Some people fish with a spin cast rod and reel while others will take up nothing by a fly rod. How about you? Do you Fly Fish or Spincast?
Take the survey and make your opinion known.
Fly Fishing for Pike
Fishing for Pike doesn’t normally turn my crank. On a recent trip, I tried fly fishing for Northern Pike. My opinion has changed largely because any fish on a fly rod is a lot of fun. Even a big slimy toothy ugly Northern Pike is a challenge to catch.
If you find a pike infested area and the bite is on, almost anything will catch them, as long as it’s gaudy and moving. That’s what makes fly fishing for pike a challenge. In order to keep a large spoon moving with a spin-cast rod, just reel it in. Then cast it back out and reel it in. If there are hungry pike nearby, they’ll chase it down and bite it. Often, if you stop the retrieve, they’ll turn away. With fly fishing, it’s a different game with casting heavy flies called streamers used to imitate bait fish or other prey. Some fly fishers (myself included) will use a mouse pattern and cast it into the reeds then yank it through. The big Northern Pike lurking in the reed think it’s a rodent that has fallen in and attack with a fury. Pike have been reported to strike their prey, or your lure, at speeds up to 30 mph. With a mouse pattern floating on the surface, the ambush is swift and vicious. You’ll definitely know when something has struck your fly.
With the speed of Pike being much faster than you can possibly strip in your line, you may as well strip quickly to attract a strike. Pike will attack if the food looks at all edible so make your streamer swim quickly with a fast stripping action.
Once on the line, you can’t hog the fish in like you would with a spinning reel or bait cast reel. You need to remember you are using a lighter tackle and different equipment. When possible, play the fish from the reel. If it wants to run, let it run. There are few sounds like the zzzzzziiiiiinnnnnng of a fly reel with a strong fish pulling at it to get your heart pounding!
Maybe the most important piece of tackle is a steel leader. Not the same steel leader as your casting line but a fly line pike leader to fend off the sharp teeth. If you try to use normal leader and tippet combination, say goodbye to your streamer and your Pike. Shock leaders, as they are normally called, are made for casting streamers with a fly rod. Another important important tackle tip is to use a heavier weight fly rod. If you normally use a 5 or 6 weight for trout, step up to an 8 weight for pike. You’ll cast the heavy streamers easier and the extra strength in the rod will help with the bigger fish.
If you’re in for an adventure, try fly fishing for Pike from a belly or float tube. Unlike trout fishing from a belly boat, pike are much large. Your net might not be big enough if you hook into a 36″ plus pike” Laying a big fish across the bow of your belly boat gives you a real indication of how much bigger a pike can be than a trout. Not only the length of the fish but the power that goes with the larger size. It’s a real thrill when you actually get towed in a belly boat by a pike or when the fish you have hooked turns you 360 degrees.
Don’t Leave Your Flies on the Table
My house is quite often a hurricane of activity. My kids, ages 7, 5, and 2 have boundless energy and are involved in any sporting activity that includes a ball, a club, a stick, or a puck. That means I’m often rushing from one floor of the house to another to be the intervening referee, sometimes the goalie, sometimes the pitcher, many time the retriever or objects thrown, batted, shot or kicked too high. The point is, I rarely have more then 5 minutes of time in a row to spend on any activity until after the kids go to bed. Nonetheless, one day this spring, I was getting organized for a week long get away.
My various rods, normally stored in my gun cabinet to keep the kids from tangling all the lines together, were in the living room. My tackle box was sitting on my desk. My fly boxes, 3 of them, were in the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. I was testing the sinking rate of some of the flies in a tub full of water in the bathroom when I was summoned to solve a “who hit who back first” argument in the toy room. At the same time, my wife was busy cleaning the living room for some company coming that night, and swearing at me for leaving my rods all over the floor.
After getting the hockey game back on track, I decided to sort through some of my dry flies in the kitchen. I pushed the rest of the stuff on the table aside to make room for the flies and began to remove them from the fly box one by one. I organized them by size and colour, knowing full well after the first full day of fishing my box would be in complete disarray again. With about 10 flies out of the box, a crash was heard from the downstairs toy room. I arrived moments later to discover a broken light fixture but no broken kids. No opportunity to try out alternative uses of head cement today! Shop Vac to the rescue and the game was back on.
I started back upstairs, but remembered the sink rate experiment going on in the bathroom and resumed that activity for another 5 minutes before I had to rush to referee the next dispute. I finally returned to my fly sorting about a 1/2 hour after I had left it, to discover all my dry boatsmen were gone from the neat row I had placed them in. I also noticed the supper dishes had been removed from the table and the dishwasher was running. I quickly surmised that my wife had whirl winded her way through the kitchen on a cleaning spree, and swept the table free of debris. “Wife!”, I called out. “Did you clean up in the kitchen, ’cause I was just about to?” Her reply was “Yes. I don’t have time for you to get to it.” “Where did you sweep the stuff from the table?”, I inquired. “Into the empty corn flakes box by the back door. Why?”, came her puzzled reply. “Because you just swept $20 worth of my flies into the trash.”, I answered. “I thought they were crumbs from the kid’s plates.”, was her guilty reply.
I dumped the flies out, back onto the table, along with a few crumbs the kids had left, and continued my sorting and replacing back into the fly box from which they came.
Other places not to leave your flies (and you can imagine why):
- your bed
- the living room floor
- seat of your truck
- floor of your truck
- your pocket
German Field Dog Trials
I had the great fortune of participating in a sporting dog trial in Germany this spring. A business associate of mine was one of the judges, or training to be a judge, I was never quite sure how that worked. He was also the breeder of one of the dogs in the trial. In total, there were 20 dogs and owners divided into 5 groups of 4 with several judges in each group. The predominant breed used was called the Deutsch Drataahr (know in North America as German Wirehair Pointer). Other dog breeds were allowed. All dogs were just one year old. The dogs went through a series of trials, one by one, with judges watching closely.
The first trial was to test pointing skills. Dogs walked a tree line and had to hold a point on a rabbit or a bird for 4 seconds to score well. Each trial produced 11 or 12 points as a maximum with defined criteria. Being young dogs, some had difficulty holding point until their master arrived at their side and they often spooked the bird/rabbit. The second trial was the Gun Test. Actually, I have no idea what the test was called as everyone was speaking German, quickly, and I was left to guess what the object of the trail was. In the Gun Test, the dog and one hunter simply walked about 50 paces into a field, then two shots were fired into the air to see if the dog would run away. Interestingly, all guns were double barreled shot guns. All dogs passed this test, I think. The third trial was Track a Rabbit. This was the longest trial, most difficult to judge, and the trial that likely had the greatest variation in scores for the dogs. Everyone spread out width wise across a cropped field, dog all on leashes, to flush rabbits. When a rabbit took off, the judges would call a nearby dog and it would be put on the trail. Dogs were judged by how long they tracked the rabbit, how they acted when they lost the trail, and how quickly they regained the trail. Some dogs took off for 10 minutes on the track. Others had a difficult time getting on trail and were finished in a minute or two. The dog that eventually won the trial, spent about 15 minutes on the trail, across two fields, through a tree line, under two fences, and a road. When he lost the scent, he went on a circular search pattern until he found it again, then he was at full speed again.
At the end of the field trials, they did a physical inspection of the dogs, checked teeth, and matched tattoos to the breeders records. In the end, from the trial of 4 dogs I participated in, the dog bred by my business associate finished at the top of the group and among the top of the whole trial. At the conclusion of the field trial, all participants and judges met back at a country restaurant for a few pints of beer and a meal. Owners were given their score cards. One of the most interesting parts was at the conclusion of each field trial, Pointing, Gun Test, and Rabbit Track, the head judge would do a dog by dog report. Not understanding most of what he said, it sounded like he was scolding the dogs and their owners for every mistake, and maybe offering suggestions on how to improve their score.
Other interesting observations were made. If you want to hunt pheasant, almost every field we entered held at least 10 of the prize game birds. Every time we flushed one, my trigger finger reached for the safety on the gun that was missing from my hands. I love hunting pheasant. Here was pheasant hunting paradise, and me without a gun (I’m working on my invite to return for the fall). We also spooks a number of Roe Deer (no idea if I spelled that correctly). They are a small deer with a short pair of antlers. I understand they make their way onto the plates of many a German hunter. These are usually hunted from short hunting stands (ironically called ‘tall stands’) about 10-12 feet high and usually positioned against a tree or in a bush line.
I’m looking forward to my next return to Germany, next time scheduled during hunting season, when my business associate assures me there is ample supply of Roe Deer, Red Deer (much like Elk), pheasant, and wild boar to satisfy any itchy trigger finger. I am trying to return the favor by inviting him to a meeting in Saskatchewan in early September for the start of the legendary snow goose migration near the Quill Lakes. To those who allowed me along on their dog trial, ‘Danke ein Auf Wiedersehen’. By the way, the only English you will need in Canada is ‘Take ’em!’.
Bonus Day
I’ve been practicing the idea of Bonus Days on business travel for a couple of decades now. Here’s how it works.
You have an upcoming business trip, the business portion of the trip begins on Day X and ends on Day Y. You add another day to the trip, after Day Y, and schedule some outdoor activity for that day. It’s a great way to unwind after a week of meetings, or a conference, or whatever your business requirements happened to be. The great thing is that the majority of your personal expense is already covered by your company, and the additional expenses you will incur yourself are minimal compared to footing the bill yourself.
Where it Started
I’m sure I’m not the first one to come up with this idea, but here’s how it came to me. I was at an international dealer conference for the company I worked with. Three days of meetings and presentations along with social functions, requiring that I, and my co-workers, were on the clock from dawn until midnight. The conference was at a very nice resort on the Mexican Mayan Riviera. My wife came along for the trip, relaxed on the beach, or by the pool, with a cool drink by her side. Other spouses were along and they had a great time while I watched the palm tree sway in the breeze through the windows, made presentations, and lead dealer forums. The final night of the conference was the big awards gala. Next morning we packed up and headed to the airport, passing beach resort after beach resort. I realized that the company has paid my way, airfare being the biggest expense, and I paid them back working 18 hours a day. The next conference was already being planned, in a similar location, and I had a brand new plan. My wife and I added a couple extra days, at our expense, to the end of the trip the following year, went snorkeling, toured the Mayan ruins, and drank rum on the beach. It was the cheapest breach holiday ever.
Before or After
I know some people that have the same Bonus Day idea as I do, but they take the Bonus Day before the travel. Often when I travel I have a substantial amount of new material to develop or prepare, and every day/hour/minute of preparation is often needed, especially last minute changes and pre-meeting run through. This makes the idea of a Bonus Day more attractive, as it’s the prize after the hard work, it feels more like I have earned it at that point.
The Bonus Day Plan
Now the Bonus Day Plan is part of my regular travel routine. It’s not hard to find an outdoor experience near to where you are traveling. Here are a few examples of Bonus Days I have added:
- snorkeling at Turks and Caicos
- golfing in Scotland
- fly fishing for trout in Alberta
- Skiing in Ontario
- catamaran and snorkeling trip in Jamaica
- golfing and carousing in Vegas
- relax on the beach in Bahamas
- desert tour in Hummers in Phoenix
- mountain tail quad trip in Puerto Vallarta
- surfing in Hawaii
For all of these Bonus Days, the out of pocket expenses to my self have been limited to a hotel bill, meals, plus the cost of the activity itself. It has been a cheap way to do a few things that would otherwise cost me a few thousand dollars.
What is your Bonus Day Plan. Don’t you think you have earned it?
The Man Challenges
Here’s a few suggestions to add some friendly competition to your outdoor outings. Purely in the interest of research for this artivle I can say I have participated in all of these events, numerous times. Take these suggestions with you, or come up with your own Man Challenge and send me a description and I’ll add it to this article.
Man Challenge #1 Rods n’ Irons
Golfing and fishing are parts one and two of the summer triple crown. Add sex with your wife for the trifecta and your day is complete. Just remember, it’s okay to fish alone and golf alone. Eighteen holes of golf set the stage for the soon to follow fishing tournament. Take the leader board from the round of golf to the boat and each fish makes up a stroke. Pick a time to shut it down and add the scores to determine the champion. For example, after golf, Eldon has a 5 stroke lead over Galen (impossible, but it happened), Galen will need to catch 6 more fish to pull ahead in the scoring.
Man Challenge #2 Build a Lure
Using only the tools available in a common tackle box, and the items you have with you (hint: beer caps), design and construct a lure that catches a fish. It can be any of the stuff you have with you. Bottle caps, pull tabs, foil wrappers, your watch, pieces of string, shoelaces, belt buckles, wedding rings, false teeth, prosthetic limbs, sun glasses, car keys, coins, lug nuts, speaker wire, and your imagination. I’ve seen fish caught on the most unlikely contraptions, but then have you seen some of the lures out there? Most likely fish to be caught is a pike, Walleye are harder to fool, and Perch sometimes will go after anything shiny (like tin foil). Send us a picture of you winning lure and your fish and we’ll post your proff, and bragging rights, on our site.
Man Challenge #3 Blast n’ Cast
This one’s my favorite. Spend the morning on a flock reduction exercise and bag your limit of ducks and geese. Spend the afternoon and evening tempting the behemoths from the depths and build up your fish fry inventory. You can make this into a contest if you wish, but it’s often disputed who fired the killing shot as geese invade your spread and all guns are blazing. In many hunting jurisdictions, goose hunting is not permitted past noon so make sure you know the local regulations.
Man Challenge #4 Jigs & Shots
Before you go out, designate someone to be the designated boat driver in this event. Jigs and shots is quite straight forward, use your jig and whatever bait to catch a fish and do a shot of what ever your favored poison happens to be. Hit the honey hole and your fishing memories may soon fade into a blur. Take a few extra cool ones with you in the event the finned foe is in deep hiding. Add some interest by designating a type of shot per species of fish.
Keep a Journal
If you are serious, or even half serious about fishing, start and keep a journal. A journal is a great way to make notes about what technique and what settings have produced success so that you can replicate them or adapt to your present or future conditions. A journal is simply a factual record of your outdoor experiences and easy to maintain. You need little more than a spiral notebook, small enough to fit in a pocket, and a pen. What information you will want to keep track of will vary with your type of activity, but here’s a good answer for fishing. (Bird hunting and big game hunting will be covered in later articles.) For fishing, record the obvious first, such as date, time, location (be as specific as possible) and tackle used. If you have a GPS receiver, take advantage, especially if you are trolling. Other electronic devices such as a depth finder can add key information. Also record your technique. If you are spin casting or bait casting, how are you retrieving? How deep? Fast or slow? Steady or jerk and drop? If you are trolling, how fast? Straight-line or S-pattern? Are you trolling near or over structure? If you are fly fishing, what retrieve speed are you using? Are you deep or shallow? Where are you casting from/to? For a dry fly or a stream, what drift technique are you using?
When you are busy fishing, when the bite is on, mentally keep track of what is working and if you change tackle or technique, how it affected your results. When the fishing is good, your memory will stick with you. Later when the action slows down, or in the evening, take a few minutes to jot some notes. You are there to fish. Take care of that first! Also be sure to write down what didn’t work.
Many factors besides location, date, time, tackle and technique affect your fishing results. So take notice of these additional factors: temperature, wind strength and direction, sunny, overcast, rain, water temperature, water level and anything else of note. Changes in conditions often lead to changes in behavior by fish. Fish are not among the mentally elite of this planets species, but they are highly instinctive and highly reactive. If you can identify similar circumstances when you had success before, your odds are better if you can reproduce your own actions. A change in air pressure or wind direction may cause the bite to begin or stop. With some species of fish, especially trout, a sudden increase in wind speed or change in direction may result in insects from shoreline trees and bushes being blown into the water and the trout will react. If this happens, make a mental note of the conditions, check the water for the type of insect, tie on a similar fly and get ready.
New Survey: Pike vs Walleye
What’s your favorite western Canadian game fish? Tell us and tell others in our latest survey.
New Survey – Pick Your Shotgun
We have just added a new survey on which shotgun gauge you prefer to use when hunting geese. Follow this link to vote for a 12 gauge or a 10 gauge.
Trial and Error
It’s become very clear to me, that dumb people shouldn’t fly fish. I know this because today I was one of the dumb people.
Fly fishing is like a scientific experiment. It takes technique. It takes skill. It takes trial and error. Today it was mostly error.
The basic premise behind fly fishing is to use a man made artificial imitation of the fish’s food source and try to present it in a way that will cause the fish to bite it. That’s a fairly difficult task, but one that can be learned, practiced and improved. Today, I took a giant leap backward in the demonstration of my skill. My only solace is in the fact that I was the only one to know how dumb I was this morning (until now).
At 5:00 am I was awake. The weather on this July morning was quite pleasant so I went fishing before work at the trout pond just north of where I live. I parked, grabbed my rod and vest and proceeded to the bank to get started. My line had on a mosquito pattern from a few nights ago. After three casts, one hook up! A short struggle and a release and I was convinced the day would be a great one. Then I though about the coffee I left on the hood of my truck. So I laid my rod down and walked the 50 feet to get my cup, leaving the fly floating in about 2 inches of water less than 12 inches from shore. When I returned less than 60 seconds later, my rod was about to tip over the bank into the water and down the steep slope as an adventurous and determined trout was about to make off with my fly, my line, and my rod. Dumb mistake #1: never leave a fly unattended. It almost cost me my rod (and the rest of the morning).
I moved down the bank to the far side of the pond, to my favorite spot, furthest from my truck, as the sun broke through the clouds, off the water, straight into my eyes. Dumb mistake #2: always have your sunglasses with you. I struggled against the sun, then finally moved of it’s path to a less desirable spot, with poor footing. Dumb mistake #3: wet rocks soon equal wet shoes and pants. It didn’t take more than 3 casts to hook a fish and for me to miss a step and plunge knee deep into the water.
I figured if the mosquito pattern was working so well, why not try a caddis fly? Dumb mistake #4: if your catching fish, don’t change your fly. Well, the caddis got no attention. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to convince myself the cast would be the one to attract a trout to the caddis. 30 minutes of being dumb. Thinking like a scientist, I tried another fly, not at all like a mosquito. Dumb mistake #5: keep switching away from what works. Another 30 minutes of casting practice.
By now, it was almost time to had back to the truck and head to work. I decided to give the mosquito pattern the duty as I planned to walk and cast my way back to my truck. Between me and the truck were about 4 large bushes and a wire fence running in line with my path. I made a quick mental note and started casting to the rises of the trout. I quickly hooked a small fish and released after a brief struggle (proving my past hours experimentation with other flies an error). After releasing, I moved past the first bush and watched for rises. I spotted one proceeded to put my back cast into the first bush I passed. Dumb mistake #6.1: look behind you before you cast. I untangled and looked to the water again for rises then put my next back cast into the same bush. Dumb mistake #6.2: look behind you before you cast. I untangled and looked to the water again for rises then put my next back cast into the wire fence. Dumb mistake #6.3: look behind you before you cast. After untangling, I glanced at my watch, my morning had run out of time.