Happy Canada Day from Sylvan Lake

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Karen and I slipped out to Sylvan Lake for 5 hours to fly fish! We were keeping a close eye on the weather radar. Pop up thunderstorms were on the horizon. Luckily we were treated to perfect weather. We fly fished with zucchini chironomids and bloodworms. I even landed a decent pike on a bloodworm! The water temperature was between 59F and 62F. We did very well in 11 feet of water. We usually fish a foot off of the bottom but today we were only 7-8 feet down! We called it a day when the jet skis and overpowered motor boats came out in full force. By then, we had already had a great day! Get out on the water early at Sylvan and you will avoid boat traffic!

We saw lots of fish activity from mayflies, caddis and chironomids!

I hope you are enjoying Canada Day!

Even suckers like chironomids!

 

MOP Flies

I saw a picture of Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top wearing a hat that made me think of MOP Flies. Sometimes obnoxious attractor flies " get the job done." I remember borrowing a MOP fly from my buddy Larry when we were at Bullshead Reservoir many years ago. I had an amazing day as did Larry! The flies when wet move in a very enticing way. Some say the olive or black version could be a dragon nymph. What I do know is that they work. All you have to do is head over to Canadian Tire and get a glove with all of those cool little fingers on it in the car wash section! Cut off the little fingers from the glove or towel, tie on a hook then add some dubbing or fritz at the bead and voila a MOP Fly! Crazy! I wonder if Billy Gibbons like to fly fish?

Blown Out Rivers- Be Careful Out There!

River flows throughout the province are at an extremely dangerous level. The recent rains over the last 48 hours have blown out our rivers. Exercise caution. Time to hit some lakes if the water temperatures are not too high! Remember, safety first! Always check Alberta Basins to ensure the river you are heading to is safe.

 

Cow Lake-Fishing Regulation Changes-Did You See This has Occurred?

What do you think about the fishing regulation changes at Cow Lake? Here is an opinion piece that is not very happy about the changes, and the way the changes occurred! Thanks Colin for showing this to me!

Click on each page to make it larger!

 

Mid Lake Structure at Dickson Trout Pond

Dickson Trout Pond is a very interesting place to fly fish! When the pond was built, lots of humps and drop offs were added. Today the early morning water temperature was 59-60F! By 3 pm, the surface water temperature was close to 65F. There is an algae bloom building on the lake too! Today the algae bloom did not affect our fly fishing.

Karen and I motored to the far end of the lake and fly fished in 14 feet of water. We caught lots of stocker trout so we moved on. There are several spots on the lake that are really shallow with a distinct drop off on its edges. Karen and I motored over to one and we fly fished right along the drop off side of a long berm that is just under the water. We set up with Tokaryks and Bubba Gump Shrimp under an indicator about 5-6 feet down. The rainbows were quite active along the edges of that sunken berm. We caught mostly stockies but we connected with a few carry over rainbows and some decent tiger trout! The trout seemed to be cruising along the drop off edge of the berm. The mid lake "berms" drop off on the edges and that is comfort or safety for the trout! 

Can you see the damsel t migrating to shore? Lots of algae blooming at Dickson1

 

Glorious Afternoon at Sylvan Lake

Karen and I got on the water just before noon today. A very special awards ceremony at one of our grandkids' school made for a fun morning! It was a beautiful day. Just under 20C, light south east wind, the water temperature was perfect and chironomids were emerging all around us!  It is very cool to watch adult chironomids emerge from their shucks all around the boat! We set up in one spot and did not move until we had to dash for home so we could cheer for grandkids during their evening sports. We set up again in 10 feet of water and fly fished with our chironomids 12 inches off of the bottom! We used black and red ice cream chironomids, Zucchini Chironomids, and a chironomid designed by John Kent called Bleeding Elvis! The strikes were hard and the action was continuous. You have to love that! I have to thank my late friend, Bernie for getting us fly fishing at Sylvan Lake. It is a lot of fun, especially when the chironomids are emerging and the winds provide a perfect chop to indicator fly fish!

 

Wiggle Worms

Two days ago, I opened my plastic container full of wiggle worms and what I saw made me laugh! Many of the wiggle worms had melted into a puddle of a plastic glob!  I wasn't surprised, mostly annoyed. The wiggle worm materials have evolved a bit and many of the materials are now more durable and heat resistant. Mine are not. I have to get some of the newer material that stretches like crazy and tolerates heat a bit better.

I have posted before not to throw away the hooks and beads. Just peel the old body material off and replace it! Quality hooks are expensive.

Just a thought. I like barbed hooks for this pattern. I still pinch down the barb to make it barbless but the little bump allows me to tie on a second wiggle worm about 18 inches lower down by attaching tippet to the upper fly without slipping off the curve of the hook!

Whether you love'em or hate them, Wiggle worms are fish catchers. Are they actually flies, I have no idea. They have saved the day for me on several lakes. Just fish them right off of the bottom. I attach my forceps to the fly and lower right to the bottom of the lake, then adjust my strike indicator so my fly is about 12-18 inches off of the bottom. Some fly fishers love to get their bloodworm patterns just a few inches off of the bottom. You will have to experiment!

Rocky mountain whitefish love them as do trout on rivers. I have also had a lot of success catching walleye on these flies on the Red Deer River!

Do a little research and find the most durable version of the wiggle worm material. There are a variety of colours. You will be amazed at what colours work on your local waters! I have friends who buy their wiggle worm bodies from a pet shop. They find a dog toy with a bunch of little fingers on them. They cut off the fingers and use them for their wiggle worm bodies.

Wiggle Worms

Hook: Daiichi 1120 size 8-12 or your favourite curved nymph hook

Thread: Red 6/0

Bead: 7/64ths or 1/8th tungsten (I like my bead to be half way along the shank of the hook)

Body Wiggle worm material

The Cola Worm is a simple variation that simply catches fish both on lakes and rivers!

 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there on this windy blustery cold day. I hope you are able to spend some time with your family! Family is important to me!

Well the last week has been busy! Two days ago, Karen, Steve, Taryn and I made it out to Swan Lake, west of Caroline. It is a beautiful place to fly fish although it is a challenging fishery. We landed just one pike and we got into several lake trout but they all shook off. Darn. The water temperature was still about 56F too so the lakes were not all 40 feet down.

Karen and I along with Betty and Steve were out chasing browns, rainbows and tiger trout too. The mosquitos were out and relentless. We had to cover up and use insect spray. We all got into some nice fish!

Hal and Adam hit Beaver Lake. Below is a throat sample from a nicer fish Hal caught. Blood worms were the order of the day. I usually tie on a fly called Duct Tape and fish it right near the bottom of the lake.

Brown drakes have been out on the Red Deer River. Keep an eye out on your favourite river! Rivers are slowly coming into shape.

Well this unsettled weather will soon be gone. Then we can get back to what we enjoy!

Thanks for the throat sample, Hal!

 

"Kids Can Fish Program" is a BIG Success

What a great success story. The Red Deer Fish and Game Club along with the City of Red Deer deserve a gigantic well done for the "Kids Can Fish" Program at Bower Ponds yesterday. The shoreline of Bower Ponds was covered with families, especially kids trying to catch a rainbow trout! I saw a ton of volunteers trying to help kids learn to fish and possibly catch a trout! The best part for me was seeing families outside together unplugged enjoying our beautiful Bower Ponds area! It was an excellent opportunity for the Fish and Game club to promote the club and all of their excellent activities. 

The showery weather thankfully held off until the afternoon. I am sure kids and their families will be back to Bower Ponds to try and catch a rainbow trout!

Remember that Mitchell Pond at Heritage Ranch was stocked with 2000 catchable rainbows. A small micro leech or flashback nymph about 4 feet below a bobber will get you into some trout! ...also Three Mile Bend Pond has catchable pike and the ponds at Riverbend Golf Course have catchable pike too!

 

Kids Can Fish Program Hosted by Red Deer Fish and Game Club-Saturday June 20th-Bower Ponds

What a great idea. The Red Deer Fish and Game Community has partnered with several groups in order to stock Bower Ponds with 1100 catchable rainbow trout. The Red Deer Fish and Game Club will be hosting a program called "Kids Can Fish" on Saturday June 20th. It is an opportunity to teach kids to fish. What a great way to gets kids outside with their family. The Kids Can Fish Program is for everyone! I hope you can make it! 

...you might need a raincoat, no matter!

Today school groups helped stock Bower Ponds. The Smoky Trout Farm truck delivered 750 rainbows to add to the first stocking about 2 weeks ago. That was fun to watch!