Bass, bass and more bass

My friend Mark and I got out for a while yesterday on the lower Niagara River.  We launched out of Queenston at around 8:30am in search of some rainbow trout and king salmon.  We never did get into any but we limited out on bass and had a few perch as a kicker.  All in all we boated around 20 bass all between three and five pounds.  Mark lost a pig at the side of the boat that would have tipped the scales over six pounds.

The weather turned in the afternoon and a front moved in shutting the fish down.  Another great day on the water.

Busy times

So since I've been home from vacation I've had almost no time to do anything, let alone fish.  Well the kids are back to school now, the days are getting shorter and the fishing is starting to heat up.  I was out last evening in Chippawa Creek chucking some terrestrials around.  The bass are aggressive and hungry as they prepare for the impending winter.  Just before dusk seems to be the key time and making sure your fly has a good "PLOP" when it hits the water is the key.  The bass seem to be hitting anything that makes a noise.  Grasshopper and beetle imitations have been working best the past few nights.

Here are a few of my favorite ones.

Back home

Back from my trip to Florida.  I had a great time, caught a few fish and had a number of firsts.  I caught my first saltwater fish on a fly, a sheephead.  I caught my first shark, a small bonnethead.  I also caught several speckled sea trout, random bait fish and annoying catfish.

Rain, rain go away...

...I want to go fishing!  The rain seems to just keep coming here in Florida.  The past two days have been really wet.  Not that I am opposed to fishing in the rain, but I would prefer to stay dry.  Hopefully things will clear up today so I can get out for a couple hours.  Sigh.

Saltwater first

I got out for an hour today before dinner today slinging a small tan pass crab under the docks and boats in the canal behind where I am staying.  There were four fat sheephead eating barnacles off the bottom of one of the boats.  I fired my crab as close as I could without spooking these already skittish fish.  After a few failed casts I finally landed one in a decent spot.

I thought I had snagged the bottom at first then it started to run.  The biggest of the bunch had taken my fly.  After a short but fun fight I landed a beautiful fish.  The first saltwater fish I've caught on the fly.  It took a small tan pass crab.

I caught it on my Colton Fly 7wt rod.  What a fantastic rod for fighting hard running fish.  It really did a great job turning the fish on those runs.  Not to mention it is so easy to cast.  I don't have the room to back cast so I am limited to roll casting.

Hopefully this is just the start.  It has been pretty slow inshore this week with the memories of Debby still fresh in the fishes minds.  Most of the fish have been hard to find and even harder to get to bite.  I have managed a few trout and catfish here and there.  The trout only seem to feed after dark.  All on the small side but anything is better than the skunk.

Two days with the skunk!

Two days gone and all I've caught is bait.  Well, not that I have been trying very hard though.  The tides are slack and off times and the weather really hasn't been co-operating.  Not to mention the mess that Debby left.  The water is still very green and stained.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get out and give em hell.

I went out and fly fished in the surf this morning.  I didn't see anyone catching anything but bait but I stayed for about an hour.  The tide was just starting to go out but there was no bait pods around and no birds to be seen.  I did see one tarpon crashing some bait in the afternoon but he was too far out to reach.

1400km down 700 to go

My trip is in full swing.  One full day of driving done, half a day to go.

Countdown

Only three more days until I head down to West Central Florida for some serious fishing.  Two weeks of hot days and salt water!  I can't wait.

More dry fly fun...

Got out today for an hour before the rain and landed one nice sized bass on a dry.  He put up a nice fight and stuck around for a picture.

They're here, they're here!!!

My Colton fly rods arrived yesterday!!  They are a pair of beauties.  I've only got a couple hours on them so far but I'm hoping this weekend will turn out nice so I can get out and fish.

Bass are evil...

It's true they really are.  They tease me endlessly knowing full well that bass season doesn't start until this Saturday.  I was out on a local creek yesterday with my 5wt fly rod slinging dry flies.  I was targeting carp but what takes the fly? an out of season bass.  It was a bit on the small size but put up a good fight.  I released it back to the water cursing under my breath the whole time.  I know that if I go back there on Saturday when the season opens no bass will hit my flies.  Sigh.

Anticipation...

Three weeks until I get to spend almost a month fishing in my favorite place in the world, Madeira Beach, FL.  I can't wait.  This will be my first time fly fishing in salt water and off the beaches.  Tons of great fishing around Boca Ciega and Tampa Bays. Hopefully I can jump a couple tarpon in the surf.  That would be a dream come true.  Hell I'll be happy just to catch anything.  I can't wait.

Colton Fly Company - The best fly rods you have never heard of?

So my first fly rod was a bust.  Just the price for being cheap I guess.  While the shop was excellent in replacing the first defective one the replacement they sent me was defective out of the box.  I chalk it up to poor quality control.  It is really too bad, the rod was very nice.  As you can see the epoxy was just a mess.

So again my quest began for a decent inexpensive fly rod.  Well after (quite) a bit of researching on the interwebs I came across Colton Fly Company.  A few quick searches on Google and I had more positive feed back about the products and customer service than I could have expected for a company I had never heard of.  So I submitted a few questions through their website.

The response came so fast I was amazed.  Bob answered my questions and more. Between Bob and all the info I gathered on the net I was ready to buy.  I placed an order for a UD Blue Tradewinds 7 and a 9 weight.  I can't wait until they arrive and I can get out and fish again.

Colton Fly Company is currently having a 40% off sale!  I don't know how long it will last so jump on it.

Practice, practice, practice

I've been practicing a lot since my casting lessons.  I've seen quite a bit of improvement.  I still have a long way to go but everyday seems to get a little better.  Big thanks to Rick Whorwood of http://www.flycastingschool.com/

Lessons learned..

Wow what an awesome time I had with Rick Whorwood this evening.  The man is an awesome instructor.  I can't say enough good things.  I learned more in two hours than I would have in two years on my own.  Time and money well spent.  If you need a quality casting instructor in the Niagara Region look up Rick at www.flycastingschool.com you won't be disappointed.

It's all in the cast...

Who would have thought that some thing as basic as casting could be so hard.  I've been fly fishing now for a couple of weeks.  More or less self taught with the help of You Tube.  I've even caught a fish.  It amazes me how just a slight mistake can foul a cast. 


Fishing on the fly is amazing, I'm kicking myself for not trying it sooner.  Fighting a fish on a fly rod is truly exhilarating!  Even small fish are great fun.  Getting the fly to the fish has been a bit of a challenge though.  Fly casting takes a lot of practice.  I still can't cast very far and I'm sure I'm not casting effectively, I still spook more fish than not.


I always hear fly fishermen talking about presentation.  I'm not sure I even understand what they mean but I figure I need to be able to get the fly to the fish before I start worrying about how the fly moves.  So I booked some casting lessons with Rick Whorwood from www.flycastingschool.com .  Before I created too many bad habits I figured some lessons from a pro would really help in getting my casting to a point where I can fish effectively.

Got out in my kayak for a few hours yesterday.  It was cool with a steady wind.  Went out to 50 feet in Lake Ontario for some Salmon and Trout.  Tried vertically jigging for the first time.  It proved quite productive.  I went 3 for 7 with the largest being a 22lbs King Salmon.  The water is still very cold but the fish are moving out of the river and into the lake.  The next few weeks should really be good if the weather holds.