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.

 

Backcountry Brookies Using Water Masters

Steve and Josh (owner of Out FlyFishing in Calgary) loaded up their water Masters and headed to the backcountry in pursuit of brookies. They hoped to find some nice brookies and their efforts paid off. Water Masters are quite portable and they allow you to get out on the water on backcountry lakes. Many fly fishers also use water masters on rivers as well. A float tube is always an excellent option as well. 

Chili the dog had a great time too. As you can see from the pictures, a wolf had been on the trail recently. Always carry bear spray and be alert!

Well done guys. The effort sure paid dividends!

 

Bombers on the Red Deer River? Why not!

I have been conversing with a retired gentleman who told me to try fly fishing with bombers on the Red Deer River. He told me that after many years, it was all he ever used. It certainly made me think. A about a week after our conversation, I found 2 bombers in my mailbox in an old pill container. It made me smile. After closely examining the flies, I could tell that these two flies were beautifully tied. I hope to give them a go very soon. Stay tuned for the results.

...I have long ago come to understand that you can learn so much from the experiences of others.

 

Local Pot Hole Lake are Fishing Well

It is so nice to be getting several positive fly fishing reports from members of our club. Local pot hole lakes are  fishing well. Chironomids, Tokaryk Specials, Bubba Gump Shrimp, and a variety of micro leeches are getting fly fishers into lots of fish. Enjoy the long weekend. Hopefully this nasty smoke will blow out soon!

...nice rainbow Adam!

 

Grandkids love to Fly Fish

It may not look like fly fishing but it is! Grandkids can use flies with a spinning rod but simply using a bobber and some flies. Yesterday at Fish Lake, Gavin and Alec had a great time catching rainbows. The boys were rigged up with a size 14 Glen's Leech about 5 feet under a 15 cent red and white bobber! They caught rainbows to 14 inches. The best part was the lack of smoke. We always take the time to allow the boys to learn to drive the boat under close supervision. When fishing with the grandkids, the adults do not fish. They give the kids all of their attention. I was amazed that the boys lasted over three hours in the pram. Colin was also out with his grandkids do the exact same thing. They were fishing from shore and they had a blast too!

 

May Long Weekend is Finally Here!

Rick was steadily catching rainbows all day!

It is May Long Weekend. It feels like summer with the heat dome over Alberta. Sadly there are so many wildfires burning in our beautiful province and with those fires is smoke. Central Alberta has been shrouded in smoke as is most of Alberta. Hopefully the rain in the forecast next week does come!

Today, Karen and I meet up with Rick, Phil and Patsy! Steve and Betty were on the water too! It was a chance to hang out together and get some fly fishing in. The day was hot and unfortunately the cottonwoods had fluff started to loft over the lake we were fly fishing. The fluff made fishing a challenge at times although we all caught plenty of rainbows. Our throat samples had daphnia (boo), some boatmen, a few chironomids as well as shrimp and the odd mayfly nymph! The rainbows were hungry and they seemed to switch from one food source to another regularly during the day.

The best part of the day was hanging out and seeing everyone. We all had fun. Late in the afternoon, the cottonwood fluff got the best of us and we all decided to call it a day!

We fly fished with blobs, chironomids, boatmen, shrimp, bloodworms and a variety micro leeches. At times, they all were working.

I hope you are able to get out on the water this long weekend. The yard work is still staring me down but tomorrow I'm heading to Fish Lake to fly fish with my grandkids. Have an awesome long weekend!

Karen was having a blast too!

Patsy had an awesome day!

Daphnia, water boatmen and chironomids in this sample!

Steve and Betty were into fish all day too!

Phil connected with so many rainbows!

Even the Canada Geese stood up to watch!