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4/07/2016 2:19 pm  #18


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

  Sweet looking flies!


I'm just gone Fishin!
 

4/07/2016 9:24 pm  #19


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

For ice out flies Im all about the meat. Nothing but streamers with some bright colour on it somewhere and some flash. I don't start dry fly fishing till @ the 24 depending on how advanced the spring is.


A mans gotta do, what a man's gotta do.
 

4/08/2016 12:33 am  #20


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

Moonman - great write up, very inspiring - thank you for sharing - please post more photos when you can!

 

4/08/2016 11:46 am  #21


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

Hi Holycow,

I have fished flies over the years in small lakes very similar to the park just across the border on the Quebec side.  At that time we were primarily drifting or slowly trolling across shoals with Sinking line and bright streamers for both lakers and specs.  It was fun and actually quite productive when on the right drift.  I don't suspect we were getting any deeper than 10' or so but it was typically June when we did most of our fishing as well.

I will also drift flies for specs behind the canoe here in Southern Ontario on slow moving rivers (similar to the slower sections of the Crow) while my boys cast from the front.  I have caught some really nice specks like this.  For this setup I am using a floating line, 8' lead and bead headed wooly buggers (usually in red or black). I like the floating line as it keeps me out of snags when I slow the boat, help with one of the boys fish or untangle lines but do get hits when trolling at decent speed where I assume I am within a foot or two of the surface.  Works fine in rivers I fish but likely not good in deeper sections of lakes. 

I have bought from reel flies at the fishing shows and find them really helpful for a beginner like me.  You can check them out on the web.

I have also read about old timers using "loop to loop connections" and an old piece of lead core line or sinking fly line to get a little extra depth for spring trips on fly setups but have not tried it myself.  I have not been brave enough to bring my fly rod into Algonquin to try yet given I am really just have a dabbling interest and have not truly committed to it but perhaps if I get a solo trip in May or June i will.

Good luck out there on the water (if it ever unfreezes!)

Jon P

 

 

4/08/2016 12:43 pm  #22


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

Thanks for the input, Jon. It's always nice to read more stories and techniques. It's certainly helping me organize my tackle for my trip.

     Thread Starter
 

2/07/2017 1:26 am  #23


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

I was really in to fishing as a kid, always went with my dad, as I got older though that stopped. Over the last few years though I have had a couple kids and one of them loves fishing and I caught the bug again. This season I am thinking of trying fly fishing, something I have always wanted to do! Looking at a Hardy reel and undue about a rod thus far but looking at something of a 6-8 as I fish for walleye and pike as well as trout. 
Any recommendations?

 

2/07/2017 9:51 pm  #24


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

If you are fishing walleye and pike, I would definitely suggest an 8 wt, however an 8 is overkill for algonquin trout. However, if you would only be doing a spring trip, for a few days then I would still get an 8 if the rest of the year, you are in more traditional canoe country fishing pike walleyes and smallies. A 7 might be a good compromise, but you might suffer a tad in performance casting larger pike streamers or bass bugs, due to weight and wind resistance. So you really                      need six and an eight! All kidding aside, it all depends on how much you want to spend. The rod is most important in terms of quality, then the line and the reel last. For most Ontario fish that is. Fly fishing is expensive! A great rod in the 250 range is the Fenwick Aetos. Cabelas in Barrie and Gagnons carry them. You might find a deal ina few weeks when the sportsman show is on, as some stores have sales on at that time to compete with the show deals. At around 350, the Temple Forks BVK is a fantastic rod in 8 wt. Lower in the price range, Echo makes some rods at around 100.00 I haven't cast one but heard they are good for the price. Also, Ross Reels has their Esssence series of rods. The Essence FC is decent at around 120.00 Lebarons had then but they are no longer around, but you should be able to find them online. I have a few and they are great for the price. For line, I like scientific anglers, the mpx is good, overall in an 8 or 7 wt though, I like the mastery series bass bug taper. For reels, anything will do. If not in the salt fishing for species that make long drag screaming runs, almost anything decent will do. The Okuma slv is a really nice, super smooth reel in the 60-75 dollar range. Great quality and value.
The guys in downtown toronto at the Drift fly shop have some great stuff and are very nice/knowledgable, but most gear there is scary expensive, especially if you are starting out...I mean heart attack sticker shock. For more reasonable beginner gear, try Bass Pro and look in the fly section, ask for Gordie or Mike.
Hope this helps.

Moonman.

Last edited by Moonman (2/07/2017 9:53 pm)

 

2/10/2017 10:23 am  #25


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

IMO the most fun fly fishing to be had in the park is fishing the river systems. I'd reccomend a 5wt as an all purpose rod. I don't find brookies in the river very selective. Casting size 6 muddler minnows downstream and stripping them upstream on pools should yield fish if they're there. I spin and fly fish and find spin fishing much better suited to trolling. I hate fishing sinking lines and trolling with a long rod. 

 

2/24/2017 12:07 pm  #26


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

Hey Zen, I ama new fly fisher as well. I've been trying for a couple years but since i don't get out much I retain my rookie status longer than most.

I got a 6wt LL Bean combo (overkill for some of the trout but I wanted an all purpose rod for some bass/small pike). I really liked the rod for casting as a beginner and it comes with lifetime satisfaction guarantee. Temple Forks also has a good guarantee.

I was drifting stonefly nymphs and catching little brookies in some of the small river systems.

     Thread Starter
 

4/19/2017 10:17 pm  #27


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

i have had good success trolling mosquito flies for specs in both Papineau Labelle and Lake Superior park from a canoe.
You can tie a sinking leader onto a spinning rod and if necessary add a few split shots.  because the fly is small the spec tend to take the fly deep so very few hits are misses.  don't use this method if you are planning to release because they usually take the fly too deep to easily dislodge.

 

6/18/2017 7:17 am  #28


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

This past May, I was on a lake and trout were surfacing but they wouldn't take anything I presented to them.  Then, I figured out they were surfacing to eat mosquitoes and other bugs.  So the lake was really calm, and I tied a floating fly on my line (no leader and no sinker) and PRESTO I landed a few trout by trolling all around the lake.


CAMPING IS WHEN YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TO LIVE LIKE A HOMELESS PERSON!
 

7/12/2017 2:33 pm  #29


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

Planning a trip tp Achray in early Sept. I would like to do some fly fishing for brookies. From the posts I have read, it appears they are a spring target only for fly rodeos. Are there any possibilities in the fall in that area of the park? Also, is it lake fishing only for them or could there be some action in the moving water tributaries? 

 

7/13/2017 6:32 am  #30


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

Best luck would be in moving, cooler tributaries...and later in September for the lakes.  Brookies will come to the surface to feed in the warmer waters but not for very long.  You could luck into one even in July or August on a dry fly but that would be the exception as opposed to the rule.

 

7/14/2017 10:36 am  #31


Re: Fly Fishing - General tips for spring

I didn't read through all the posts to know if this was mentioned but I love using a mouse pattern ... I was used to using the usual wolly buggars, nymphs, etc.  and then someone at Sail suggested I buy a mouse ... I've had more fun with it fishing bass then any other fly ... its a weedless setup so you do have some issues hooking some fish but lots of rises and hits ... it was sold to me as more of a rainbow trout fly but I've never tried it for bows 

 

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