I’m lucky enough to live in an area that brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are still king. They can be found in every river in the province of Prince Edward island. The majority of the rivers here support a healthy sea run brook trout population. While there are resident brook trout that stay in the streams … Read more
This is a pattern that was initially intended to mimic a sand shrimp. Once I got out on the water and actually fished the pattern, found that it did a much better job of mimicking mummichogs and/or killifish. You can bounce it along the bottom like a sand shrimp, or swim it in the upper middle part … Read more
There’s very little in fly fishing that will get me as excited as a large hatch of stoneflies. A female stonefly bouncing along the surface of the water and laying eggs will provoke absolutely savage strikes from hungry trout. Trout will recklessly slash at the surface to grab these large insects before they can escape. This is … Read more
The gaspereau (or alewife as they are known elsewhere) run has been going on for a few weeks now. The run happens every spring when the gaspereau come up river to breed. The gaspereau have a reputation among local fishermen for creating poor fishing conditions for brook trout. I’m inclined to agree, as for the … Read more
This past weekend I got some decent footage of a nice sized brook trout (The one pictured above) taking a size 10 Goddard Caddis I was skating. While I catch less trout skating a dry fly than on a dead drift, the trout I do catch tend to be larger, more aggressive, and fight harder than … Read more
I typically spin cast for mackerel, but there are actually many wharves around here where the mackerel come in range of a fly rod. Unfortunately there are only a few locations with room enough to cast a fly comfortably. When fishing these spots, it’s a blast to target mackerel on a fly, and this is my … Read more
The black Mohair leech is my go to streamer pattern for sea run brook trout and Steelhead. It’s a well known pattern, with many tying tutorials around the web. Pictured above is my variation on the mohair leech. I make a few additions in the tying process that really help improve durability as I feel that when … 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
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