Tough conditions with results

It's always neat to fish with someone for the first time. You don't know what each other knows, how they go about things, or what their expectations are. It was as Phil & I stepped up to a 3 foot bank that a fish rose in the spring creek. We'd looked previously on the flat, yet saw nothing. The rise was expected, the same had happened a week earlier on the same water. The fish rose and moved laterally, slowly. Phil expected easy sighting of fish in this water. Not so much. The day was windy with heavy cloud - some very tough conditions to sight, gin clear water or not. The fish blended well with both the bottom and the choppy waves. However, I was able to keep a New Zealand eye on the fish as it moved. Phil was in no position to cast, so I took the honor. The fish moved slowly at me. A cast and the fish came to inspect. No take. It sank back away from the fly, but a subtle twitch had the fish turn back 90 degrees to the fly and with a perfect set of lips, and a God Save the Queen, I had a nice brown to start the day. And I had a fishing partner who was hooked on the whole concept. The day only got better as he got in the swing of things.

One of his fish, below, was a very good moment. A bank with 7 decent browns was very tough. Fish moved freely in the low light, coming into view as they swam to and past us. Three came together near us, directly below my feet and out from Phil. He could easily have sight cast to two, yet there were 2 larger fish just upstream, working away from us. I moved up to sight and watched as a nice 20 - 21" brown moved back down. It turned back upstream about 4 feet upstream of my position. I was in good cover behind a spruce, atop a 4 foot bank. Phil, completely blind, cast per instructions to 5 feet above the spruce. Below me, the fish sensed the flies landing, turned and its white mouth took the nymph. The caddis went down. "Set, set, set!" Phil saw nothing but set anyway. And the fish was on.

It certainly was a poor sighting day, however, we made the most of it. We spooked more fish by stepping on them (stepping into their awareness zone without seeing fish, then watching as they bolted) simply because wave action and glare killed windows. We had our shots, had some fun, discussed a few ideas and concepts. For as tough as it was, we did well.

Flight Time

It seems every flight we take through the mountains reveals a different scene. Last night's flight out was magic. Fortress Lake, fresh from ice out, went completely still as the sun set, mountains glowing. I did something a little different, getting AJ to sit up front so I could video tape the take off from a different vantage. It didn't work out as well as I hoped but the film shows well of different aspects. As we flew home the light continued to amaze, coupled with a snowsquall near Roche Miette that provided both a halo rainbow below us and wonderous reveals of the peak itself. As we neared the landing on the outside world, the sun wrapped along the spruce and aspen laded foothills, low enough angle to cause dark understory, yet wrapped in the canopy enough to glow the early spring leaves. As always, the flight provided moments not experienced previously. After 13 years of flying through the mountains as a fly fishing guide and 5 years prior that with the Alberta and BC Forest Services, there is always something else to see, observe, and enjoy.

Yesterday's Adventures

Dave and I headed for a brown trout stream in our area yesterday for a couple hours and we managed to hook a few good browns on streamers. Although most of the streams in our area have been seeing some good hatches of late, there was very few bugs out and we only saw one rise all day. The neat thing about our whole experience was the sight fishing. The section of river we were on had high banks and since the water clarity is in prime shape, one of us stood atop the bank and looked for fish, while the other fished the water. We almost had to rock, paper, scissors as to who would fish and who would sight, as the sighting was in some ways more enjoyable. At one point, we hit a trough along the bank that was perfect overwintering habitat for big browns. I got the right cast and stripped /twitched my fly through the zone and a gorgeous 24" male brown swiped at it and then proceeded to follow it until it was 4 feet in front me at which point he decided to take it. Similarily, Dave had another large female that followed his streamer downstream 15 feet but then at his feet it repeatedly went after his fly 6 times, before Dave got him to really commit. One of the times, the brown took his fly in his mouth and then spat it out again,  but unlike a kid who doesn't like mashed turnips, she went after it again and again . I wouldn't say it was the smartest brown in the world and was obviously enticed by the pulsing motion Dave kept giving his fly. It was real hoot watching this all unfold in the river below me.

You might be a redneck

The gal at the dump had a good laugh at my expense early this morning as I pulled in with a mountain of my crab apple trees. Thing was we don't have a pick up and the only way to carry loads is on a boat trailer. Branches don't stay on boat trailers well though. So, having a 12' jon boat, I loaded the trees in, 8 feet high, towing the boat on trailer behind my VW wagon. She couldn't help laughing at me. It was funny. I simply looked at her and said,"You could almost call me a redneck, but I AM driving a VW."

Oh Boy - the 2010 hopper forecast

This just in. Looks like the central region is going to be having some fun this summer. :)

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/prm12974/$FILE/grasshopper-forecast-2010.gif

Interesting discussion

I don't usually link to forums in this space. However, there's a neat discussion about colors worn while fishing at the following forum link. It's interesting how two people can essentially be saying the same thing can split hairs about a topic and agree. The reason for the link is in the sharing of information, as the topic gets into some aspects of sight fishing as well:

http://www.setbb.com/albertaflyfish/viewtopic.php?t=2333&mforum=albertaflyfish

Cheers

Red Deer R clean up - June 6

Salmon Fly Hatch

I am thinking about river hatches again this morning, as the skwala stones should kick into gear again this coming week, with the sunny forecast we have ahead of us. I'm ready for spring to come and stay.

Over the years I have spent enjoying my interest in fly fishing, I have been fortunate enough to see a number of bugs hatch from their nymphal stage to their adult stage on the river. It may seem weird to say the word "fortunate", but some hatches can be a little elusive. To see a large number of bugs transforming from one part of their life cycle to another before one's eyes is a pretty cool site, especially the salmonfly hatch, as this particular insect is the length of my pinkie finger. I can remember a couple really neat moments when I was on 2 different rivers - Prairie Creek and the Crowsnest River. Prairie Creek was my first experience . Dave and I sat for close to the better part of an hour watching these creatures crawl out on rocks, dry off, their nymphal skeleton crack, their bodies slowly inching their way out of the nymphal case, their wings unfurling and drying and then their first flight. I found it really fascinating. Since I was a kid, I've always had interest in the biological process of different life forms. I imagine it's much like watching a small bird hatch out of it's egg, but how often does one really ever get to see that process in action close up. Moments that require the macro setting on our camera are always welcome to me. Keep a keen eye out for these large bugs during the latter part of May and the first part of the month of June on most central AB trout water. Tie on the biggest stimulator pattern you have in your fly box and the fishing won't disappoint you.

Amelia's Best NZ Fight

By reading the title, you might think this post will provide you with some juicy details of a crazy cat fight I had with a possum killing NZ kiwi chick (these types of women are more common than you think!) , but I might as well let you know from the outset, it was a healthy brown trout that kicked my ass.

We were fishing a stream that in high water would intimidate a giant, let alone 2 small Canadian kids from Red Deer, AB, but that day the water was easily wadable and in prime condition. The thing about many streams on the West Coast of the South Island is that they have steep gradients and sometimes this can mean that there are endless fast runs and in some cases runs with very little slack water for landing fish. We had set out to walk as far as our legs would take us that day and we had a particular pool in mind that we were really looking forward to fishing. This pool is now referred to as the "Oh Shit" pool and for good reason. That should tell you everything you need to know as to what happened. It was Dave's turn first and the first brown we spotted rising he hooked, but before long this trout ran downstream straight for a log jam in fast water and despite Dave's best efforts to land him, he got off. It was my turn after and the particular brown I wanted was on a feeding cycle. I remained patient and waited for the right time when it was well within a good casting distance and I hooked up. The next few minutes of my life were intense. After 2 laps of the pool the fish tore downstream at mock speed and I was well into my backing within seconds. Running on big basketball sized rocks to try to keep up and reeling as fast as I could at the same time was highly entertaining (more for Dave than me of course :). There was numerous times when I had finally reeled in all the backing and had caught up to the fly line and  I thought for sure the fish had gotten off, only to realize that it was still swimming downstream in fast current. The crappy part is that just as I was beyond exhausted from the whole ordeal and I thought I had him cornered in enough slack water to put the net to him, he kicked and my fly popped out. That was it....Bugger !! Dave had followed me downstream with the video in hand and between the two of us we figured I had fought this fish over the distance of 2 football fields....needless to say, it was a long, long way. Trying to turn the head of a big male brown in fast moving water on 4X tippet takes some doing. It will be a long time before I ever forget that fight.

New Zealand Online Magazine

Some neat stuff to read and view in the first issue of the new New Zealand Online Magazine: "Fly Fishers Inc"   http://www.flyfishersinc.com/index.cfm

Report of Drought Conditions in JNP

As Dave and I sit here under the blanket of snow from another spring storm we've had I am thankful for the mositure that we're getting. I just recieved an update today from the Jasper National Park Fire Management team on the status of the land in the Jasper National Park and it is clear that we are in need of moisture. At the same time, I keep in mind that the June monsoons that we sometimes get can change things in a hurry. Below is what the update had to say.

How dry is it out there?
• Jasper has experienced drought conditions for about the past nine years; so far, this spring has been the driest on record.
• The Drought Code - a rating of the moisture content in deep, organic layers below the surface - is the highest ever recorded for this time of year. This indicates that fires would burn deep and could be difficult to extinguish.
•This past winter (November 31 to March 31), we received about half of our normal average precipitation.The normal average is 85.3mm - we received 38.7mm.

What does this mean?
While most people’s thoughts turn toward hiking, camping and hot weather, fire managers and the Initial Attack Crew are focused on organising equipment and monitoring forest conditions for wildfire
potential. While fire is an important process on the landscape, their first priority is the safety of people and property.

Please remember to:
• be cautious with all sources of open flame;
• light campfires only in designated boxes and ensure they are out
• dispose of cigarettes in appropriate receptacles, and;
• report any suspicious smoke or fire by calling 911.

Parks Canada's Fire & Vegetation Management Newsletter www.pc.gc.ca/jasper

Catch Magazine

The latest issue is on line now:

http://www.catchmagazine.net/

One Million Acts of Green

"One Act at a Time

Change can start with just one person. One action. One Million Acts of Green.
We know that to change human impact on the environment we have to change how we think and how we act. But how do you start? We think you can start simple, with “acts of green.”
In October 2008, Cisco launched One Million Acts of Green in Canada to show that individual, organizational, and community acts of green add up to something significant. Today, we’re asking everyone in the United States for an act of green. It can be small: install a low-flow showerhead, take public transportation instead of driving, use a refillable coffee cup. Or something bigger, like covering your roof in solar panels.
One Million Acts of Green asks you to form a community, record your acts of green, and share your ideas to encourage others. It shows the power of people coming together and working toward meaningful goals—the power of the human network. "
The following link from the Cisco website gives quite a few ideas of various "Acts" of green. It's a good website to get a handle on the basic to more complex things we can do.
http://www.greennexxus.com/omaog/acts.aspx

From the North

Since last week's wicked weather turned white due to cold northerly air, it only made sense to head north to get out of the white blanket. Head north, where it was +15C late in the week, avoiding the cold, snowy runoff. We fished Swan Lake SW of Valleyview a few days. It was the first time we'd fished there and we were quite impressed with the scenery, size of lake, lake structures, and just how many fishermen the lake can hold. Honestly, it had been an awfully long time since Amelia & I fished a lake with 30 - 35 cars parked in the lot, but how we fished was so different from the locals that we felt as though we had the lake to ourselves. Hence, we had a wonderful time! As the lake is just a hair over 5 hrs from Red Deer, it provides perhaps a more tempting destination than even Bullshead. Neither is different, but if time permits to fish a lake for a couple of days, one can look at the Bullshead wind forecast and maybe opt a different direction. How was the fishing? Great.

Per fishing spring rainbows on prairie lakes, it's an interesting debate about how and where you fish. In these lakes, while there may be very limited successful spawning, the rainbows really do cruise around, sometimes concentrate in given areas of gravel. Case in point Patterson L in MB where the entire lake rainbow population congregates at the launch, or Swan L where a few doz congregate to entertain the bait fishermen. While it's pretty obvious that these fish are hepped up to attempt spawning, are they in any different condition than the rest of the lake's fish? Excepting Patterson where we saw no rainbows anywhere else in the lake other than 300m of shoreline, lakes such as Tokaryk, Ironside, Swan, Bullshead, etc have generally well dispersed populations of fish that are carrying reproductive goods. If you catch a fish on the gravel to the left of the boat launch at Bullshead that is spewing eggs, is it any more or less acceptable to fish for and catch trout than a fish 500m down the shoreline that also spews eggs? What of the opposite side of the lake? What if you don't know the lake and catch one spewing eggs? If it's not acceptable, do we close down these lakes to fishing so they get past their aggressive early season period? Remember, these are stocked trout that generally are not successful spawners in lakes that were designed as such. Do these fish have more or less rights? In a perfect world, there would be no fishing. At least from a fish's perspective. We're not advocating anything - just showing a couple different sides of something so simple. Take a lake, add trout to it. Then worry about where you are catching trout when the fish you put in to the lake display aggressive traits as they attempt to ineffectively spawn. Meanwhile, still allow harvest of 1 to 5 fish a day, using bait or not.
This is another of those posts that has no answer. Some folks will read this and ask why waste time worrying about playing with plastic fish, while the other end of the spectrum will suggest we close a lake or reach of a lake down - or at least brow beat the ethics of someone fishing these aggressive trout.
Ah, yes, the ethics and morality of fishing. Rather, their extroverted and introverted imposition and projections. It's interesting to mull over - if you're brain cramps that way. Have fun out there!
:)