Chaoborus, ...aka Glass Worms

Chaoborus in large numbers showed up in our throat samples today as Rick and I fly fished. Chaoborus are closely related to chironomids but they are tiny and I a mean tiny worm like creature that look translucent in many cases and hence they are also call them glassworms. Most of us do not have any super tiny glassworm like patterns in our fly box.  Well we did have success using a size 16 olive and copper chironomid and a chromie size 16. The interesting thing about chaoborus is that they are quite animated in their movement and the trout will key in on that movement. We as fly fishers don't get too excited about these tiny glassworms that are only 2 mm in size and probably a size 32.

We also found trout eating water fleas, snails and small chironomids. The word is small.

As we fly fished today, making our patterns animated in the water brought success. We also had success with Tokaryk 2.0 tied balanced, as well as Glen's Leech and size 16 Rusty Nails.

It was a beautiful day on the water. We caught lots of trout today. The one thing that was concerning is how rapidly water temperatures are rising. I hope the wind settles a bit as well. We need rain and cooler temperatures.

 

Back to Dickson (3.0)

Karen and I had this morning to get out on Dickson Trout Pond. The lake was glass and practically deserted at 8 am. We had a plan to see if we could catch some larger tiger trout. I did land one that was 15 inches in length and lost a sizeable one as did Karen. They are around. There definitely are some larger rainbows too! We did see a pod of suckers trying to spawn along the shore. That was cool to see.

We did hook them on chironomids today. There was a light hatch! But like two days ago, a Tokaryk 2.0 was our best fly. The chironomids that caught fish included an olive and copper size 14 and a Rusty Nail size 12 and 14.

I never understand where the time goes. 5 hours on the water goes by in what seems to be a blink of an eye! If I had to give advice. Look for drop offs, we had an excellent 90 minutes on a drop off right in the middle of the lake. Also go early when the water is a bit cooler and perhaps less wind. Lastly some inconsiderate fisherman cleaned their trout at the boat launch. That is not cool. If there is no cleaning station, take'em home!

 

Dickson Trout Pond 2.0

Dickson Trout Pond has an excellent population of both rainbow trout and tiger trout. Karen and I braved the windy conditions and got out on Dickson. We were glad we did! The water temperature at the surface was 57F and there was a light chironomid hatch to boot. We caught lots of "stockies" and we did connect with several carry over trout! 

Dickson has lots of structure. I like the drop offs along the edges!

Our best combination was a Tokaryk 2.0 on the point and a blob dropper. We fished deeper areas about 10 feet down. There are areas where you can catch stockies or get hits practically every cast but we wanted to see if we could find some carry over fish. We did! I lost a couple of large tigers today, grrr! Oh well, I will be back!

We did catch trout on chironomids today as well, but the bigger trout liked the Tokaryk 2.0!

The nice thing about Dickson is you don't necessarily need a boat. Walk the causeway, find a spot and go for it! Most of our better fish were caught on the drop off along the causeway!

 

Make Your Chironomid Stand Out Among the Rest! "Oh Ryan"

I always have a few "Oh Ryans' in my fly box. There are times when a basic Black and Red Ice Cream Cone Chironomid needs a make over. Ryan Ermet came up with this small yet effective adjustment. It takes a few minutes to tie. Lake Whitefish love this pattern. (Bloodworms too)

 

Barry Mitchell Pond at Heritage Ranch

Barry Mitchell was a champion of water conservation. He also, along with his dad, published the Alberta Fishing Guide. The pond at Heritage Ranch is named after Barry.

I rode through Heritage Ranch on my bike this morning and I wondered if the pond had been stocked. I was pleasantly surprised that over 2000 rainbows were indeed stocked in the pond. I took a walk down to the pond this afternoon and I smiled when I saw lots of families and fly fishers out trying to catch the stocked rainbows. I also saw one family hook a carry over rainbow that was close to 15 inches. It went home for supper!

Mitchell Pond takes about 15-20 minutes to walk to. There are washrooms, benches and picnic tables around the lake. It is perfect place for a family adventure. All you need is a few of your favourite micro leeches suspended about 3 feet below a bobber. My grandkids use spinning rods, a bobber and a micro leech or two.

Give it a try, you will be glad you did!

 

Lake Whitefish on the Fly

Karen and I got out to Sylvan Lake today to chase lake whitefish! The conditions today were less than perfect but we certainly caught lots of lake whites. An east wind was blowing right down the lake so when it was time to anchor up we had to to let out lots of extra rope (this is called scope) so we would not drag! The wind died down twice today but with the convective thunder clouds all around us, the wind amped up several times. 

We launched at Palm Bay! Small boats can easily launch there. Larger boats should use Sunbreakers Cove but remember the water is low so no gigantic boats can launch there! Also remember that there is a fee to launch and park there. Download the HOT Spot App and click on permits to pay the fees.

We set up in 6 to 7 feet of water and fly fished with bloodworms. We tried chironomids but the lake whites were way more interested in bloodworms. The water temperature today was 51F and the whitefish were quite scrappy after being hooked.

We kept an eye on the weather radar because there was lots of thunderstorms in the area. Once the storms started to approach, it was time to head back to our car!

It was 16C today but the wind sweeping across the lake was chilly. We were glad to have extra layers to keep us comfortable!

Enjoy the weekend! Looks like warmer weather is just around the corner!

 

Enjoying Fish Lake (aka Shunda Lake) At Nordegg

Karen and I just got back from our first camping trip of the year at Fish Lake Provincial Park. The 6 day trip was a great way to do a "shake down" of our camping gear and do some fly fishing with our kids and grandkids. Fish Lake was recently stocked so the "catching" part of fly fishing was quite easy. We caught lots of carry over rainbows as well from years past. The biggest we caught was 16 inches. 

When we take our grandkids out, we do not take rods for ourselves. We always make the experience all about them. We teach them how to drive the boat and teach them about fishing. The grandkids use spinning rods but we use flies and strike indicators. It makes it easier for them to cast. A Glen's Leech or Bubba Gump Shrimp about 4 feet down gets a hit on most casts.

Our grandkids last about 2 hours on the lake then they want to help with the fire, build a fort, eat, hike, you know; kids stuff! We took them out 4 times. They love getting out in the boat. It is the best of times. 

We love to watch the loons and osprey as well. They are always about!

Make fly fishing with grandkids all about them. They will learn fast and soon enough, they are casting by themselves and taking the trout off of their flies by themselves. The kids love to drive the pram. They will be independent out on the water soon enough!

Oh yes, I wanted to say that we took our lithium boat battery. It took 6 days on Fish Lake to run it down far enough that it needed to be recharged. The battery is light and so easy to manage.

Male Ruffles Grouse "Strutting!"

The "other fisherman" were quite successful too!