Tag Archives: fly fishing for trout

Ovrlnd Campers

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Trout, Tides and Travel…

I drive a Tacoma with an Ovrlnd Camper on the back. Yes, it’s spelled Ovrlnd, not Overland. Quirky name. They build them from scratch in their Flagstaff shop. They are passionate about their product(s) and are people who actually do long road trips. The campers are cleverly simple. They have an old school boxy look which attracted me to them as well as the rear barn door feature and weight. The design provides excellent interior space and they have a pop-up top. Ovrlnd has been tweaking and refining them for years, so they are reliable and durable. Everything works as it should and because of their simplicity there is little that can break down. They are aluminum and super light. The one on my six foot truck bed weighs approximately 300lbs. Perfect for a light truck model like mine. I often forget that the camper is on the back.

When I left full time work I wanted a set up so I could go just about anywhere on fly fishing trips for extended periods of time. I already owned a pick-up truck and therefore was looking for some type of camper to accompany it. There are a fair amount of options out there but not many were light-weight and suitable for my vehicle. Ovrlnd campers “fit the bill”.

With the truck and camper combo that I have I’ve been to a variety of destinations for weeks on end: along logging roads in a coastal British Columbia (BC) rainforest region in search of Steelhead; the mountainous BC Kootenay region for Cutthroat trout; beach camping on a barrier island along the Gulf of Mexico while pursuing Redfish on nearby tidal flats; high desert spring creek fishing for Trout in central Idaho; central and southern Montana also for Trout; and fishing at home in Alberta along the backroads of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

The camper has an anodized finish and a queen size bed platform which slides out once you pop the top. Unlike my Roof Top Tent it makes little noise when camping in high wind regions. It sets up easily and since it’s a shell you can do anything you want with the big interior. I’ve intentionally done little to mine: just wall carabiners to hang things from; some stacked crates to stuff gear in.

Shell campers are not for everyone. It depends on your needs, wants, and expectations. If you have a truck, are into outdoor adventure, want something super light-weight, nimble and well-made, and like travelling the dusty back roads or seaside beaches (where permitted), this minimalist camper could be just the ticket. I’ve been totally pleased with mine. And customer service with Ovrlnd has been excellent.

Here’s a link to Ovrlnd products: https://campovrlnd.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopbTR2mInpgevpva4IzMjyHDyEHGHQhFa9vkEntzjbqmMnX2s8w

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Fly Vulnerability

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Here’s a presentation I enjoyed on The Fly Culture Podcast with Pete Tyjas about surface and subsurface trout feeding behavior that is based on observation using technology (video/film) and therefore factual. For Dries it is flies that portray vulnerability (spent flies/spinners; emergers; stillborn/ cripple; stuck-in-the-shuck flies, drowned looking flies; etc.) to a trout that get selected more often, sometimes solely. These are dry flies that sit/ride low, “in the film”. Good flat-water anglers have long known this. Hayes and Stazicker confirm and add to the knowledge base.

Make your ties look vulnerable…fish the ones that are soggy and look beaten-up!

untamed

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MID -AUGUST. MORNINGS are noticeably cooler and shadows are longer around suppertime. The Corn truck is parked along the highway. Bears are foraging for berries in the river valleys. All are signs that we are transitioning into late summer. It’s a reminder to “catch it while you can.”

Some photos from recent outings where the trout haven’t been tamed…

skwala

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“You can’t force or push around Nature. It just does what it does”

Rivers high but manageable. No Blue Winged Olives. I’m surprised because everything lately looks just right for a good hatch. A few Skwala stones around. Only a few. They are pretty big. Maybe size 12. Easy to spot on flat water. The dark body contrasting well on a grey smooth river surface on a cloudy day. I watched a few drift through the shallows. Most remained untouched. Then a rise. Cast. The impression disappeared. It has been a tough spring. Few dry fly connections…but here’s one.

small yellow flies

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Local rivers are settling. Water temperatures are rising into the right zone and with that insects are making a strong appearance and trout are becoming much more active. I’m seeing a lot of the small stoneflies, especially hatches of Yellow Sallies. Here is a recent tie for the faster riffle sections: size 16.

And a tie for slower river sections, size 16.

Pale Morning duns are also starting. Like the Sallies they are light yellow/ cream in color. Some have a slight orange or pale green tint to them. I prefer this hatch as they ride the river surface for a fairly long time before taking flight. Trout can relax and sip on them.

The small fly hatches, unlike the big flies, tend to go on for weeks on end and some for months. They tend to be consistent and dependable. Last year  I fished Pale Duns from late June into late September on one of the local tailwater rivers. That’s reliability!

Catching a large rising trout on a small fly is always a real challenge and quite special when a connection is made and one landed. Here are a few taken on small dries…

Local Trout Water and Dog

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With only a light breeze on Sunday I checked out my local tail-water river. Spring in SW Alberta has been slow in coming. Nothing new. I’ve been itching to get out as there is a ton of snow in the mountains and when the temperature finally heats-up and it begins to rain, a serious run-off will occur and it could last awhile….possibly a couple of months. So, the opportunity is now to sight fish (and hopefully the next couple of weekends) as the water is low and fairly clear.

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abby

 

There were some bugs on the river: midges were the most numerous type; then some Skwala stoneflies; and just a few BWO mayflies. I saw very few rising fish. It was a slow day. However, I managed what looked like a Cuttbow (hybrid) on a dry…a nice one, and missed a good brown trout at the end of day.

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river

Next weekend should be a bit better as hatches intensify. The BWO’s will get the fish looking up and rising.

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One week, one fly, two feet

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multipsheds

I just spent a week fishing in my region. Most of the summer I have been a weekend angler. It was nice to be off work and stretch several river days together. I fish better when I have more time. I also tend to stop and take more photos while roaming around searching for trout.

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I had one cloud covered rainy day and a strong hatch of tiny olives, and a few larger ones, occurred. The trout were mainly on emergers. I fished a few different dangling fly patterns with some success. The key word is, “some”. That was the easiest day.

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emerger pattern, foam post for flotation, hook bent out by trout

 

 

bwofish

caught on olive emerger pattern

 

bwoflat

blue winged olive flat

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The other days were full sun and therefore much more challenging. A few were calm, most were quite breezy. There were still some bugs around but not a lot. The rises were infrequent with the bright sky. And when they did occur they were real subtle. Just spotting the faint sips was an accomplishment. I often had to listen for signs of surface feeding on the blinding sun glazed flats. Most of the good trout located were hovering in just inches of water. It’s my favorite type of angling. In skinny water you have to be “sneakier than sneaky” in order to fool them. Mistakes are rarely tolerated… few second chances. To make things even more challenging the trout were generally only feeding on tiny stuff. Time flew by. Hours seemed like minutes. Relaxing? No. Engrossing? Yes. Fun? Yes.

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hills

broadside

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On another river I used the sun and elevation when possible to my advantage in order to spot fish in the shallows. Then I’d drop down, choose my approach and try to fool them.

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snow in the mountains

 

perfectrees

 

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All week I casted olives when they were around, and fed beetles and ants to located trout when there was no hatch. While roaming around I found some old sheds; hiked some smooth wind sculpted hills; took pictures of small trees ( prairie bonsai) which always attract attention in the stark terrain; and caught a few wonderful trout. I also met a sheep herder taking a nap in the shade of my Jetta. He’s an old friend. Every year without fail we run into each other riverside.

One week, one fly, two feet…

 

sheep-herder

tailhold

 

murkyside

palm-tree

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dist-river

beetle

beetle pattern

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sheepherd

great Pyrenees herder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

august fins

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“August is like the Sunday of summer”

dorsal

We’ve had some clouds, some summer storms, some sun and cool nights and therefore  river temperatures have remained alright even though the water is low. It looks like we might get through August without any angling restrictions. South of the border (Montana) the situation seems quite different.

I’ve been sight fishing small terrestrials and on one river Tricos; one of my favorite hatches. It’s a good time of year as a few trout are rising and the Blue Jays (baseball) are in the hunt for the playoffs. I want to see Jose Bautista hit a late game homer and fling his bat again…the best “take that!” moment in baseball I’ve seen in a long time.

Here are some river images from the past couple of weekends…I struck out several times but did manage to hit a few long ones…

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adipose

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wide

abby

abby

 

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round up

 

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sleep

cuttbow

cuttbow

 

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trico

double trico

 

 

Catch That Sound

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pivot

With the cloudy, drizzly and calm weather predicted for the weekend I drove to the Missouri (M0) river anticipating a hatch of BWO’s. And presto, just like that, the little May Fly appeared. In spite of their teeming numbers a lot of the flat water sections I frequent year after year were void of rising trout. It was hard to believe the fish weren’t sipping on the tiny flies collecting in the more gentle/quiet areas of the river. They should have been on them like kids on candy!

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blue winged olives and perfect raindrop circles

I watched and waited but little happened. So eventually I went for a walk and hunted, and found some good fish in the Mo’s broad riffles, or more specifically, at the tail end of these sections where the riffles started to flatten out/expire.

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brown trout caught on dry fly

Most trout in these spots were focusing on emergers. This is usually the case. I saw many anglers wading right through these sections, never noticing the sometimes quite intense feeding and multiple fish. I’ve done the same in the past. It’s very easy to miss these fish with the grey glare that exists on such a wide river. Riffles also camouflage/mask any sort of surface disturbance made by trout. It can make spotting more challenging. Experience has taught me that if I just stand still and watch (when bugs are around) often I’ll see signs of feeding trout: bulging water or boils, or other subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, surface disturbances. Listening carefully can also save the day as some trout will break the surface and the odd one will occasionally eat on top. I often hear them before I see them. Once you catch that sound, you can then intensify your visual search.

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Although most fish were caught in the riffles and some tail-out spots on large pools, early in the day and then late I picked up a few good fish eating duns on the more enjoyable classic flat water sections. Most trout were caught on a Klinkhammer (body dangling below surface) style fly: dry/emerger. The best brown refused all my surface offerings and was hooked sight nymphing. The nice thing about this time of year is that if you see a fish moving water there is a chance it might be a brown trout as many of the river’s rainbows are still spawning in feeder creeks, and thus are absent. I catch some of my nicest browns in the Spring. Some rainbows were around as the photos show.

The Mo is an incredible sight fishing river. I hope to return in May or June… and Catch that Sound!

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I stayed overnight at Wolf Creek Angler, in Wolf Creek (great name for a town). Basic lodging and manageable price. They also have an excellent little fly shop.

last bwn

brown trout caught sight fishing with nymph

 

wca

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craig bar

Joe’s bar

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rainbow on dry fly

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