Grand Opportunites at Belwood Lake

This Saturday, June 4th, 2011, is Grand Opportunities at Belwood Lake Conservation Area.

Grand Opportunities is the on river fly fishing forum hosted by Friends of the Grand River (FOGR). This is a day of fun for fly anglers of all ages and abilities. Curious about fly fishing but you have no experience? This is the day to come out and explore fly fishing. Already an experienced fly angler? Come out to see old friends and make some new ones.

There are free seminars held on the water so you can see the tips and techniques in action. It’s a great way to learn new skills and further your existing ones.

There is also a women’s introduction to fly fishing seminar. It’s an excellent opportunity and it’s free, but requires pre-registration. Spots fill up quickly so make sure to contact FOGR and get your name on the list.

What angler can resist looking for new gear? Come out to look for that special piece of equipment for your collection at the used equipment sale. There are already lots of great items entered in the sale.

You’re sure to work up an appetite after an excellent morning on the water and FOGR is offering a BBQ steak lunch for $15/plate.

The proceeds from this day go towards maintaining a spectacular fishery. Come out, have a great time and support the Grand River tailwater fishery.

The only fee to attend the event is park admission. The event starts around 10am (I’ve been advised that it is smart to get there earlier than that) and goes until 4:30pm or so.

A Homecoming…

For far too long now this Argosgirl has been living away from her Argo.

After ten years of being able to look out of my bedroom window and see Argo in his paddock, I had to move him elsewhere when I moved. It was a forced separation due to the circumstances but now, my silly old horse and I are reunited!

How nice it is to walk outside and see these faces!

I should be clear, I was still able to see Argo whenever I wanted, it just involved having to drive to him instead of walking out of the house.

I am incredibly lucky to have some outstanding friends, and one in particular generously allowed Argo to live on her farm and gave him the greatest care imaginable.  She always gave him everything I could hope for and never got upset if I showed up at 9 o’clock at night, causing her dogs to bark, just so I could spend a few minutes with Argo. For what she did for both myself and Argo, I will be forever in debt to her.

And yet, as great as it was, I desperately needed to have Argo living with me again. For those of you with horses, you may understand how I felt. There’s a connection that you just can’t do without.

So last night, a few weeks after we moved into our new place with some extra land, a trailer pulled in the driveway, and Argo came home to me once more.

This time I had yet another incredible friend help out by sending her mare to keep Argo company. The two have quickly become best buddies and by the time I finally stopped checking on them last night, they behaved as if they had been here forever.

It is amazing to come home to horses again. I come home from work knowing I get walk over to the paddock and have a quick visit with horses and I know that I can spend as much time with them as I please. If I have errands to run I don’t have to forsake seeing Argo because he is right outside my door.

With Argo here I finally, after more than a year and a half apart, feel at home.

Website Wednesday: Bass Pundit

For a great a read about all things bass, and other fishing news, check out the Bass Pundit blog.

The Bass Pundit is Dave Maas, an avid angler from from Minnesota, whose fondest early memories “are of waking up before day break to go fishing for Largemouth Bass with my Dad on Sylvia/Twin Lake in Wright County MN.”

There is no blog out there that is updated as frequently as the Bass Pundit blog and I love knowing there will always be new material to read. Whether it’s a gear review, such as the latest one on Havoc baits, or a post featuring other bloggers, or the latest fishing report from the GOMH (Grumpy Old Man Hole), there is always a good read.

A great feature on the Bass Pundit blog is the list of links he has put together. You can find links to all sorts of other great websites. I’m lucky enough to have my blog listed on there and have spent plenty of time looking through the other links to find more great fishing-related writing.

Take a moment today to check out Bass Pundit!

Enter The 2011 Belwood Lions Pike Derby For A Great Weekend Of Fishing

If you’re looking a great fishing event in Southern Ontario this coming weekend, don’t miss the Belwood Lions Pike Derby at Belwood Lake.

The Derby starts at 5am Saturday, May 28th, and ends at 4pm Sunday, May 29th. All fish must be caught in Belwood Lake above the Shand Dam and the longest live release pike will take the top prize of $2,000.

The Derby is a great event for everyone in the family. There is a youth category for entrants 15 years of age and under with first prize being a trophy, rod/reel, tackle box, and a life jacket. There is also a plaque awarded to the first angler to catch a pike measuring the closest to a pre-determined ‘mystery length’ without going over.

Last year saw over 500 participants in the event and, despite low numbers of caught fish, a good time was had by all. The winner was caught by Glen Billings of Guelph, Ontario and measured 38-1/4 inches.

Entry fees are $5 per youth, $25 per adult, and $50 per family (father, mother and children 15 years and under).

Rain or shine, a day on Belwood Lake is always a fun day, so get out this weekend and catch some pike!

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To anyone looking for an update for the Pike Derby – I was unable to attend but I hear the fishing was tough and very few pike were brought in for measurement. Check out this forum for more details.

A Day At Fairy Lake With Very Hungry Crappie

It had been well over a week since I last went fishing. That’s a week too long without getting a line wet. With the forecast for this past holiday weekend looking like a lot of rain I had just about resigned myself to another weekend off the water.

However, the rain and predicted storms didn’t come in as strong as the chimps working at the weather station said they would and this morning we decided to hook up the boat and head to Fairy Lake in Acton to try for some crappie.

The big motor on the boat is still not working properly but since Fairy Lake does not allow gas motors we were good to go with only the electric trolling motor.

The cloudy skies and gusting wind made me a little apprehensive about heading out but once the boat was in the water my apprehensions were gone and all I could think about was catching some fish.

Website Wednesday – OwlJones.com

This week’s featured website is OwlJones.com.

I think most of my readers are very familiar with Owl Jones, but for those of you who are not, you really need to click on the link above and visit the site that is looking for total domination of the fly fishing world!

I first discovered Owl Jones thanks the Outdoor Blogger Network. I clicked on a link and ended up reading a blog post that made me laugh enough for Darrell to think something was wrong with me.

If you’re looking for unique, informative, and downright entertaining posts, OwlJones.com is the place to go.  The latest post, The Tenakara Scam was a great account of the Tenkara system. No idea what Tenkara is? I didn’t have a clue until I read this post.

Do you want to win something? I know I’m always on the lookout for free stuff. OwlJones.com is giving away some neat stuff right now and all you have to do is ‘like’ their Facebook page.  It doesn’t get much easier than that.

My favorite feature right now is Owl Jones Live, the weekly radio show. I don’t seem to be awake when the show comes on Thursdays at 11pm but I’ve caught the podcasts of the first two shows and really enjoyed them. The third installment is tomorrow night and Owl would love suggestions for topics. Don’t miss it!

Even if you’re not into fly fishing you find something interesting at OwlJones.com. Check it out!

Saying Goodbye To A River

When it came time to move last weekend, the only regret I had was saying goodbye to a river. It wasn’t just any river. This was the river that gave me my start in fishing.

The river ran through the property we were living on and was a five-minute walk from our house. Starting the winter we moved in, Darrell would take me down to the river and point out features he thought were interesting. At first I took nothing in. But eventually I began paying attention to the nuances of the water, looking at the holes Darrell excitedly pointed out, and I began to understand how complex a river can be. I learned what areas were likely to hold fish under certain circumstances and when to fish them. I learned to read the water.

One of the last fish I caught in the river.

Back Online! …and Grossed Out

After a very long and busy week that culminated in moving into our new house this weekend, I am very glad to finally rejoin the online community.

Being too tired to turn on my laptop kept me away from Twitter, Facebook, and the awesome outdoor writers I enjoy following. Many nights last week I would stare at my laptop, think about all of the great stuff I was missing, and fall asleep before I could do anything.

With the move over, and at least half of the boxes unpacked, I finally found the energy to turn on my computer tonight and start catching up. Turns out I had missed some great fishing reports from Bass Pundit and Jody’s Fishing, a great story about a fishing trip from Brookfield Angler, and several great posts from the always entertaining Owl Jones.

When my eyes got tired from reading I drifted over to YouTube and happened to find this video. I couldn’t help it, it grossed me out. Enjoy

On Hiatus

Normally this would be a Website Wednesday, where I get to share a neat website with those if you kind enough to read my blog.

Unfortunately, things are a little hectic this week so my blogging is on hiatus until next week.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and gets out fishing!

Cheers

Flying Brookies!

Last night I had one of my favorite stream fishing experiences.

We were fishing the river out back and, as usual, I was using a spinner – a Panther Martin in this case. I caught both a brookie and an atlantic while fishing faster water and keeping my spinner near bottom. Eventually I changed it up and started using a small spoon which got me a couple of bites, including a big buck brookie with magnificent colours that shook the hooks free right as I was about to lift him out of the water. All-in-all a good little fishing trip.

The really fun part, however, was watching what happened when Darrell tied on a little white tube jig. For some reason I rarely toss tubes for brookies but after last night I may change that. On Darrell’s second cast with the tube a bullet launched itself at the lure and Darrell pulled in a nice brookie. He released the fish and before the tube even hit the water on the next cast there was another brookie launching out of the water and inhaling it. I have never seen anything like it. What an awesome site to see this fish so eager to take the bait that he flew out of the water!

Our shouts of “Did you see that?” and “that was insane!” followed by a lot of laughter on my part seemed to turn the fish the off in that hole so we moved on down the river.

After hitting a few more holes we stopped by our favorite spot. This hole is deep, with lots of structure thanks to a downed tree, and the current is always swift.  We’ve caught many large fish out of this hole but never before have I seen what happened last night.  Darrell tossed the tube in and on his first couple of retrieves brought it back slowly with no results. Then he fished it fast and on top of the water and…holy flying brookies!

The fish were flying out of the water to hit the tube. As long as the retrieve was quick and the tube was at the top in fast water these little guys were all over it. I watched as they kept coming out of the water at the tube and while none of them were brought in, apparently you need a good hookset with the tube, it was an awesome sight.

The sun had disappeared behind the trees by the time we left the river, but tripping over everything on the way back home was worth it for having that experience. What a blast!

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If you’re looking for some entertainment today, watch the weigh-in for the Pride of Georgia Bassmaster Elite event at 3:15pm EST. After day three Ish Munroe is in the lead with KVD and Edwin Evers right behind him. It looks to be wide open heading into the final day of the event. You can find updates all day long at www.bassmaster.com.