Fly Fishing for Lake Whitefish

My dear departed friend, Bernie Peet, used to call me and encourage me to go fly fishing for lake whitefish! Today was the perfect day to get out and enjoy fly fishing for lake whites. Karen and I got a late morning start but once we were set up, it did not take long to catch several dozen lake whites. We have a few places we usually check out and the conditions were perfect. Just a bit of chop on the lake, a water temperature around 53F and gin clear water! We set up in 8 feet of water and we were using small blood worm patterns that we dangled just above the bottom. The lake whites were quite active and we had a blast. After awhile, we moved into shallow enough water that we could see the bottom. At that point, we sight fished for the lake whitefish. In early afternoon, we switched to chironomids. We used size 12-14 black sally chironomids, they worked great. There was a bit of a lull in the action mid afternoon but soon afterwards, the action picked up! By late afternoon, we called it a day. It was a picture perfect day. As we motored along the shallows, we saw lots of whitefish. It was fun to change up a bit today and target these hard fighting fish! Thanks for the advice Bernie!

 

Barry Mitchell Pond at Heritage Ranch

Karen and I always make a point of walking down to Mitchell Pond at Heritage Ranch here in Red Deer to fly fish each year. Mitchell Pond has definitely been stocked and I do know that some rainbows have wintered. As many Central Albertans know, Barry Mitchell was a great friend of all of our fisheries. He and his dad started the Alberta Fishing Guide many years ago. The Alberta Fishing Guide is an excellent resource for all fisherman. Barry's book, The Trout Highway, is now out of print and sought after by fisherman. 

Karen and I tied on some size 14 Glen's Leeches and dangled them about 4-5 feet below a strike indicator. We caught lots of rainbows over the approximately 90 minutes we fished. We saw lots of forage fish in the pond. I am sure that is an excellent source of food for the rainbows. Whether you walk or ride your bike down to Mitchell Pond; it is worth the effort to take your fly rod down and give it a go! It is a great place for picnic too!

 

Chironomids in Central Alberta Are Happening

Throat samples are a great way to solve what the trout are dining on. Yesterday, Karen and I visited a local pot hole lake. Once we connected with a few trout, we were able to get some throat samples. We made some adjustments to our set up and then we were catching trout fairly steady all afternoon! Take a look.