A Brown on the Swing

Posted on November 25, 2014 by troutondries.com

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails”.

Dolly Parton

There was a wind warning today. I saw part of my neighbour’s eaves trough tumble down the road. At least I think it was his? I should check mine!

On the eastern slopes of the divide in SW Alberta it’s always windy and if you don’t fish in the wind, well, you’re not going to get out very often. So I decided to go and just deal with it. I’d be casting a streamer and figured if it got real bad I’d just flip the fly and feed line or roll cast a lot. My plan was to fish a section of the river that is braided so I’d could find some protective areas behind islands and gravel bars.

late november brown trout

If there is anything good about the wind around here, it’s generally predictable: easterly. The other good thing is that in the summer time it blows terrestrials (grasshoppers, beetles, etc.) into the water. None of that today as we have transitioned to winter.

rainbow trout

I thought that if things became unbearable out there I would pretend I had travelled a long, long way to the Rio Gallegos in southern Patagonia where sea run brown trout and gale force winds rule the river, and you deal with it by tugging down on your Beret and just keep casting! My shoulder still aches. I’m well past the 100 pitch mark in my 9 inning angling career.

rainbow trout

I caught several Rainbow trout and coincidently, one Brown (not sea run but resident), which was the prize of the day. I was standing on the bank four feet above the water and swung my fly through a fairly shallow side channel with an even flow. As the fly tightened to the bank a brown trout glided out from some wood structure and nabbed it. I saw the whole thing from my elevated position. It made the day. I fished until dusk and then headed home guided by the North Star, or was that the Southern Cross?

sw alberta brown trout

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A Low Slow Swing

Posted on November 18, 2014 by troutondries.com

I fished my local tailwater river this past Sunday hoping to extend the season…and I did. It was winter like but sunny and that makes all the difference. The wind died down in the afternoon and that made things almost pleasant.

The bugs are definitely gone. Long gone. I didn’t even see a midge so I casted a streamer with a 6wt and a polyleader. I managed several fish and a few good ones in the afternoon when the weather was best. I got them on a low slow swing…sweet chariot. I was hoping to connect with a Brown trout but only caught Rainbows…not a bad consolation. I’ll take that deal any day.

raptor in distance, probably an eagle

sw alberta rainbow trout

Here are a few pictures while fishing near what some people call the “Cliffs of Doom”. They remind me more of the “Cliffs of Dover”; however, more tan in color than white. From river level to the top is at least 200 ft.

sw alberta rainbow trout

Under a Covered Bridge

Posted on November 1, 2014 by troutondries.com

I had to go back East for a few weeks. Yes, had to. Montreal. Every time I return I hope I’ll have a bit of time to myself but that never happens. The week(s) are always hectic and if I get an hour or two on one morning or evening to wander around, I’m lucky. Time there simply blows by and before I know it I’m in Dorval at the airport boarding my flight back West, and wondering where it all went.

When I do get a spare moment I simply want to re-visit the countryside southwest of Montreal, where I grew up. I like driving the narrow back roads fringed with corn fields. There are also large stands of Maples around where you can search for the remnants of an old sugar shack, or as they say around here a “Cabane a Sucre’. Sometimes I drive a ridge along the border between Quebec and New York State and simply take in all the apple orchards; row after row of carefully pruned trees. Rural Quebec is really quite beautiful. For those of you south of the border think New England but with a Québécois twist and signage, and rougher roads; much rougher…check the ditches for hub caps.

This trip I got up real early one morning and drove south through the Chateauguay Valley to a covered bridge which crosses a classic stream. I didn’t have a lot of time…which I guess is a running theme in this post…so I quickly breathed it all in, got back in my car and left in order to get back on time. The brief stop spawned many memories. It’s where I started fly fishing for trout. That was a long time ago. I remember seeing anglers with creels hanging from their shoulders, many smoking pipes. The smell of Amphora tobacco still makes me feel all is right with the world.

I use to pedal my heavy indestructible one speed CCM bicycle to the bridge from my home, a half day journey, and camp in a field that was leased or owned by Boy Scouts Canada. I’d fish for a day or two and then cycle back home. When I got a little older I’d hitch-hike there, cover the water with a big dry, then thumb back. I took a couple of pictures of the bridge on this trip but haven’t figured out how to download them from my phone. Technology, yikes! Here’s a couple of photos I found (stole) on the internet. I didn’t even give the photographers credit. Ok, call La Police!

percy bridge, quebec

I flew back to Alberta on a Saturday and although tired decided on Sunday to fish one of my favorite rivers. It would be my last chance this season. I didn’t do well. My head hadn’t caught up to where my body was. It wasn’t jet lag but more like mind lag. It had been an emotional visit.

photo by B L Garnier

It was calm out and there were a few bugs around (tiny olives and midges) but for the most part the fish laid low. Late in the afternoon I managed to find a few good rising trout where insects were collecting. It pays to know a river. I shared the spot with a lone sheep…but he wasn’t in waders. He seemed stranded at water’s edge with an eight foot high bank looming above him. He hadn’t found an escape route even though there was one upstream. He just sat there looking kind of lost and defeated. I tried to “shoo” him in the right direction and he got up and moved well but missed the exit sign.

sheep

When I left the river I made it a point to stop at the Hutterite Colony where I spoke to a child who was pretending to drive a large tractor. He turned his machine off with his imaginary keys and then pointed to the “Sheepman” who was sitting in an aged pick-up truck thirty feet away with another fellow. I informed the Sheepman about the stranded animal. He said, “We know about him…he’s one of the stupid ones”. I grimaced and explained that the sheep looked distressed being alone and in unfamiliar territory. He looked at me for a second or two with a poker-face, slowly put his truck in gear and as he drove off said, ” Thanks”.

a rare calm day

Anyway, I did manage one nice fish on a dry-fly. It made my day just like it did forty-five years ago while standing under a covered bridge.

rainbow trout on dry fly

P.S. Sheep aren’t stupid…they’re just sheep.

Clouds of Tricos

Posted on August 27, 2014 by troutondries.com

heavy sky

“Tricos! They’re everywhere! They’re on my raincoat. They’re on my glasses. They’re in my mouth. There are clouds of them undulating along the river. And the fish are up. They’re up all over the place. I have to get out there. This isn’t going to last forever. Nothing does. Things come and go. They come and go. I have to gear up fast. I have to get out there before it goes”.

-robert garnier

It has been cool and rainy and the bugs have made an appearance, and so have the fish. I’ve been on the Crowsnest river after work looking for sippers feeding on Baetis and this weekend I got to spend a full day on one of my favorite rivers out on the prairies. I was expecting a good Trico hatch so I got there early. It was full-blown when I arrived and the fish were already pushing the surface chomping on Tricos, the primary may fly, and Baetis (secondary). My heart started racing.

broad back rainbow

hike down to river

spent tricos

rainbow caught on size 20 dry

trico hatch

There are few Trico rivers in my area. Most of my experience fishing this hatch has been on the Missouri river in Montana and Silver Creek in Idaho. What I witnessed today was comparable and the fish bigger. It always amazes me how single-minded trout can become when they focus on this little may fly. What also amazes me is that you can actually catch, with some luck, a large fish casting such a tiny fly, size 20 or less. What was just as unbelievable is that I fished in solitude. It was just me, clouds of Tricos and rising fish down in the coulee.

Impressive trout feeding on tiny flies often in a foot or less of water. Fly fishing just doesn’t get any more challenging or better.

rainbow caught on size 20 trico

One Week, Late July

Posted on August 5, 2014 by troutondries.com

“It’s the Otters. That’s why there are no big fish in the Crowsnest river anymore. Otters don’t belong in western Alberta. They should have never been placed here by the environment people. There’s just little fellers left; just minners. Oh well, I guess a feller still might have a fighting chance if he tied on a Quigley to his line”.

Angler standing in Crowsnest river

roadside general store

I just finished a week of trout fishing with a friend. I tried to take full advantage of the opportunity and the long warm days as I won’t have much time off the rest of the summer. The dry-fly fishing was challenging. There was an absence of bugs on some of our local rivers, and a few of my favorite waterways were off-color. It also hasn’t been a good grasshopper season so far. Hopefully that will bloom as August progresses. In spite of the conditions we did manage to connect with some good fish: quality more than quantity. Not a bad deal. Most trout were caught on dries sight fishing; some on streamers. We did a lot of hunting…sometimes that’s the best part.

rainbow caught on dry fly in shallow water, by author

fernie bull trout, caught by joe f

river sculpture

owls

dry fly rainbow, caught joe f.

mountain cutthroat, caught by joe f. on dry fly

tailwater bow, caught by joe f. on streamer

One day when hiking a trail back to our car we passed an old abandoned homestead along the river. Three owls were perched side by side in the top window. One flew away before I got a photo. Then we noticed two deer inside, taking advantage of the shade mid day. When they spotted us they exited the front door as if they were leaving their home. We also saw two giant eagles, osprey and hawks. The river valley was simply alive with life. It was nice to share it with a good friend. I hope you enjoy some of the photos…

watching shallow water bank for feeders

owls

sipping rainbow on dry in one foot of water, author

rainbow on dry, author

joe f. below

amazing fernie bull trout, caught on streamer by joe f.

Listening for Life

Posted on May 3, 2014 by troutondries.com

midges

I went to a local tail water river two times in the past week feeling hopeful. However, there was no dry-fly action in spite of a lot of Midges being around and even some Blue Wing Olives. I was excited to see drifting mayflies after several months. I guess that’s something only a fly angler appreciates. It’s been a long winter and slow developing spring and water temperatures are still very cool: 38F. Usually at this time of year I can pick up a couple of surface feeding fish late afternoon once the bugs get going. It begins with whitefish rising, then some smaller to mid-sized trout, then when the hatch really gets popping and bugs accumulate, some bigger fish get involved. No such luck. I sat on a section I know well, looking and especially listening for life. On large broad water in bright light and with a lot of reflection, it is often sound that gives a trout’s surface feeding position away. I would catch fewer fish on dries if I was hearing impaired. I looked and listened for a long time then gave my eyes a rest, looked elsewhere, and just listened. Silence. The river never woke up. I plan to return one more time before run-off but I might not get a chance as the last three days have been hot and soon they will open the dam and release enough water to turn the Sahara green. Then I’ll have to wait a month or two for the river to settle down and clear. If things don’t work out locally then Plan B is to jump in the car and make the trip south to the Missouri river for the upcoming long weekend. May is usually a good dry fly month there. I’ll get riverside and listen for life.

dead pheasant wing

soft spot where bugs were collecting

eastern slopes snowpack

olive

crocus

Places and Landscape

Posted on March 6, 2014 by troutondries.com

In the About page of my blog I describe how I’m drawn to the rivers in the parched, windswept land of the high plains on the eastern side of the continental divide. Here are some pictures of the landscape I find so captivating, and where I often find myself hiking and sight fishing for wild trout with dries. The “catching” is always important but it is also about the sky, the serpentine water, the light and shadows, the wind, and the texture of the land. Places have an impact on us. Some places more than others. When you find a place that keeps calling you, you should go there. You go and spend the day, a complete day, where you get to watch the sun travel from one shoulder of the earth to the other. And you breathe it all in and it changes you. Maybe just a little. Maybe just temporarily. But it does change you. And at the end of the day when you retrace your steps home and slowly awaken from the spell of the place, you find yourself saying, “I want to go back”.

Sight Fishing Summer Rainbows

Posted on February 21, 2014 by troutondries.com

It’s the middle of winter but the days are noticeably longer. I’m actually able to put in some time on the nearby trails after work, snowshoeing for an hour before it gets dark. More daylight feels good.

Here are some summertime pictures of rainbow trout. All were caught sight fishing with dry flies: mayflies and small terrestrial. The two rivers I frequently fished don’t have high concentrations of trout so you have to walk a lot and search when the light conditions are right. The key to success is commitment to the angling style, intense concentration and observation, patience, and once a large fish is spotted, being sneaky. Fishing this way brings you closer to trout. You get to watch their behavior and sometimes even see them think.

I remember a day in August when I crawled up behind a large rainbow that was feeding opportunistically six feet from shore in very shallow water. I decided to plop my fly down between it and the bank. It responded to the vibration, slid over, looked at my offering up close, real close, then slowly turned away, circled tightly and returned to look at my fly again. Then it suspended itself right in front of it for several seconds, slowly tipped its nose up and ate.