Outdoors Events For May 2012

The days are longer, the sun shines brighter, the temperatures are warming up, and May is the month to get outside and have some fun. There are quite a few fishing-related activities to take part in this month, as well as other great opportunities to just get outside and enjoy nature. Here are a few I wanted to mention.

May 5 – Shimano Take A Kid Fishing Day - A day of fun for children ages 8-14 and their parents. Held at Belwood Lake Conservation Area, there are workshops on tying flies, fishing for rainbow trout, bait and lures, how to rig lures and tie knots, archery introduction, and learning how to fish. The event includes free tackle packages and a free BBQ lunch. This day-long adventure is free, just pay admission to the park. Space is limited so pre-register.

May 5 – Walleye and Northern Pike Opener in Zone 20 (Lake Ontario) - Who doesn’t look forward to the opening of each fishing season? (Other than the fish…) I love this time of the year when it becomes possible to chase more fish.

May 12 – Annual Binbrook Crappie Derby - A live release crappie derby with $8,000 in prizes available to be won. There are 150 tagged fish and prizes available for the heaviest fish.

May 12 – Walleye and Northern Pike Opener in Zone 16 - On this day I no longer have to feel guilty every time a pike grabs my lure while I’m out for crappie. Yay!

May 26-27 – Belwood Lions Pike Derby - Finally, this year, I will be able to participate in the Pike Derby! I have been wanting to participate the past few years but due to various factors I wasn’t able to. This year I am going! And I’ve been stocking up on lures that I hope will land me the big one.  First prize for the adult category is $2,000 and first prize for the youth category is a PFD, rod/reel, and tackle box.

Credit Valley Conservation - CVC has tons of events and volunteer opportunities planned throughout the month of May. Check out their events page for more information.

Of course, trout opened at the end of April so I’ll be spending plenty of May on the rivers. If you’re going to be chasing trout on the Grand, be sure to check out the Wilson’s Fergus store.

This is but a small sample of some of the things you can do this May. The important thing is to get outside, go fishing, and have fun!

The Day I Played With Baby Atlantic Salmon

Last week I had the great opportunity to help stock Atlantic salmon fry into a local river, as part of the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program.

I saw the opportunity to be part of the fish stocking program thanks to a Facebook post. I sent off an email, added my name to the list of volunteers, and was told when to show up – but I honestly had no idea what to expect. I was hoping to be able to help, even though I knew nothing of the process.

Ahhh, what a wonderful sight. This was part of the stretch of river chosen for stocking.

One of the great things about helping out at an event like this is that everyone you meet is friendly and eager to share information. I find I learn more than I could have hoped for, and I get to spend time talking fish and fishing with like-minded people.

After the initial meet-and-greet, the plan for the morning was outlined to me. We would have around 33,000 Atlantic salmon fry to stock within a designated stretch of the river. Stocking stations would be selected in parts of the river with suitable habitat – usually an area with a good riffle – and they would be marked with a flag. We would start downstream and work our way up to the next station to avoid walking over the area we just stocked. Each station would be stocked with roughly 1,400 fish.

The obvious next question is how do they separate 1,400 fish from 33,000? Now, I was the only person there that hadn’t participated in a fish stocking before, but I really didn’t want to have to ask the question. No problem, our fantastic leader, Aaron, explained the method to me. For a very basic explanation, picture a regular old white bucket, something like what you would use for ice fishing. Inside this bucket are marks to indicate the amount of water. You put in a certain amount of water, then knowing approximately how much 1,400 fish weigh, you can work out what volume you need in the bucket. So, water to the line + fish to the line = correct amount of fish.

Once the fish were measured out, they were put into a clear plastic bag. The bag was filled with oxygen and taped off, ready for transport to water.

At the water it was time to open the bag and release the fish. This isn’t a case of just dumping the bag out – rather you need to gradually empty the bag across the span of the river, getting the fish out into the widest area possible. One major downside I noticed with the bag is that you usually end up with a straggler that doesn’t seem to be ready for big water life and refuses to exit the bag. It requires a little more effort to get rid of those ones.

It was wonderful to see these tiny Atlantic salmon hitting the water and dispersing. Give them a few seconds and you would never know you had just released fish in the area, they were gone.

We moved on from station to station, and I got to release more than a few bags which was such a thrill. I cannot thank everyone there enough for letting me help out. I wasn’t just a bystander, I actually got to participate. The morning ended far too quickly.

While the season on inland Atlantic salmon is always closed, I have had more than a few incidental catches of these wickedly crazy fish. They jump and fight and are just bundles of energy that keep me entertained all day long. I have yet to hook into on Atlantic out on Lake Ontario, but from what I’ve heard, they put on a show and give you a good fight. I hope I hook into one soon!

It’s incredible to think that these once abundant fish were wiped out in Ontario. For a fish that is part of our natural heritage, it was a travesty that they disappeared. However, thanks to the efforts of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), as well as many other partners, the fish are being re-introduced in an effort to restore a self-sustaining Atlantic Salmon population  in Lake Ontario and its tributaries.

There are so many ways to help out and be involved in this program. From the classroom hatchery to adopting an Atlantic to fish stocking and habitat restoration events, there’s an activity for everyone. This program is about restoring Atlantic salmon, but it does so much more. It is responsible for a massive stream rehabilitation effort, which benefits everyone, not just anglers on Lake Ontario, and not just those that are looking to help Atlantic salmon. Improved habitat benefits all fish and the ecosystem. It also gets people involved in conservation, it gets them outdoors, and it educates.

As for me? Fish stocking was one of the coolest things I’ve been able to participate it. Those of you who get to do this on a regular basis have one heck of an awesome job. I’m happy to know that I was able to participate, in some small way, and maybe one day, even though I won’t know, I’ll be able to catch one of those little fish I released when it makes its way to the lake. That would be pretty amazing.

Trout Opener 2012

The countdown is over, the rivers are open, and I FINALLY got the chance to head out for trout today!

As much I enjoy going out for crappie, I really love it when more water and more fish are open. As far as I’m concerned, Trout opener is almost as good as Christmas. Playful little brook trout are a great way to put a smile on my face.

Of course, consideration number one for trout opener is always, where should we fish? Neither Darrell nor I like to deal with the crowds on trout opener, so we decided to visit a stretch of river that is on private land we have access to.

Ahh, back to the river....

The moment I caught a glimpse of the shimmering water weaving through the field, and heard the water rushing through the rapids, I felt like I had returned home after a long absence. This is where I learned to fish.

Because of the chilly morning temperature we had waited until later in the morning to head out, hoping that the day would warm up, and so would the bite. Hoping our plan would pan out, I tied on a spinner, watched for any movement, picked a little back eddy, and started casting.

Several casts later, all I had was a lot of twisted line, frustration, and the need to re-tie. Darrell, however, had some better luck and had the first catch of the day.

Darrell's first catch of the day.

A better look at the brookie.

I thought we were off to a good start after that fish, but several more casts and lure changes provided no action. We moved from pool to pool, occasionally stopping to fish faster water, and though we had a few hits, nothing was serious.

Watching the water revealed little action. Now and then I’d see a shadow or a flash, I’d get a hit on my lure, but the fish were not active. Hoping to change things up and end my skunk, I headed for the honey-hole.

The honey-hole

The honey-hole is a pool located just past a curve in the river where we have pulled more quality brook trout out of then either of us can remember. This was the scene of our memorable ‘flying brookies‘ episode, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation as I reached my place on shore and cast my Mepps Black Fury spinner. It didn’t take long to be rewarded!

My first trout of opener. Yay!

A closer look at my first trout on opener. We weren't catching big fish, but they sure were a blast.

After fishing a few more pools and finding nothing but weeds, it was time to take a snack break and enjoy a peaceful place on the river.

I could have headed out for bigger fish and busier water, but then I would have missed this great little picnic site and a chance to enjoy the sight, sounds and smells. I was so focused on the fishing that I didn't realize I had left my phone at this spot until I tried to take a picture of another brookie Darrell had caught.

Eventually we noticed increased activity on the water surface. The hatch was on! With the sun warming things up, the hatch was bringing the water to life and fish were surfacing. What a day to leave the fly rod at home…

Fortunately, the spinner was enticing enough, and I started catching fish. One of the neat things about this river is that, in addition to a healthy brook trout population, it is home to a thriving Atlantic salmon population. And they are little piggies. The season is always closed on inland Atlantics, but it doesn’t stop them from biting. They are fantastic little fighters and after a quick picture, they were released to see them grow bigger and hopefully end up in Lake Ontario one day.

By the time I had played with a few little Atlantics, and long-line released a decent brookie, I was happy and relaxed, feeling like it had been one heck of a wonderful day.

We finished our fishing in the spot we started, by the bridge. I was having a great time casting under the bridge, sending the lure farther and farther inside, while watching fish chase it and smack it. It was a great time until I got snagged and thought I was going to lose my lure. However, my awesome fishing buddy decided there was no need to lose a spinner, and went for a walk.

Off to save my lure...

While it was not the busiest trout opener in terms of fish, any day on the water is an awesome one, and trout opener is never to be taken for granted. Just watching the water, remembering how to read the river and cast in tight spaces, is reward enough for one day. Some crazy little fish were the icing on the cake. Now I have months and months ahead of being able to hit the river. After-work fishing trips can resume, and my fly rod can be dusted off and continue to it’s education of trying to slow me down (I rush things too much).

Tomorrow’s another day and another chance to play with trout. I love this!

A Visit To Bloomingdale Park

When you want a simple shore-fishing experience, and somewhere great to take the dogs, Bloomingdale Park in Bloomingdale, Ontario is a great place to visit.

We had taken the dogs there in the past and decided the ponds looked promising. After reading some reports of good crappie fishing in the ponds, Darrell and I decided a late Sunday fishing trip with the dogs was a great way to end the weekend.

Jack was thrilled to be out .

Apparently we weren’t the only people thinking the park was a good destination – as we drove down Snyders Flats Road we saw a full parking lot outside the park’s entrance. One of the cool things about this place is that it is virtually a dog park. Everywhere you look there are dogs chasing each other, jumping in the pond, following new scents, etc. The majority of visitors have dogs with them, the other visitors carry fishing gear.

The view on a windy day.

Since I wasn’t in the mood to change things around, I started tossing the micro power nymph that was already on my rod. Casting into the wind was difficult, but it did allow for some pretty natural presentation as the current brought my lure back to shore and I had to do very little work. That sure seemed to do the trick for the sunfish as they bit time after time. I did get a crappie or two on but they got off before I could get them in. Darrell had more luck with the crappie.

This crappie was more than willing to bite.

Jack was thrilled to be out fishing with us again. He absolutely loves to sit by the water and inspect the fish as we bring them in. He tried to lick the first sunfish I let him have a look at. Molly didn’t care. She’s not a fish dog, she’s a puddler. No matter where we went around the ponds, she could be found wading in the water.

Everyone enjoyed an evening on the water.

It looks like I was very intent on tying my knot.

We worked our way around the first pond on the right, and took some casts in each of the other ponds. The wind made the fishing a little difficult and we never had a steady bite, but we landed more than enough to be happy.

The ponds hold a lot of promise and I can’t wait to hit them when the weather warms up and the winds are calmer. I’d love to put a canoe in there and fish a little further off shore. I have read reports of a few guys putting kayaks into the ponds.

Once trout opener passes and we start looking to hit other water, we will be making a few trips back here to see just how good the fishing can be. The dogs will be thrilled.

A Carp? Cool!

Today was another trip to Fairy Lake in search of crappie. Unfortunately, the cold front that moved in yesterday sure slowed down the bite. For me it was almost non-existent, landing only two fish. For Darrell, it was much better.

Since the crappie were not in a playful mood, and I wasn’t feeling so great, I took the chance to have a nap on the boat (again, one of my favorite places to nap). As I drifted in and out of sleep, I heard Darrell say, ‘I might be in trouble.’ Knowing darn well that statement is usually followed by a need for the net, I jumped up, extended the handle on the net, and got ready.

Keep in mind, we were out for crappie – we had ultralight gear, 4lb-test line, and a Berkeley micro power nymph. As I listened to the drag scream and saw Darrell’s line flying off the spool, I knew he had something much bigger than we intended to catch. An absence of head-shakes, and the fish’s desire to stay down, had us smiling in the hopes that we might finally land one of the carp I had longed to catch in Fairy Lake.

I had heard stories about the strength of these fish, and I was quite thrilled when it started to pull the boat along. She put up quite the fight, but Darrell finally brought her to the surface and I quickly netted her. Then I almost lost the whole lot when I tried to lift the net out of the water and was caught off-guard by the weight. In the end, Darrell had caught himself a solid 15lb carp! When I saw the size of her girth I had no problems believing she wanted that nymph – I’m pretty sure she’s been eating everything in sight.

We tried to get set up for a picture but quickly learned two things – carp are very slimy, and they don’t like being held. After getting slime all over Darrell’s jacket, and making an entire mess of the boat (I’ve never before been messed on by a fish I wasn’t holding), she jumped out of Darrell’s arms and swam back to the lake floor. That’s exactly where we were going to put her, but I really wanted a picture first.

So despite the lack of bites on a chilly day on water, we ended up landing one of the species I have been hoping to target. Hopefully I’ll be able to hook into a carp of my own in the not-to-distant future.

If you have any tips for targeting carp, or any good locations in Southern Ontario, I’d love to know!

This Never Gets Old!

My fishing may have been knocked down to only one day this past weekend, but it turned out to be the best day I’ve had on the water so far this year.

The threat of thunderstorms was not enough to deter us, and with rods safely tucked in the back of the truck, Darrell and I headed once again to Fairy Lake.

Do you know the feeling when things just happen to go right on the water? That is exactly what happened on Sunday. From first cast to last, the fishing was excellent and the big ones were biting. Even the tiny ones were fighting like big fish – I had a sunfish on that pumped my rod enough to make me think I’d landed a pike.

Yay - a sunny! Don't tell this fella that he's tiny, he thinks he's a big guy.

Another sunfish.

We didn’t change our technique from the past few weekends – tiny jigs were the key. While they were biting most of the jigs we tossed, the real winner was the Berkley Micro Power Nymph. It’s unreal how much the crappie and sunfish love this bait. A standard white grub was good, but the Micro Power Nymph was better.

I was letting the nymph fall between weeds, giving it a pop, and waiting to feel pressure on my line. Switching to a slower rod for this outing helped me catch more fish as I wasn’t ripping the bait out of their mouth before they really had it

Somebody liked that Micro Power Nymph...

The water temp was sitting at 50-51F, only slightly warmer than last weekend. The bite was completely different though. The crappie were getting a little more active, with several fish getting hooked on the fall, or even chasing the bait as we pulled it out of the water. Most still preferred the subtle presentation, but the increased activity was a riot. We were also catching them in shallower water than the last few weekends.

Honestly though, I didn’t think much about what we were doing, I was having too much fun! At one point I was averaging a fish every other cast and when I wasn’t busy releasing a fish, Darrell was.

The best moment of the day was catching this crappie. This one measured in a little over 12 inches! What a great crappie. I was smiling for ages afterwards. Once again, Fairy Lake made me very happy. I need to find other spots with crappie fishing that can be this good!

I’ve had great days on the water like this before, but the feeling never gets old. To be able to spend the day pulling in fish after fish, catching big ones and tiny but scrappy ones, is just an absolutely fantastic way to spend a day.

How I Went From Photoshop Oblivious To Photoshop Empowered

When I bought my Canon EOS 20D several years ago, I decided I needed a good editing program to do justice to the amazing pictures I was planning to take. I looked at the price of Photoshop and nearly had a heart attack, but then I found the much cheaper Photoshop Elements that seemed to handle everything I thought I would need.

However, over the years I never progressed far beyond cropping and the auto-enhance feature in Elements. I got frustrated every time I tried to do something more complicated, never really grasping how to accomplish anything. I had hoped to do some creative projects, but a feeling of ineptitude held me back.

Enter Ladies Learning Code.

I first heard about Ladies Learning Code when I saw a tweet from someone attending their WordPress workshop. Having spent the past year working on this blog, I have been looking into upgrading my skills to modify the appearance and functionality of this site – a workshop on how to do that was definitely something I was interested in. That’s when I visited the Ladies Learning Code site and signed up for their newsletter so I would hear about future events.

When a workshop for Photoshop was announced, I knew I had to buy a ticket. Maybe I could finally learn some basic Photoshop skills! So for the incredibly reasonable price of $45 + tax (which includes breakfast and lunch), I signed up and found myself driving to Toronto yesterday for an incredible day of learning and creating.

Yes, I skipped fishing for this workshop, so I was really hopeful that it would be a good day.

Finding the George Brown College of Design proved to be a little difficult for this country girl, but eventually I found the right location, registered, and got settled in.

One of the amazing things about a Ladies Learning Code workshop, is the number of people who volunteer to be instructors and mentors. With a ratio of four students to one mentor, you will never have to wait to ask a question, and you will learn as much as you care to before the day is out. My group had the very outstanding Angelica Ramos as our instructor, and many wonderful designers as our mentors.

When we first opened Photoshop I had the usual reaction of, ‘Ugh, I am so lost!’ We began by creating a mood board – selecting colors and fonts that we felt represent ourselves. Just the introduction to kuler would have made me feel like the day was worth it. I am terrible at selecting colours and finding others that will go along with them, this tool was incredibly helpful.

While working on the mood board we began to use layers. Layers have always been my nemesis in Photoshop. Yet, after hearing Angelica explain how to organize them and show how they work together, I began to realize that I could view them much like the databases I create and maintain for work – they stand on their own but together they create the overall result you are looking for.

Our next step was to create a Twitter background. I was looking forward to this because I was getting tired of using the standard backgrounds provided by Twitter, and wanted something I could personalize, that wasn’t just a picture I had taken. This is where we were introduced to the pen tool, and I have to admit this almost got the better of me. Knowing when to do a hard click, or when to click and drag was a little frustrating at first. But eventually, with the help of our awesome mentor, and my incredible desk-mate, I began to understand the tool and make it do what I wanted.

In a short matter of time I created a page curl and added my initials to create my own Twitter background. Success! While I have a long way to go in smoothing out the work I did on this, the fact that I had managed to create it, using a program that used to scare me, gave me a great sense of accomplishment.

Next we moved on to creating a Facebook profile picture. Here we learned about the magic wand tool, and how to continue to erase background from the picture, how to use the clone tool and touch-up a picture, and how to add a new background. I honestly had tried to accomplish this before on my own and had never made it work. In a couple of hours at this workshop I learned how to use the tools necessary for this project, and get a finished image.

Finally, we made a Facebook cover photo. This was beyond awesome and I love my finished product (although I’ve already started considering ways to tweak it). By this point, I was actually starting to feel comfortable in the Photoshop environment, and enjoyed being able to use some of the functions we had already worked with to create this final project. This was by far the most involved project, but I found it was easier to understand what was required for this, because I was developing a basic understanding of the program.

We finished the day by adding our completed projects to the mood board, and I quickly logged into Facebook to update my pictures.

I cannot recall the last time I have learned so much in one day. When I walked into that classroom yesterday morning, I was oblivious about how to operate in Photoshop. When I walked out yesterday afternoon, I felt empowered. I felt like I now had the basic skills I needed to began creating. Photoshop no longer scares me, it intrigues me. I also have a new found respect for all designers. Working with powerful software like Photoshop is not easy, and being able to create from scratch (not just follow the steps like I did yesterday) seems daunting.

One other important aspect of the day, was getting to meet so many fantastic ladies. Some were fellow bloggers, other were web developers, others just wanted to get into design. Everyone was eager to learn and help out.

I can’t wait for the next Ladies Learning Code workshop that I can attend. WordPress is coming up again and I’ll be waiting on the computer trying to get a ticket as soon as they are available (these tickets sell out fast).

Here are my final results from yesterday’s workshop:

The final product.