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!

Grand River Bass Derby 2011 Recap

The weather could not have been more perfect for this year’s Grand River Bass Derby – lots of sun, warm temperatures and crystal clear water.

Getting out of the truck on Saturday I could feel my skin begin to sizzle under the glare of the sun.  We quickly loaded up the canoe, slathered on another layer of sunscreen, and set off on the river.

We put the canoe in here to start our journey up the river. It was also a good spot to take a few casts.

We decided to try our luck in the Conestoga area and fished a section of the Grand River that runs through the Conestoga Golf & Country Club. Our choice looked pretty good when my first cast of the day landed a small bass. It wasn’t big enough to take to the measuring station but it meant I was already ahead of last year’s skunk! It felt like a good omen and I was pleased that my choice of a Rapala Flat-Rap looked to be working out.

Our canoe is a little on the short-side which meant there was not enough room for both seats, our tackle, and the cooler (which we were hoping to fill with the winning fish). To solve the problem Darrell left his regular seat behind and turned the cooler into his seat. It threw off the balance in the canoe and made for a rather comical scene every time Darrell got into the canoe and just about got tossed out.

Darrell decided to take a few casts, and cool off in the water, while I had a lunch break.

As we moved from pool to pool it became obvious that crankbaits were a hot ticket. We caught quite a few bass with both purple and pink lures. While none of them were big enough to take in, they all put up a fantastic fight and left us smiling.

The highlight of our Saturday came when we stopped to fish a little pool by an island and hooked into some decent walleye. We each caught one and had a great time bringing them in.

Darrell's walleye - caught on a crankbait a friend had brought back from Australia!

My walleye

Despite the lack of a big fish we had a wonderful first day on the water. We came across many fellow anglers who were enjoying the sunshine. Even though they had not caught the big one, they were just happy to be out there. We also had some nice conversations with golfers, who were interested to know how the fishing was, and quick to make sure we had not been hit with their golf ball when it took an errant path.

An afternoon break

Waking up Sunday morning was a little difficult as my skin was nice and crispy and a heat stroke headache was lingering. While we considered heading to a different stretch of the Grand in search of bigger fish, we ended up heading back to Conestoga . I made sure to cover up a little more since even constant application of sunscreen the day before did not prevent me from getting burnt.

The fishing was slower on Sunday but we did manage to land a few small bass, again on the crankbaits. We did spot some larger bass but were unable to entice them into biting. While I would dearly have loved to take a fish to the measuring station, I was thrilled with having had such a great weekend on the water.

A beautiful smallie from the Grand.

After packing up our gear we headed over to Bingemans for the presentations. As usual, our inability to land a big fish was not reflected in the final results. The winner, taking home $2000, was Chris Prince with a smallmouth measuring 19-7/8 inches. Apparently Chris was so excited to catch his fish that he left his rod and reel on the bank when he went to the measuring station! The winner of the youth division was Zack Upton with a bass measuring 17-5/8 inches. For pictures check out the derby’s Facebook page.

The draw prize I won at the derby. The folks who organize the Grand River Bass Derby do an amazing job of gathering draw prizes and many people in attendance were able to go home with something new. In our group of 4 people (including Darrell's brother and father) we all took home a prize.

It was another wonderful year for the Grand River Bass Derby – great fishing, great times, great memories. This event is one of the first to be added to my calendar each year and it is well worth the wait! Huge thanks to everyone at the Stanley Park Optimist Club and Natural Sports for putting on such a wonderful event. Hope to see you there next year!

It’s Froggy Time!

Well, almost froggy time. Tomorrow is the bass season opener in Southern Ontario and once again begins my favorite time of the year!

I love to fish for anything but bass provide so much fun that I really look forward to their open season. Perhaps the biggest reason I enjoy bass season is because it allows me to fish with a frog…and there’s nothing I enjoy more than the adrenaline rush of a big bucket-mouth smashing a frog!

My all-time favorite catch

Last year we were on a pond tossing Scum Frogs (by far my favorite frog, they just always seem to work for me) and a huge swell in the lily pads and sudden weight on my line told me I had a big fish. It took all my effort to count to two and give the fish enough time to re-position the lure before I set the hook…and wow! It took quite some time for me to play that fish out and in the end I pulled in my largest bass – 6lbs! Even typing about that catch is getting my psyched for tomorrow

It’s only one more sleep, if I can sleep. I’ll probably dream of bass smashing frogs all night. Hmmm….I think I have a problem.

Another Full Day At The River

Darrel managed some more nice brookies today.

After the excitement of yesterday’s trout opener I was more than ready to hit the water again today and see what we might come up with.

The day started with a short burst of rain as we headed to a river with a pool holding some large brown trout. With Jack leading the way we crept up to the bank with big, juicy worms dangling on our hooks. The water level had risen and it was harder than yesterday to find a steady spot on the bank. We each cast our worms in and let them drift down with the current. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. Do you sense a pattern? I am an impatient person and fishing with a worm tends to bore me. I would much rather be casting, covering water and changing my lure. It wasn’t long before I took off the worm hook.

Counting Down The Hours…It’s Almost Fishing Time!

All clean, hooked up and ready to go!

It’s almost here – tomorrow is trout opener in Southern Ontario! The countdown is now in hours instead of days and tonight is beginning to feel like Christmas Eve with all the anticipation.

The weather report for tomorrow morning is calling for light rain but it doesn’t matter what the weather is, I’ll be down at the creek first thing casting for brook trout. Fortunately for me there’s a good creek a short walk from the house. We’ll start at a couple of our favorite pools from last year and go from there. I hope we get at least a few bites.

Since it looks like the wind might pick up we may leave the fly rods at home and just take the ultralights out. A few spinners proved to be extremely effective last year and they will be on our rods to start the day.

However, this weekend is not devoted just to trout. The boat went for a bath today and if the weather is nice enough we’re hoping to get her out for a spin this weekend. A visit to a local lake is a great way to put her through her paces and see if anything needs repairs before taking her out on the larger water. Hopefully everything will be working great and we’ll catch some crappie.

It’s almost time! Rods are ready. Let’s go!