Some readers may be interested in attending this event, about which I just received the following email:

” Hi folks:
This message is being sent to all Friends of the Grand members and old members, whom I am sure support us in spirit.

An public open house will be held next week to review 10 years of operation under the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan. Friends of the Grand River is sponsoring this open house.

The Fergus-Elora open house will be held on Wednesday, January 7, at 7 p.m. in the Wellington County Museum on County Road 18 between Fergus and Elora, just west of the Trestle access point. It’s the big majestic old building up on the hill. Short presentations will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback on your views about management of the Grand River.

This is the first of a series of open houses; others will be held in Cambridge (January 21), Brantford, Dunnville and Six Nations. Full details of the other venues are available on the GRCA web site (www.grandriver.ca).

If you received this message in error, I apologize. If I’ve reminded you that you forgot to send us your membership cheque, feel free to send one in. Membership info is on our web site (www.friendsofthegrandriver.com). I hope you will consider coming out to one of the open houses. This is how we get to understand what people want from the Grand River — anglers and others.

Thanks for your attention. Have a Happy New Year!

JohnD
Secretary, Friends of the Grand River
and FOGR rep on the Grand River FMP Implementation Committee”

There’s an old saying out there that goes something like, “All good things must come to an end.” I don’t know who came up with it, but unless they were referring to the certainty of death, they really didn’t know what they were talking about.

Not all good things must come to an end at all, and even in death, good things can live on.

As I look out my window, I see almost 2 feet of snow on the ground.  Even for the part of the world I live in, that is a lot for this time of the year.  And I know that fly fishing for me is done until the spring.  Yes, there are those who are hard core and who will venture out into conditions that are blizzard like with a fly rod in their hands, but I’m not one of them.  Maybe next year I’ll give that a try.

Perhaps like many things, there are fly fishing cycles for some of us. Business cycles, economic cycles,  agricultural cycles; even weather patterns over the long term seem cyclical.  Some would even say romance is cyclical as well with its ups and downs, and if you get through the downward bits, the only way is back up again! At least that is what I like to think.

So for now, I won’t be out fly fishing for a while unless I can somehow manage a trip to some sunny climate and salt water.  If that happens, I would hope a certain redhead could join me. In the meantime, it is winter and there are ways to enjoy the crazy climatic conditions that this country of Canada can throw at us.  Like fly tying in the warmth.

I have however, also taken up a new hobby with my “wee man.”  Rather than sit and complain about how cold it is, we’ve got ourselves new nordic (cross country) skis, and we’re making the best of it!  We’ve been out a couple of times already, have fallen down, laughed, got back up again, fallen down a few more times, and have kept at it. Sometimes it’s true that professional help is required! But we’ll be getting that soon too.

So no, not all good things come to an end. Perhaps a bit of a halt here and there, but nothing good has to end.

And on that note, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2009.  I have plans for the upcoming Holidays, and likely will not be around to post on this blog - but will soon be back, probably discussing some new fly tying thing I’ve found, or how I have perfected my “Malteser” in such a way that I just know the trout will take it!

Been awhile since I’ve posted anything here. A busy summer and autumn for me personally and business wise.  And although I’m not much into it anymore (I haven’t done any of it in over a decade), my “wee man” is interested in trying ice fishing this winter. So, I’ve been doing some thinking about that - and maybe tying up some heavy streamers we can use to jig under the ice.

So I was reading the most recent issue of the “Grand Times,”  the newsletter that is published by “Friends of the Grand River” this evening.  One article co-authored by Jill Hanna & Mike Wilkie caught my attention.  It’s entitled “Brown Trout Pit Tagging Project Update - Field and Lab Results.”

Seems that Jill Hanna has been trying some experiments in tracking brown trout by implanting a half inch transponder into the fish. Attempts have been made to then track and identify the fish.

However, the article states, “The team was only able to visually identify a few trout in the enclosure, suggesting many either escaped or were eaten over the six-week experiment.”

Anyone knows what happens to that transponder when a brown trout eats a brown trout that has had one implanted into it?  That can’t be good for the trout that dined on the implanted trout.

I don’t know if a half inch electronic device would be very healthy going through a fish’s digestive system.

Serendipitous events seem to occur with great frequency in my life.  I can’t explain it.  Today was another example.

About a year ago, I was asked to get in touch with the president of the “Headwaters Fly Fishing Club” to see if I could assist them with getting their website back on line.  I did have a chat with Bill MacIvor and we both had good intentions to keep in touch and possibly meet for an afternoon of fly fishing, but we never did touch base again.

Today, I was going through old email and came across the first email that had Bill and I in touch. I thought I may as well give him a call again while I was looking at that email so I rang him up.

The Headwaters Club holds their meetings about 15 minutes from where I live, but in the past, I have just been too busy to commit to joining another club, although I’ve had a desire to find out more about Headwaters and perhaps consider membership. So I thought it was quite an interesting coincidence that after a year, the very day I call Bill, he advises me that tonight just so happens to be the club’s first meeting of the year and I get an invitation to attend.

At first, I didn’t think I really had time to  put away what I was working on and get ready for a meeting I had not scheduled, due to start in about an hour and a half.

Then, Bill mentions to me, “Tonight there is going to be a presentation on Czech Nymphing by a guy with the last name of Varga.”

“Varga?” I asked incredulously.  “Arron Varga by any chance?”

“Yes, that’s it.  That’s his name.”

For those who don’t know, I have fished with Arron many a time, and have counted him a very good friend. Indeed, we have been teammates on The Ospreys for the past few years, however this year for reasons I won’t get into, I resigned from the team and did not participate in the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships.  I had not seen Arron since the beginning of July and dearly wanted to talk to him about some things.

The chances of calling up a guy out of the blue after a year and finding out what I found out - the first meeting, and then not only the first meeting tonight, but also my good friend Arron would be presenting at it were curious. I was still hesitant about going but after being motivated to do so by someone who thought it would be good for me to get out of the office because she cares… I went.

I have to say that Arron did a fantastic job of presenting the subject of Czech Nymphing to a bunch of fly anglers who had never really heard much about the technique and who are more used to casting dry flies on the Upper Credit and many had never even heard of a “three fly rig” before.  He covered everything from the motivation behind the discovery and perfection of the technique (it has to do with discovering the most efficient and effective ways to catch small trout in rivers during competitions), equipment, leader considerations, types of flies to choose and how to balance the flies for the water being fished, the technique itself and even gave up some of his own secrets that helped Arron to perform very well for the past few years at the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships.

Arron spoke for close to two hours to an audience that had his full attention and interest.  Many a good question was put to Arron after his presentation and he expertly handled them all in a thoughtful, engaging and knowledgable way.

For myself, I learned a number of things that I’m looking forward to putting to the test as soon as I can.  As well, I met a great bunch of fly anglers and signed myself up to become a member of the club and am looking forward to the learning, sharing and camaraderie this coming winter.

I have to give thanks to Arron on a personal note as well, for we went out for a coffee after his presentation and discussed a few things that I really appreciated discussing with him.  Thank you, Arron.

If you’re interested in learning more about Czech Nymphing for fly fishing in general and want some instruction, you might want to consider getting in touch with Arron.  Along with instruction, he is now also offering some guiding on rivers in Southern Ontario including The Grand and Conestogo.  At the moment, he has no website but he can be reached at 519.843.5736 or  avarga at golden.net.

So the other day, the “Wee Man” begged me to take him fishing.  I knew I could use a few hours away from the office and out near water, so I agreed he didn’t need to beg me at all. But, I did need to get him a new fishing rod.

The short “little kid” rods are a pile of crap.  I don’t know what the point of any stores selling them is.  A little kid needs a short rod and a reel that is easy to use - and you’d hope they would last more than a few fishing outings. You’d hope.  They sure don’t make kids rods and reels like they used to.  The first rod and reel that my father bought me lasted three decades with some of my older boys even using it until finally, the all metal but light weight reel broke.  The plastic crappy reels that come with children’s “kits” are… well.. crap.

David isn’t quite ready for a fly rod yet - maybe next year, so in the meantime I thought it would be easy to find him a rod in the 4 foot length, with a decent reel that would do him a year or two.  The only thing I could find at the shop I was at (other than the plastic crap) was a 5 foot spinning rod and reel.  I was a bit concerned that he would not be able to handle that length of rod, especially with a spinning reel - but figured we might as well give it our best shot.

Although it is fly fishing only at the club I sometimes head to due to it’s proximity to my home, I figured it would be a great place to have David try some spinning rod casting from the dock.  And instead of tying on a hook or other lure, I simply attached a good sized weight to the end of his line.

After demonstrating how to cast a spinning rod/reel setup, David was all set to give it a try!  Awkwardly, he tried to hold the rod in his right hand, pull the line up from the bail and had problems turning the bail over… and his first cast was a huge mess of line and the weight at the bottom of his feet.  David laughed and laughed… while I worried that this was not going to be so successful.

Realizing that I had forgotten David was left handed, I quickly changed the retrieve on the reel and David excitedly tried to cast the rod again after the mess was untangled.

A cast of ten feet.  David wasn’t fazed in the least.

“Practice makes perfect, right Daddy?”

“You got it son,” admiring his unwillingness to give up at the first signs that this was going to take a bit more work than he anticipated.  And with the concentration and focus of a zen warrior, David kept at it until he could cast that lead weight 50 feet straight out in front of him! And that didn’t take him long at all to figure out his timing of his cast and his release.

After a while of helping him with some pointers and seeing as he was quite enjoying simply casting a weight into the water and then retrieving it, I decided I’d set up my fly rod and have a few casts myself.  And I couldn’t help but smile as after every cast of David’s, I heard a “Sweeeeet! Daddy, that was a great cast, wasn’t it?”  And sure enough, they were!

A couple of hours later of both of us casting, lots of laughs and banter and no fish for me, the temperature was getting downright chilly and I was starving.  We should have taken along something to eat but I never anticipated that David would be so content to simply cast and retrieve for so long.  But I figured he did need to get some supper into him.

“Hey David, we should probably get going.”

“Ok Dad, but… just a few more casts first, ok?”

Yes, he’s an angler! With a satisfied and happy smile on my face, I of course replied, “You betcha, David.  A few more casts! We always need to have a few more before we go home.”

We’ll be heading out somewhere Saturday afternoon where it’s not fly only, and this time, he’ll have a  lure or a hook with a worm on the end of his line.

As David would say, “Sweeeeet!”

Ian James is offering a reward valued at over $400.00 for the return of a box of flies that was lost on the Credit River, August 24, 2008.

The reward includes a full day of guiding with Ian James and a dozen of his Brass Ass nymphs, an Orvis top-seller.

One of Ian’s acquaintances was fishing the Credit River and lost the box containing nymphs that took years to acquire.  According to the email I received,

“I accessed the river at the Forks of the Credit parking lot just
north/east from Cataract road off Hwy 24 to Caledon. I fished
downstream so I guess on the East side.  I started fishing at the
“little rapids” at the Caledon Recycling/Disposal area and worked my
way down stream about 1/2 between to the cataract falls. I know I had
it at the falls when I changed nymphs but did not have it when I was
further down stream. I fished those rapids (just up stream from the
bridge that crosses it), and then walked in the bush along a trail to
the railroad track. I walked the tracks for about 10-15min and then
accessed the river and then worked upstream back to the bridge/
Caledon Recycling depot. Somewhere between those 1st rapids and after
my walk in the bush and along the railroad tracks, I lost the box.

The box is made by “Springbrook, about 5 inches by 3 inches. It is
hunter green (the exact green as every grass and plant that grows
along the river bed) with a yellow foam trim for the water tight
seal. Inside are two sides of foam for nymphs.”

If you located this box, contact either myself leaving a comment below or Ian James directly. His contact information is on his website at http://ianjames.info

Well, due to a  bunch of personal issues including an unresolved divorce matter from ten years ago (I wonder just how many fly anglers are in that position!), fly fishing opportunities have been few and far between.

In all fairness to my ex-wife, the divorce problems are not her fault - rather the lawyer that was acting for her years ago. It seems he forgot to go through with everything and for years, my ex and I thought we were divorced until I pointed out that I had never been served papers, a couple of years ago.  That lead to some inquiries - sure enough - we weren’t divorced!

Lawyers are a real pain to deal with and cause all told sorts of time issues with their demands and desires.  If you ever want to know why lawyers get rich, get divorced.

Other “issues” have included the entertaining of offers to sell About-Flyfishing! That was interesting - but how to account for my own emotional interest in the site and the blood, sweat and tears over the years?  So far, no change of ownership is planned though.  But I am considering a drastic overhaul of the entire website with a much needed facelift.  I know most folk don’t like change - and especially when it comes to finding things on their favorite websites so I’ll be keeping that in mind.

To top it off, three weeks ago I badly sprained my thumb on my casting hand.  The thumb is still partly swollen and I don’t yet have full range of motion with it but it is healing.  Slowly.   Hopefully I’ll be able to get back into some casting in a week.  As my friend Ernie said, “Don’t stress that thumb too much until you can hoist a pint first, in comfort with your right hand.”

He didn’t say how many pints maximum already hoisted with the left hand before testing.

… I would love to fish with this guy. Due to not being able to drive in 2006, The Urban Fly Fisher started to ride the public transport system with his fly fishing gear and discover portions of the River Kelvin that he could catch brown trout. (more…)

I’ve had a couple of lousy fishing outings this past week.  Tonight, I should have known better while last week, we can probably blame it on the weather with a fairly quick low pressure system settling in where I was fishing.

This evening, I went over to one of my favorite places and fished the ponds for rainbow trout.  Except for the ravenous mosquitoes which came out later, it was a gorgeous evening. Canada Geese and Herons were flying around, and a few times I noticed a turtle or two poking it’s nose up through the water.   No other humans around - just me, the water, the birds and… rising fish.  Wonderful for contemplation and trying to catch fish, right?

Well, yes, if I had remembered my dry fly gear!  At the moment, I have mostly all nymphs, leech patterns and wooly buggers in my bag - and did not have my dry fly box with me.

I tried everything - hoping maybe I could attract a trout with something.  Frustrating to watch fish rising within casting distance but not seem at all interested in anything subsurface! But it happens  and I should know better.  But regardless of the my mistakes, it was a lovely evening.

Last week, I had the pleasure of driving out to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec with Colleen  where we met with the other members of Team Osprey. Our plan was to fish the waters that will be the venues for this year’s Canadian Fly Fishing Championships.  Colleen and I arrived later on Saturday - enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec on our way there although it was pouring rain for much of the drive.  While we were driving, the other team members were checking out the Diable River - but found it very high and tough to wade.  Tough fishing too.

On Sunday, we headed over to  Club Baroux to fish the three lake venues.  I thought the lakes were a bit on the small side for a competition - but it is what it is, so it was still good to get to see and fish them, which contain both wild and stocked brook trout.

We found the fishing pretty poor.  There were not many fish caught by us that day, and myself - I only had a few good pulls and one solid hook up that lasted about 30 seconds. That was all the action I saw.

But still, it was a very good weekend - the company of course was excellent as well.

Now I just need to go and organize my dry fly boxes, make sure I have plenty of leader and stick that in my bag for the next trip out to the ponds.

I cooked up the rainbow trout and baked it in tinfoil. Very tasty!

I like trying out different ways to prepare food - this I kept fairly simple:

4 medium sized mushrooms, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mixed all the above up together then stuffed the cavity of the trout.

Wrapped the trout in tinfoil and baked for 30 minutes in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees.

After it was cooked, sprinkled with pepper to taste and enjoyed.