Who says you have to use big salmon flies to piss off Atlantic salmon so they will strike your fly. I have caught many Atlantic salmon on the fly using the same trout flies I use on small streams and they do the trick as often as those bigger salmon flies do. Well most of the time anyways.

We can’t go fly fishing for salmon just yet, a few more weeks to go, so I was watching fly fishing videos on Youtube while having a nice hot coffee and just kinda day dreaming a bit.

I saw the salmon boil a couple of times and almost jumped out of my chair. Man, I gotta go fishing. Well, instead of just telling you about the video I guess I should just let you see it for yourself.

He talks about giving the salmon in a run or a pool the opportunity to settle down after you have let your fly drift through the run a few times. I remember my brother-in-law Joe would fish for a while and then sit on the bank or a rock, have a coffee and just let the pool settle a bit. The action always increased again after 10 or 15 minutes of doing nothing.

This video is of fly fishing salmon in Newfoundland but the principle are the same. Some day I will get a fly fishing trip to Newfoundland or Labrador. I had the opportunity while I was in Bible College but of course all my money was needed to pay for college.

I went out for a nice damp walk today. The rain stopped pouring although it was still misting quite heavily so I couldn’t see much through my glasses. It was still nice to get out on such a warm day, compared to the previous few months that it.

While I was walking I was thinking about fishing and a few happy memories of days on the water filled my mind. I am sure people that walked by me were wondering why I had a smile plastered on my face. I wasn’t even wearing a head set, just walking along with a big smile.

What was I thinking? Well I was thinking about springs that feed some of the places I like to fish. Most of the season it doesn’t really matter much as the fish are spread out but as the water levels drop those springs can produce catches on days when others are going without any fish.

I never really thought about the springs much, other than they are very refreshing on those scorching hot days. I started thinking more about when an old fishing buddy took me to a few of his favourite late August spots. I asked him why he just walked by so many spots.

He didn’t answer that question, instead he said, okay you fish those spots and I will fish the spots I think are holding fish and we will see what happens. So as we walked I fished spots I thought would hold fish. I was catching a few fish in the 8 – 10 inch range but he was catching them in 16 – 18 inch range.

Then of course I had to ask him why. He wasn’t casting any better that I was, well okay a little but not enough to make a huge difference like that. We were bought quite and didn’t splash around in the water, so what was it.

Finally he smiled at me and said follow me, but he still didn’t tell me.

He told me to look at the stream that was flowing into the brook. He told me to put my hand in the stream and that’s when I realized that this little stream was so much cooler than the brook. As soon as I felt the water I knew it was spring fed and then in an instant all the spots he fished came back to mind. Each and every one of those spots was fed by a spring and had one or two nice size trout, that he caught each time I might add.

Man, I love learning things that have been right in front of me all the time. I can’t tell you how many times I have fished that area, but once the water levels dropped and the water warmed up I moved on to other great spots that I knew still produced fish.

Now I have a great fly fishing tip that I can try on all those brooks I stopped fishing in the late season, if the weather was too hot for too long. You can be sure I will be giving this fishing strategy a try on my own this coming fishing season.

Fly fishing for me has been a relaxing way to spend weekends for the past 30 or more years. I’ve always used fishing to clear my mind of the stressful things during the previous week. Works great. The only thing that messes me up on a weekend fishing trip, whether it’s fly fishing or spinner or bait fishing and that’s to forget something important.

I actually left once and forgot my wading boot, fortunately I was only a short distance from home when I clued in and went back. So I know it’s good to have a list of what’s important NOT to forget.

First Aid Kit

Things like a first aid kit can come in quite handy but I didn’t start carrying one until after an angry pickerel twisted in my hand sending my fingers right into his gill plate. I got off quite lucky that day but every time I cast my line after that the line would drag across my wounds and remind how smart it would have been to carry a first aid kit.

Well I now carry a first aid kit in my tackle bag.

Rain Gear Doesn’t Do Much Good In The Closet

Another time I went without my rain gear and had to buy a cheap poncho at a little country store on the way. It lasted about a half hour in the rain and wind. The wind was strong and literally ripped it off me and took it right up into the sky and out of my site.

My fishing buddies of course were all nice and dry. If the fishing that day wasn’t so good I am sure I would have spent most of the day in the truck keeping dry and warm. I am sure I shook all the way home and was so glad to see my nice warm bed.

Now I keep my rain gear with my tackle bag and rods. No more fishing in freezing rain.

Note: I always tease my wife for keeping the TV on the weather channel but I will tell you that she is prepared when she leaves home. I am sure she wanted to say something about the weather channel saying it was going to rain all day but she’s kinder than I am.

Sun Screen Saves The Day

I have been out fishing on days that started cloudy and wet only to clear up part way through the day. This usually ends in me getting a bad sunburn on my neck or arms. All it would have taken was to have a little sunscreen, well live and learn. Now I have sun screen in my tackle bag at all times.

I fish from my float tube a lot and I’m so close to the water I get the sun from above and below, so sun screen is vital to my health and comfort.

Bug Spray or Bug Mesh

I am sure you have been out fishing when the bugs drive you mad or nearly. I can’t stand bugs crawling on me so I always have bug spray and I use it. I don’t like things close to my face either so I have a hard time with those mesh tents you put over your head and body. My wife uses the mesh as she isn’t willing to put poison on her body like I am willing to do.

Either way, spray or mesh, you will have a much better day on the water without the bug bites.

Fly Fishing has been a favourite sport of many for centuries, including myself, although for me it has been centuries quite yet. While this method of angling is generally used for catching trout and salmon, many other fish species are targeted also, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and chain pickerel being a few I love to fly fish for.

Some I have yet to try is fly fishing for saltwater species. I would love to make a few casts for some shallow water species like the snook. Not sure if I would survive a round with a tarpon but I would be willing to give it a shot too. I’m pretty sure my little fly rod would give out before I would, so I would have to get a new fly rod and of course saltwater tackle.

Fly Fishing Equipment Types And Uses

Waders – Fly fishing waders are essential to keep the fisher dry and warm. The main types of waders are either the full body wader or hip waders for shallow waters.
Body waders come in either high tech lightweight materials or in neoprene, the latter being best in cold conditions.

Reels – Your choice of fly reel will be determined on where you fish and the type of fish you decide to target. If you plan on fishing small streams the best setup will be a three to five weight combination of rod and reel. For the most, an fly rod, reel and line combination of seven to nine will handle bigger fish found in lakes or larger rivers. Fly fishing for gamefish like marlin require serious fly fishing equipment with high quality reels such as big game sage fly reels

Rods – In the same way as fly reels, your rod needs to be matched to the conditions and target fish. Fly rods are weighted from numbers one through to twelve, one being ultra light and twelve being very strong and heavy. Your fly rod and lines are the most important fishing tools, always buy the best you can afford, I can highly recommend sage fly fishing equipment.

Fly Fishing Vessels – Other than using a traditional runabout boat there are there flotation devices to allow the fly fisher to get closer and quietly to his prey. These include float tubes and single man pontoon boats.

Fly Lines – Appointing the correct line for the fly rod and reel is also significant. Without properly matching your fly fishing equipment you will not get the best casting distance. By using for instance a number 7 rod and a number three line is a poor match and will cause casting problems, therefore all of your lines, reels and rods must match to the relative weight number. While reels aren’t so important, the line and rod should be the same, or you can get by buy using one weight different. With a quality no 7 rod for example you should be able to cast a number eight fly line with ease.

Yeah the last few years have been a bit depressing health wise but here it is, my birthday, and I am still kicking and ready to get out fishing in just over a month. No body gave me money, that sucks but I did get a couple of  fishing magazines and I am always delighted to get those kinds of gifts.

My son has taken a real interest in camping, hiking and fishing in the past year and has been getting all the gear ready to do it all. He tried to get a couple of my fishing rods but I told him he had to get his own.

He bought me a Flyfishing and Tying Journal magazine.

I still don’t have my fly tying desk setup yet as it’s too big for my office with this huge office desk I have. I guess I will have to get rid of this desk and get two smaller desks, one for working online and the other for fly tying. I took almost the entire day yesterday and took this monster apart and moved it to the other side of my office. It’s so big we couldn’t lift it would tearing it apart.

I think a little corner hutch would be ideal as I would be able to put it behind be and just turn my swivel chair around to tie flies. That would leave so much room I might even be able to put in a treadmill for the months I can’t walk outside.

Then he comes back in with a second fishing magazine, Outdoor Canada Special Edition for 2010.

I will have to share some of the fishing tips and tactics with you when I learn them.

I finally hung up my old fly fishing vest which I purchased almost 30 years ago.It served me well but it was time for a new one. Nothing special, just one that still had all the pockets in tact and one that isn’t so faded.

The zippers don’t work and and, well it was time to replace my old friend. Now I have a nice new fly fishing vest which is lighter and has a whole lot more pockets.

I bought another fly fishing vest before the one I have now but I have heart problems and can’t carry much weight at all. That vest was nice but just too heavy for this old fart, so I gave it to my son who has finally become interest in fishing.

My fly fishing vest is an essential part of my fly fishing equipment. With the different styles of fishing such as dry fly and wet fly, to carry gear for each style required can become quite a load. A good quality fly fishing vest is designed to keep everything organized and within easy reach, and in doing so make each outing an enjoyable and hopefully unforgettable experience. My current fly fishing vest has so many pockets I sometimes lose things for days.

For example a days outing on a backwoods river requires that you carry a certain amount of equipment. The fishing could vary from fishing fast glides and runs where you are fishing blind perhaps with a heavy nymph, or to slow deep pools using a sinking line and streamer fly. Also likely to encounter are back eddies and shallow pools where one could use a floating line and fish a dry fly. All of these situations require different lines and fishing flies. Getting caught out by finding the trout suddenly coming on to a dry fly and all you have is heavy water gear with you.

Depending on the time you have you may also want to carry food and drink. When I spend a day on the river I would usually take lunch, a small billy and gas cooker if the area to be fished was in a fire restricted area. Also wet weather gear and spare clothing in the way of light weight but warm polypropylene shirt, socks and leggings. All of this gear requires a serious, good quality fishing vest.

Not only is the fly fishing vest a great way to keep everything organized, but also verifies that you have everything you need. With a well set up fly vest you can leave all your gear inside ensuring that the next time you venture out everything is where it should be. Get used to keeping the same things in each pocket so you can unconsciously locate whatever it is you desire. The majority of vests these days have a host of pockets and compartments for whatever it is you need. Camera compartments, cell phone pockets, sunglasses, sunscreens, the list goes on.

Most people will have need for different fly vests. Myself I have two, one I use for fishing from a boat, canoe or where I know what to expect such as local lakes rivers an streams. This is a light weight vest for equipment such as small tools, fly boxes, leaders, a perhaps a spare spool. On the other extreme is a full day pack / vest that can accommodate  various reels, lines and equipment for a long day hike.

Obviously the fishing vest you choose will suit your style of fishing, be prepared to spend a little extra and opt for quality fly fishing vests such as a Simms fishing vest, Like the rest of your fly equipment good quality will give years of enjoyment and fond memories.

Whether it is the primary or secondary form of propulsion on an angler’s boat, a trolling motor is a self-contained unit that can be lifted up out of the water when not in use. Sometimes it’s attached to the bow and sometimes to the stern. It has a variety of uses . When used as a secondary form of propulsion, it’s used for trolling for game fish and usually mounted on the transom next to the primary motor. It allows for more precise positioning of the boat so that the person fishing can cast the bait where the fish are located

Trolling motors are generally designed with a DC electric motor that uses 12-volt deep cycle batteries for power. The motors are sealed into a watertight container at the end of a shaft and are submerged when operating. Tiller steering is the most common , with speed control normally located on the top . Trolling motors controlled by hand attach to the boat with clamps.

For smaller watercraft like canoes and kayaks, trolling motors may be used as a primary source of automatic propulsion. Minn Kota iPilot, which is a GPS-based control system for some of its trolling motors. It uses GPS technology for navigation and positioning that does not require hands-on operation. Used on certain Riptide/ Terrova models, it has cruise control and a option that allows fishermen to record a fishing track of up to two miles and save it in memory , making it available for later use.

The Riptide series of trolling motors are saltwater trolling motors made for the harsh conditions of saltwater immersion. Any metal-on-metal interfaces feature composite bushings for isolation, which reduces wear and makes the motor very quiet. The tiller steering system is fully customizable in terms of tilt angle and length. And they feature the Lift-Assist gas-charged spring integrated into the bow mount, which makes it easier to lift the motor in and out of the water.

The Traxxis is a transom-mounted freshwater trolling motor from Minn Kota Trolling Motors, with features designed to assist in deploying, stowing, steering, and depth adjustment. Transom motors have somewhat of a reputation for being difficult to operate, but the Traxxis is designed for one-hand stowing with no push buttons or release levers. Like the Riptide models, the tiller steering is customizable in terms of handle angle and length. In addition, it It also has a cam lock depth adjustment which is unlike the more typical tension knob depth control. It allows the Traxxis’ depth to be precisely fixed, with no slipping.

A high quality trolling motor like those made by Minn Kota can make the difference between a successful day on the water and a disappointing one. By allowing fishermen to accurately and quietly maneuver to where the fish are, the motors make angling a more precise and enjoyable pastime.