be careful...........not put my only fly in jeopardy. That didn't last long and it was soon hung up in a tree. I did have access to a rubber worm, and associated hook, so on it went. Being bulkier and heavier than most ( not all ) flies, it requires a bit more thought to cast, though you approach it in pretty much the same manner as a heavy fly. A great, big, open loop cast. I cast it the same as I would a sinking line. Not the most fun one can have casting, but it is what it is. Back in the day when chucking plastics with a fly rod  was more fashionable, folks would chop down the tip of their (fibreglass) rods to aid in throwing the bait.

Its not just plastics that have fallen out of favor with todays fly anglers. If you pick up books old enough you will see that spinners, plugs, spoons, jigs, etc, used to be part of a fly anglers arsenal. Occassionally you will still see this pop up in the boxes of some anglers.

Such as things are, I was rewarded for my perseverance with a bass. Not a big bass, but a bass all the same.

I don't throw plastics alot. Well, at least not with the fly rod. If I am fishing spin gear for bass its a mainstay. Mainly I like to throw plastics because few others do, and I like to point out that it is an effective method......though far from my favorite. It maybe something you want to give a try. In a pinch like I did tonight, or on an outing when the fish just aren't responding to your usual flies. Plastics work.

Still slow.

......decent fish, until compared to the next one.

I did go out yesterday for a wee bit. Long enough to ascertain that yes, cold fronts still fuck up the fishing. Not sure why I had to reassure myself of this, and venture out into the shitty weather, but I did. My 'you never know until you go' philosophy doesn't always work. Especially in a case were I pretty much could have won a bet on the outcome.

Pig.

Today was slightly warmer, and definitely not as cold. Heck, the sun even poked its head thought the clouds at times. It was pretty much a repeat of a couple days ago. A few fish in an hour. Two piggies and one that was decent enough. Would have loved to get some more video, however I arrived at the lake and discovered my battery wasn't charged. Me being me, was sure the battery was charged, and decided I didn't need a spare as I was walking out the door. Somehow, I managed to coax it into taking a couple of stills. Oh yeah, I'll post the lengthy vid I did get it to capture.

I found the fish in a bout 10' of water, about 20' of shore. One fish was caught on an Olive Wooly Bugger, the other two on a Beadhead rabbabou.

Here is the entirety of video I managed. All 3 secs. ;)

Getting started.

So, things are starting to get rolling for me now. Still haven't connected with the perch, who are taking there sweet time coming in, but the bass are certainly around. Last year I was cursing this situation. This year, not so much. I fished for an hour, landed two fish, lost a couple of others. All nice fish.

Makes the rod look like a kids toy. Could fit the reel in
that 'small' mouth.

All of the action came for me on the fly rod, fishing that Rabbabou streamer of mine. Both  fish were landed in the first 20 minutes I arrived. After that, I didn't hook up on anything.

Rabbabou Streamer.

Not sure if I mentioned it last year or not, but I have noticed something with smallies and the fly rod. Despite their determination, fish 3lbs and under are not likely to present much problems on a 5 or 6 wt. As soon as the fish gets over 4lbs, things are not so cut and dry. Not the difference in two fish in the video. The first one is a decent enough fist, but could be bullied pretty easily. The second fish was much larger, and could not be pushed around at my whim. Given the wood in the water surrounding me, the fishes fight, suddenly things are not so cut and dried. Also worth noting is the effort the first fish put into getting hooked up. Its not until the third or so time it picks it up that I get the hookset.

Lure testing.

About the only thing fishing related I did today revolved around lures. Painting, assembling, testing, etc. While productive, I would have rather been fishing. The weather was once again less than thrilling, so I decided against venturing outside for long. I did go out to test out a Zara Spook I had fashioned. Never fished one before, let alone made one. Was pleasantly surprised that both my construction and technique were spot on. I'll certainly be turning a few of those out of the shop. The weather isn't looking good for the next bit. Lets hope it doesn't follow the forecast.

First fish!

So, yeah.

t

No justice done to the fish by the photo. It weighed in at 3.25lbs

Things are certainly behind last year. A week is about right on. I did not see a fish on the 6th. I have heard of fish getting caught, but not what I was looking for. That being perch.

I am pretty sure that last year started of the same as this year did. With bass. Difference being, last year they were not in season right now. That being the case, there could be no real discussion of the fish, and definitely no pictures. Catching bass early season has historically always been an inconvenience for me while panfishing. That they are now far game for me all year will take some getting used to.

This year is obviously difference. Smallmouth are open all season. The reasoning apparently is the bass are having a negative impact on other fisheries. Something I surmised when I originally heard or the plan. That more smallmouth would be culled is a no brainer. My thinking was that since that was the case, than culling would have to be part of the revised plan.

This year the first fish came on a diving plug of my own design and manufacturing. Its pretty much a defective prototype. It does work ( obviously ), just not as intended, and its a finicky plug. Gotta rework the design to iron out the kinks. Maybe. Maybe I just need a better source of diving lips. Dunno. The lure does extremely well if worked very slow. It has a great wobble, and runs true. If worked to fast? It will veer off to the left and/or corkscrew. Its boons outweigh its banes by far. It's action and quirks may just be inherent to the design. More testing will tell I'm sure.

MNR Zone 10 Smallmouth Bass season change.

As the title says. The season has now changed for smallmouth bass in my area. Zone 10.

It is now open  ALL YEAR. The vast majority of Zone 10 is affected, north of HWY 17, check regs for specifics. Here is a LINK. There seems to be some discrepancy between the provided map, and the wording provided under the heading "ADDITIONAL ZONE 10 FISHING OPPORTUNITIES " There it says "All waters north of Highway 17 and all waters west of where the east bank of the Serpent River crosses Highway 17. (See map)" When one references the map it shows the area to be bordered by the Sturgeon River, not the Serpent. Pretty safe to assume they meant the Sturgeon.

Not sure how I feel about this. I have been fishing under the previous restrictions as long as I can remember. Can't recall another place in Canada that has such a liberal season. I believe some places in the states may have a similarly open season, but I am very unsure of that, and can't find any quick verification.

Its no secret I am always pretty eager to get out and get my kicks with early season panfish. Hooking bass at those times is at times a pretty prevalent affair. Certainly I felt a sense of guilt when this happened, due to my previous programming under the old regs. Many, many times I have had to pack and move, or quit for the day, when OOS hook ups were too likely. Now at least I while feel a little less guilty when I do hook them while fishing pannies than I have in the past, if nothing else.

The regs up here are pretty liberal in general. Walleye are only closed for a couple of months in the spring. Brookies open Jan 1st. Close end of sept as in S.O. Pike all year. Rainbows all year.....etc. Lots of fishing opportunities in general.

I have no idea what the reasoning is behind this decision. I only learned about it when I was in the local gear shop. I would be curious to hear what prompted these changes if anyone happens to know.

Chamois Flys

I have noticed a very notable increase in traffic via searches for chamois patterns. Very cool. When I first started fishing chamois it was a difficult task to find any reference on the net. My introduction to the material came through a buddy who tied it in worm patterns. Big, dew worm like constructions tied and coloured as such. A great pattern, especially in targeting big trout in off coloured water. These days I am seeing a lot more patterns appearing on the web. Not sure how many folks are fishing them though.

Shortly after I started to tie it in minnow patterns. It really shines in this capacity. Such life like movement. I have said right from the start, the only material that is really needed in a chamois streamer is the chamois. Just tying a strip to  a hook will catch you fish. I had a reminder of this last season, and I may have remarked about it on this blog. A day where a pattern I was fishing fell apart. The only thing left on the hook was the chamois. It caught fish. Good fish.


An obvious property of Chamois is it is very water absorbent. As far as us fly fishers are concerned, this property not only helps impart a very lifelike action, it also gives it a life like feel. Fish do not seem to be in any hurry to expel the fly when they chomp down on it. Instead they tend to bite down hard. As far as the action is concerned, it is phenomenal. If a chamois streamer is held in a current, it undulates just as a minnow would. If dead drifted, it tumbles like a dead minnow. A stripping retrieve will see it swim with a dying flutter at the end of the strip. All of this makes for a great fish catching tying material.

It's not to say that chamois is new to the fly tying world. I have seen some rather old nymph patterns that incorporate it. While it is gaining in popularity, it is hardly something you'll see in most anglers fly boxes. It is something you might want to try if your looking to expand your repertoire. One thing I will caution, is if you decide to pick some up, make sure it is the real deal. The faux stuff is not a substitute. I bought a real chamois at Canadian Tire years ago I still have not gone through. Goes a long way.

Below is a video shot last season using a very simple chamois minnow pattern I had thought up the day before.

Post Season Reflection

I suppose with ice starting to form on the lakes, I can start to look back on the season it was.

I made more outings this year, than in the previous three. This is not to say that my back recovered that much. That is hardly the case. It seems to be getting worse, not better. However, the close proximity to so much water made it very easy to get out for a couple of hours in spots where there were likely going to be fish.

The season was a slow start. We had snow on the ground, and ice on the water till towards May. It took me sometime to shake of my hibernation mode too. When eventually things started to line up, I was able to enjoy some of the best fishing of my life, if not the best.

When I look back at posts prior to the season starting, I see things I wanted to do, but never got around too. Like hunting Lake Trout and Walleye. Other species I found I just didn`t want to make the effort for, like Trout. I found it hard to drive 40 mins to fish when I could be on the water in 10 minutes. Consequently, other species saw much more of my time. I did catch some trout. Not many, not too big. But trout they were.

The smallmouth fishing in this area is phenomenal. It succeeded my expectations immensely. The average fish does seem to be in the 2 -3lb range. Over 4lb`s are rarer, but happen often enough that they don`t seem to
be ever out of reach. I was rather pleased with how quickly I figured out were to find them in the various lakes I fished. I thought there would be more of a learning curve there. Thank goodness for fishfinders!

I also fished with spinning gear for the first time in decades. I picked up the routine again quickly, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Towards the end of the season I was fly fishing more than gearing it, but that had to do with old habits than anything else. I am comfortable taking either method out on the water solo, though I do prefer both at my disposal. Catching fish on my own lures was no less satisfying for me than any flyfishing accomplishments. And those lures caught me some great fish. Plastics have come a very long way since I last fished them. Was happy with how consistently productive they are.

Pike I wish I had chased a bit more. Most of my success on that front  was with spinning rigs. I have a couple of good lakes earmarked for next year. Even if I did not get out for them as much as I should have, I did scout and secure some great water for next season. Plan on getting them early season on the fly.

Then there was the Perch. I tangled with them a lot this year. So many of them were eaten. It was a staple in my diet all summer long. I was not a happy camper if I caught bass all day, and no perch. A man needs to eat!

Bird. Bird is the word.

So what now?

Unlikely I will be ice fishing this year. I am not Jesus Christ, I do not walk on water. Even the frozen kind. I suspect I will spend my time hunting this winter. Something I only started this fall, but absolutely love. I regret not having started this in my youth. So far, I`ve only been after grouse. I would like to find some rabbit once that ends. Thing is, you will never see me hiking. The idea of walking from point a, back to point a, just does not make sense to me. Yes, nature is beautiful, but I can observe that from one spot. The walking part of the hike just seems to interfere with the enjoyment from my perspective. However, doing it with a rifle and playing natures equivalent of `Where`s Waldo`is a much different story.

Olive Wooly Bugger

The first fly I ever tied was an Olive Wooly Bugger. Can`t remember where I got the tools and materials. Think it may have been a shop called Hookers that had a small fly tying section. I was working nights at the time, in a job that afforded a lot of free time. I filled that time tying up Buggers. For just a few bucks in materials, I ended up wrapping up a couple of hundred flies. From the first one to the last, I am sure there was an improvement in my technique. Seeing the odd survivors now, it would be impossible for me to tell you which was tied first. All were pretty awful ties. All worked. I also suspect all the best ties were the first to be fished, and eventually lost. Leaving me with the also-rans.

........a fat bass.

Like most neophytes attempts, the flies were far from perfect. But they caught fish. I had so many of them tied, that for decades afterwards, until this day, I still come across them in my boxes on occassion. I call them Ànorexic Buggers`, as unlike most beginners, I did not add to much material. In fact, the opposite was true. Perhaps to little. The thing is, those decades later, those Olive Buggers will catch fish on days other patterns, much newer and more ably tied, will not.

I rarely tie up colours of buggers other than Olive. I would say 90% of the time I throw a bugger, its Olive. I have my reasoning as to why this colour is so productive, and one doesn`t need to look past the food fare of fish to figure out why. A lot of food stuffs for fishie`s come in this colour.

Today was another very productive day on Horne. Perch are going crazy. Very aggressive, nailing everything. There also pretty fat and pretty feisty. Also managed a few nice bass. There was the constant threat of a downpour that kept me close to the launch. As a result I only fished a couple of hours before deciding to pack it in. Just before pulling out, mere feet from my launch, a managed a very respectable 11`` perch.

Recent outings.

So, I have been out twice in search of trout. Once was back to the previous spot where I took my first fish. This time I managed to hook several, but land one.

I will tell you this know...............not liking the river fishing bit. Just to finicky and annoying. My back starts giving me grief quick. Pontooning is so much easier.

I have to go back to that water prepared a little better. By that, I mean be set up for nymphing. The guy we got the tip from was a 'dry fly only' sorta guy, by his own admission. Those that have been reading my tripe for long enough will be aware of my affinity for such. So thats how I went rigged. Immediately upon viewing the water I thought........classic nymph water. I should have been setup as such on my second visit.

So far up here, I have seen shit oads of caddis, and few mayflies. The fish I hooked where all on caddis.

I also went out on another day, looking for more water. I found a real nice stretch, but could not interest the fish in a dozen of so casts. You know, I am so damn spoiled I expect immediate results. I really have to get over that. I can't blame my move up here and my other fishing exploits here for that though. That comes from fishing for trout in S.O. I really need to adjust my expectations.

Fish n' Chips. Fresh fish, gluten free.

I was back on Horne tonight for the first time in  a long while. Was hunting perch meat. Caught lots of those. Also caught a good number of bass. I broke off a huge one. You know those overhand knots that appear in our leaders, often via tailing loops? Thats where it broke me off. I have on 20lb tippet material. I was rather surprised. Tells you how much a simple knot like that can affect the integrity of the line.

I fished a few different flies today. All were successful. The Rabbabou Clouser and an Olive Wooly Bugger produced most frequently, and it was the bugger that hooked the mega-bass.

A day or so ago............

I was out one night a couple of days ago. Was another Esten Lake standard..........from what I can recall at this point. A LOT of boats out on the water. More on that day than all other days in combination. Last long weekend of the year maybe.

I`m sure if you look back through my posts, you`ll have noticed a previous mention of weeds in 14` of water. Generally, I will only see the tops of a few of the plants. Full growth starts a couple feet below. On all the lakes I have fished up here, I have consistently found fish....good fish..........in this type of aquatic structure.

Topwater was again very productive, and a sink not so much. And yea, once again I was just flippin out the GFC.

I also went exploring for something new. Found some good water and will be back there soon I hope. It was a follow up on a tip for some dry-fly trout water on the Little White.

Also of note, when on Esten last, I noticed Hex`s on the surface for the first time. I know I have lost my box of hex`s in the move. May have to get the tying bench
and wrap up a few.

More messing in Esten

Even small guys are
hearty fighters.

Again, it was off to Esten for a few hours this evening.

Another fun night of top water bass. Pretty much the same as the last few nights. Lots of fish. a few decent ones. Lots of fun.

I stuck with top water GFC's again. I did try the full sink, but the results were less than impressive, and certainly less productive than the top water. Most of my fish came before 7pm. After that the fish were scattered and infrequent.

..........a bronze beauty. 

As I mentioned before, most often fish violently suck in the GFC, as opposed to crashing it like a popper. When they suck, the surface disruption is not great. Case in point, tonights fish of the night. A 3 1/2lb bruiser. I made my cast, and started fucking around with my smokes, and saw a little fish pluck at my fly. I put my smokes back in my pocket as it sucked at my fly again. It looked like my fly may have disappeared, so I set the hook.........and the freaking lake blew up! Love that. Certainly the biggest bass I have caught in that lake to date.

I have a buddy coming up to visit for the next while, so not sure how much fishing I will get in.

Oh, I almost forgot. May not be of import to most, but the last two outings saw me catch a couple of sunfish! Hadn't seen any till now.