Every spring our rivers get overrun with rainbow smelt making their way up river to spawn. There is a dip net fishery for smelt that opens 15 days before the trout fishing season opens. It’s an excellent excuse to get out on the river and scout it out, all the while enjoying in the bounty of smelts. … Read more
Looking for some new striped bass flies to fill your fly box? Many striped bass anglers have clousers, deceivers, flatwings, Tarbory snake flies, or some variation of these flies in their fly box. I’ve put together a collection of some striped bass patterns that will hopefully vary from the usual suggestions. Hopefully you discover a new pattern … Read more
I remember as a kid seeing hundreds of flying ants at certain times in the summer. My grandmother called them pismires, which I thought was hilarious as a little kid (piss-mires). Fast forward twenty years and I suddenly find myself thinking about these pismires again, this time as a potential forage food for trout. There … Read more
We all have some old lures in our tackle box that were either acquired second hand, were put away wet, or are just very old. These fishing lures are often bent, rusted, dull, and dirty. Some people might throw them away, but fish really don’t care if a lure’s a bit beat up or missing some paint. The … Read more
Shrimp are great because pretty much every fish that swims wants to eat them. This makes shrimp flies a good choice for multi species angling in salt water. There are also some types of fish that have a strong preference for shrimp, In Atlantic Canada these include sea run trout (either steelhead or brookies) and winter flounder, … Read more
Fly anglers are well aware of the importance of dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, but often neglect the airborne adults version of these insects. The adult forms of damsel and dragonflies are strong fliers, and are rarely available to trout or bass since they don’t fall in the water all that often. That being said, they … Read more
Popper flies are one of the most fun ways of catching fish. Panfish, bass, trout and an amazing variety of saltwater species will all take a popper fly in the right conditions. Poppers can range from very tiny bluegill poppers, to very large poppers for targeting striped bass, tarpon, and even sharks. I’ve gathered a collection of some … Read more
This is a infographic I made depicting the size difference between world record catches of some popular game fish. It’s nice to be able to visualize the difference in size by seeing them side by side. I realize there’s lots of fish missing from this comparison like Lake trout, pike among many others. I may do … Read more
Whether you’re an angler that has just moved to a new area, a newbie angler with no idea where to start, are on vacation, or a veteran of the area that has grown bored of your usual spots, we have all at one time or another wondered how to find new fishing spots. The list below … Read more
I’m sure many of us have said at some point “I’ll tie my own flys! It’ll be much cheaper than buying them”. O how wrong we were. You would have to tie many, many flies in order to make tying your own cheaper than buying them. Fly tying materials can be so expensive. Sure it’s often … Read more