Nano's Leech

An excellent streamer! Give it a try!

Looks like Run Off Has Started in Alberta

The Red Deer River has been Fishing Well!

The Red Deer has fished fairly well for Darren Petersen this past week.Darren loves the mixed bag available on this river.  Find a slow silty spot with a bit of depth, maybe a back eddy and some foam and your sure to bump into some goldeye, pike and maybe a walleye.  The runs and riffles have plenty of willing rockies of decent size and the browns can be found almost anywhere but especially where there are edges.  Darren enjoys searching the Red Deer for it's browns using both streamers and stonefly nymphs, plying the water for it's relatively uncommon treasures.  One can make a lot of casts searching like this before the surprise encounter happens but it doesn't take long to know that you are into a brown and not one of the other less vigorous species.

The browns Darren has caught recently went ballistic upon being hooked, great aerial displays showing off their golden hue and leopard spots. 

Good numbers of caddis hatching, some small stones and mayflies and a handful of mature salmonflies airborne and up in the streamside willows.  Unlike last years opener Darren has not encountered any adult skwalas yet.

The most interesting "hatch" Darren encountered the other night was a bumblebee sized beetle flying around the Saskatoon blossoms up the river bank at dusk.  Dark amber brown colored, fairly adept fliers, He captured a couple to have a closer look the next day.  These appear to be May Beetles (a terrestrial not a water beetle), like mayflies the adults don't eat, not sure why they seemed to be attracted to the Saskatoon blossoms although they might be drawn to the scent, perhaps a romantic setting to meet up with others for mating (pure speculation).  Anyway, there were a number of them so if any found their way into the river they would provide a sizable meal to a fish.

Thanks for the beautiful pictures.

...also Steve, Troy and his son, fly fished the Red Deer River using Water Masters. You can see Troy's son picture holding a nice gold eye. Way to go guys!

A Fabulous Victoria Day Long Weekend

The weather this past Victoria Day long weekend was perfect to be outside. Karen and I hoped to get out with all the kids and grandkids along with their families. We spent time at Mtchell Pond at Heritage Ranch with all of the grandkids and their families. That was a lot of fun. On holiday Monday, we drove over to Dickson to fish with Kate and Adam. That was a real treat too. It really was not about catching lots of fish, it was about spending quality time with our kids and grandkids. What a great weekend!

Dickson Trout Pond was busy all weekend. There is a lot of space for everybody!

Local Pot Hole Lakes Are Fishing Well!

Our local pothole lakes are now stocked and it is time to get out there and enjoy some fly fishing! Karen and I hit a pothole lake in "eastern" Central Alberta. The day started off with us fishing Glen's Leech along the edges. We caught several sizeable rainbows. We then decided to head to another spot and the trout were quite active. They were hitting flashbacks and a variety of chironomids patterns. The chironomids were hatching and the trout were on them. The "stockers" were picking off the emerges as they sat in the surface film. They were tough to catch but fishing 4 to 6 feet down allowed us to tag several rainbows. The fish we saw today suggested that they wintered well! Get out there everybody and enjoy!

An Excellent Chironomid to Add to Your Collection

Simple thread chironmods can be very effective. The Barrberry is a great example of a toned down gunmetal chironomid. Less flash can sometimes be the answer to the right chironomid for a fish of a lifetime! Take a look!

Fish On Grandpa

Taking kids out fly fishing should be lots of fun! I have always believed that when fishing with kids, leave your rod at home. Its all about the kids. Make sure they have a great experience so they learn about the great outdoors. I took my grandson out to Barry Mitchell Pond that is located in Heritage Ranch! We loaded up the chariot (stroller) and fishing rod and headed for the pond! I had jogged through Heritage Ranch a few days earlier and there was lots of surface activity. I figured that SRD (Stainable Resources) had stocked the pond for the season. It took Gavin and I about 15 minuted to get there.

Once at the pond, safety first. Gavin had to sit by grandpa or stand. Gavin just wanted to catch fish so I rigged two flies; a size 16 and a size 14 flashback below one of those 5 cent bobbers. My grandson is only 3 but he understands casting. I helped him with the casts but after that, it was up to him.  Gavin's stike indicator, I mean bobber, dipped below the surface of the water constantly. He had a great time reeling in his prizes. he loved it!

We quit after 2 hours (I was surprised the fishing last so long) and headed back for a popsicle or two. Great fun and we are already planning for a return visit!

I saw another Dad there with his two boys. His boys were having a blast thanks to Dad doing it up right!

Competent Guides Make a Great Difference in Your Success

Ricardo has been guide on Abacos Island for over 30 years. His beat is around Sandy Point and he knows every nook and cranny. Ricardo took Karen and I out on a less than perfect day. Sight fishing when the sun was obscured by clouds 80% of the day makes the going tough. Ricardo's keen sight and knowing where to look in tough circumstances made a potentially disastrous day quite enjoyable and successful. We were also dealt a difficult tide cycle for the day, we still were able to find plenty of bonefish! Karen tagged lots of them.