scel
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Posts posted by scel
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On 6/5/2020 at 7:39 PM, Hawgstoppah said:
I ended up going out and I learned one thing. I suck at catching big pike but I can catch walleye on a fly rod pretty good! I think we might have been a few weeks late for the big pike action , we did get several easily handled smaller ones and one around 10-12lbs that my buddy Paul got. Nice day to be out. I'll still be interested in finding a cradle for next season, I think I am kind of smitten by the pike fishing, they hit so hard and fight so hard too. The big one we got tore up the lake!
For pike in a pontoon, I would simply get accustomed to controlling via the 'gill grip'. A cradle is great in a boat with a partner where you have a lot of lateral space to work with, but the 1m of real-estate between my legs is already filled with many things I wish to protect. Nets are just horrible because pike almost always seem to thrash once removed from the water. I have landed many 35+" fish with my pontoon boat.
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6 hours ago, dwday said:
You can totally social distance on the river or trail but that’s not the issue. The issue is with having all those people in the parking lot. I don’t think it’s a problem but the government does. That’s why they closed the parks down
The goal is to give people incentive to stay at home by eliminating the freedom that allows us to travel. As well, the problem was a huge uptick in outdoor activities. Parks require maintenance and upkeep. More people in the parks means more people to maintain the parks. Unfortunately, people do not seem to understand how to take care of their own garbage. Closing parking lots drastically reduces upkeep and reinforces social distancing. Cigarette butts, pop/beer cans, fast food wrappers...these are all things that go up to an individuals mouth, and then someone has to clean it up.
It frustrates me because I am not one of the people who abuses these resources, but I am the kind of guy who will put my empty coffee cup into a garbage can. If I notice I have an extra empty cup in the car, I will also put it into the garbage can. Despite my good intentions and relative innocence, I have just become part of the problem.
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On 4/16/2020 at 10:02 AM, Bcsteel said:
Thanks for the replys, I'll get a 5 weight for the smaller creeks etc. I will use the 8 weight for medium rivers for steelhead salmon etc.
looking for advice on setup.thanks.
What is your budget? A good fly line costs $80-$100. What do you have left for a rod and reel? Are you looking for advice for both lightweight and 8wt setups?
For an 8wt for salmon/steelhead, you definitely do not want to cheap out on the reel. For handling sink tips and longer casts, there are advantages to faster action rods.
I am going to give a slightly contrarian opinion---I think the 5wt is a good overall rod and a good complement to an 8wt, if it is the last rod that you plan to purchase. A 5wt does not cast dry flies nearly as nicely as my 4wt. A 5wt does not deal with sink tips and streamers nearly as well as a 6wt. Casting triple nymph rigs and hoppers on a windy day, I definitely prefer a 6wt. For a calm day on mountain streams, a 3wt is nice, but our regular Alberta winds necessitate a 4wt. If it is too windy to cast a 4wt, then it is definitely time for a 6wt.
I almost never use my 5wt rods anymore, and when I do, despite being high-quality rods, I always feel that I could have chosen a better rod.
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I suggest that you think about it this way...
If you were to seriously get hurt and require emergency care, would you go to the same hospital if you suffered a similar injury at your home?
If the answer is 'no', then do not go. This disease can very quickly over-run a medical system.
If we stick to this path, I am cautiously optimistic that we could see a relaxation in the mitigation strategies in the next few weeks especially if local health care networks are not unnecessarily stressed.
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So, I am fishing the Bow at dark last night. It is not uncommon to encounter beavers. They ruin the fishing, so when the beaver starts getting slap happy, it is time to move on. This beaver continues to follow me down the river ruining every run. So, I walk down a couple runs, then sit for 15 minutes. I start swinging my streamer. Sure enough, beaver shows up and starts slapping, so I angrily start stripping in my line to pack up and leave, then I hook up. I thought this was a monstrous fish, but it turns out that it was the beaver. I am using 20# fluoro, so breaking the line will not be an easy task, so I start reeling it in. The line eventually just snaps in the tippet section. The beaver then swims to shore about 4m away from me, looks around, takes a breather, then leaves.
I admit that I dislike beavers. But not the beaver specifically, I just dislike that they ruin the fishing. My first instinct was 'you deserved it', but that is just being an a$$hole. The beaver is just doing beaver things. I am certain there is no part of the beaver manual that includes 'how to treat fly anglers'. I do not think the beaver linked me with what happened or it would not have swum to shore so close to me, so there was no lesson learned either.
I feel badly because this beaver has an articulated streamer impaled into it, and really, it did not deserve it. Or it is tangled in line, which I think is actually scenario
It is debarbed, so it could be removed by simply pulling it out, if the beaver has the wherewithal to do it. A beaver is more than capable of cutting fluorocarbon line if it is tangled. Is there anything I could do or is this simply one of those 'mother nature is kind of cruel' moments?
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On 7/30/2019 at 8:50 AM, fishing4trophies said:
Looks like a cuttbow, a rainbow and cutthroat cross. Do you have any pics of the anal fin? A strong identifier for a cuttbow includes both dominant traits of cutts (slash), and white mark on anal fin for rainbows. I've landed cuttbows in the mid 20's before, so they can definitely grow big.
These are technically non-dominant traits---they are recessive traits. Furthermore, the slash is ironically a non-definitive for cutthroat trout. The orange slash can pop up in rainbow trout populations with no contact with cutthroat trout (the gene would have to be present in rainbow trout in order for them to produce viable offspring), but it does serve as a good indicator if coupled with any of the primary characteristics.
The primary physical taxonomic features that define a cutthroat trout are basibranchial teeth (little teeth-like protrusions on the tongue) and jaw that extends past the eye orbital. The most reliable secondary characteristic is the spotting pattern---higher density near the tail. Although, this characteristic can be easily washed out of cutthroat population (like those in the Oldman drainage).
In this case, the jaw clearly extends beyond the eye. The secondary characteristic of increased spotting near the tail is also present. And, of course, the orange slashes are present. Spotting pattern extends to the head, but not a reliable marker. If there were basibranchial teeth, you might have close to a pure cutthroat. Almost all Alberta populations of cutthroat have been hybridized to some degree with rainbow trout, so technically almost every cutthroat is a cuttbow. I think the only 'pure' populations are in a couple lakes in the Banff park.
source: wife is trained taxonomist and practicing biologist.
EDIT: It has been pointed out to me, and I was scolded by my wife, that there are several statistically genetically pure pockets of cutthroats. Still it is estimated that approximately 70% of the known populations have been interbred with rainbow trout.
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Wire bite tippet after a morning of topwater pike fishing:
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1 hour ago, FlashBang said:
Awesome post! And I do wish for some better behaviour in regard to the time people spend handing fish.
I can’t tell you how many times I see some Instagram Hero taking picture after picture, doing pose after pose. And some of these guys are catching serious fish on a regular basis. They must know better but they seem to have little regard for the fish they catch beyond their value in garnering more followers.
General rule; if you are handling a fish for longer than you can keep your head underwater, after sprinting 100 M, you’re taking too long.
Holy thread necromancy!
I love the comment is more valid today than it was 11 years ago, when people were just starting to carry cameras around with them full time.
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17 hours ago, yonderin said:
I've only used a floating 7wt myself. Different colour Clousers and a 2 inch red leech suspended under an idie have worked for me.
As for leaders, how concerned are you about loosing the odd one? My first time out I was targeting Jacks at somebody else's suggestion and simply cut a leader back until "I thought it was stout enough". Didn't lose any. The last time I wasn't specifically going after them and landed my only hit on 5x tippet. Their teeth aren't made for grinding, how much of a nick from a tooth it would take to allow one to break off, who knows? It will happen but my limited experience is that wire tippet is not absolutely necessary.
Consider yourself lucky. I have landed many pike on 6# test while jigging for walleye. I do not even know how many I have lost though---a number that is realistically in the range of dozens of jigs lost to pike teeth. Jig heads and softbodies are cheap though. Unless someone has full pockets of cash and/or lots of time to tie flies, some form of bite tippet is necessary. Any size of nick to tippet compromises its strength.
When bass fishing out east, we use 13# fluoro. We had to stop tying and fishing red/white and orange/white clousers to simply stop attracting pike. I think our 1-day record for lost flies to pike is 13. When a pike is chasing something, it will preferentially t-bone it then almost immediately do a u-turn. Pike can rip through 13# test like butter. It is possible to get away with 20# test, but it is important to re-tie the fly after every single fish. Losing the fish is not what really hurts---it is losing the $8 fly in a situation that was 100% preventable.
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Pike fishing is on fire right now.
I would recommend an 8wt rod. I personally opt for an intermediate sink line for most pike fishing---even in water less than 1m deep. Until mid-June, you can get away with a floating line. Most of the pike will still be sitting in less than 3m of water. When the water hits around 12-14C there is the potential for topwater pike action too. On all stillwater, weighted flies are not really necessary because the angler just has to wait for the fly to sink. If you feel you need it, a small sink tip will often help, but you still probably will not need more than 3IPS for next month or so. I would rather use a weightless (or close to) fly and a sink tip over a weighted fly and a floating line.
I use a 3-piece leader system. 5' 40# fluoro leader -> 3' 25# fluoro leader -> (clasp) -> 1.5-2' NiTi wire bite tippet. The clasp has a 20# break point, making it the weak point of the system. You can buy a pike leader---just put a clasp on it so you do not eat through the bite tippet.
For flies---just use something 2/0 or bigger. The humble red-n-white pike bunny is a killer pattern. Deceivers and clousers also work. You can use your big articulated trout flies, but be aware that a pike's teeth are designed to hold on to natural/fleshy materials (the exception being bucktail, which seems to survive longer than most materials). So, those nice marabou flies will not see more than 10 or so pike before being completely stripped of all the nice wispy marabou. Deer hair poppers and sliders are all great. Big poppers work too. Like most fly fishing, it is more how you present the fly than the actual fly itself. So, last weekend, it was the hand-over-hand (rolly-polly) constant velocity retrieve that triggered strikes. Do yourself a solid and debarb your hooks---you will pick a lot of flies out of their gills. Jaw spreaders and a good set of long-handled pliers are important. I prefer not to use jaw spreaders, but sometimes they will not open their mouths.
And remember, strip set. A trout set does absolutely nothing to set the hook. It is literally better to do nothing and just hang on than to lift your rod on a strike. When you get the fish in, I actually prefer not use a net at any time. Once in a net a pike thrashes like mad. Grip smaller pike firmly behind the head but over the gill plates (even their gills have teeth, so watch out for that). If you are in your pontoon, getting the gill-plate grip is important to handling the pike efficiently.
Last piece, cuts and scrapes are a natural part of pike fishing. I highly recommend keeping a bottle of rubbing alcohol to clean any cuts when you get back to the car. This might seem a bit paranoid, but after 2 occasions of requiring antibiotics from relatively small pike scrapes, I am a little paranoid.
Within 2 hours, there are probably dozens of places to catch pike. Dalemead, Eagle, and Chestmere are three that are within an hour of Calgary. Within 2 hours, there are too many options to list. Good luck.
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7 hours ago, Sparkplug said:
So in light of this, I would like to ask (genuine question - I don't know the answer to this - want to see what everyone thinks), what would be involved in undertaking a high-profile "rehab" project on a lake like Cow?
It sounds from the post quoted here that Cow was much more popular as a trout fishery, than it is as perch/pike. So would it be a stretch to think that the angling community would generally be supportive of trying to restore Cow back to being a trout fishery - just Cow Lake, as a first step (for now)?
Pike/perch crowd can go to wherever the pike/perch are otherwise.
I would revolt on this concept. I love Cow Lake.
It may have been more popular as a trout fishery, but it is a fantastic pike fishery, especially through May and June. In mid June, the topwater pike fishing can be absolutely amazing. While there may not be historically pike or perch in Cow Lake, they are naturally occurring in many lakes in the area. Even if it were converted back to a trout fishery, there is nothing preventing the same thing from happening again.
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Thanks for help everyone. I tried all the boots suggested.
I went with the Patagonia River Tractors.
I did not try the Patagonia Danner River Tractors. I could not absorb the price tag to afford to be an early adopter. Literally everything on this boot can be fixed or repaired, but the price tag for a vibram resole starts at $150. The Danner boots are meant to replace the existing River Tractors, so the 'old' models were on a fairly steep discount. The River Tractors are as supportive as the G3s and ended up being a little cheaper than the Freestones.
I will keep my old pair of garbage boots for the few days that I get to spend in a boat.
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6 hours ago, snuffy said:
My wife reports that her Vibram Simms boots that I maxed out the Alumabite cleats on have, like the River Tractors, much better traction than felt. That soft aluminium is magic. I really want to get my hands on the new Simms Ultralights with Alumabite cleats. Have any Calgarians noticed them in stores? I was hoping to pick up a pair when I'm up there at the end of the month.
My wife is a biologist. She will not permit me to get felt soles. To be honest though, getting to the river is far more dangerous than falling into the river itself. Falling into the river can ruin the day, but the only times that I have fallen and hurt myself have been getting down to the river. In both cases, my felt soles slipped on the muddy trails or on wet grass. Vibram soles and cleats have been my go-to for 8+ years now.
The Simms Ultralights were de-facto top contenders on my list. I will be shopping this week. I will let you know if I see them.
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Thanks for all the input everyone. I have a feeling that Simms Freestone boots are likely the a top contender.
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37 minutes ago, Sage said:
I had Chotas (Felt) and got about 1.5 seasons out of them. Bought them from Springbrook (The TFO guys). Candidly fair for what I paid for them.
I switched to Patagonia Foot Tractors (heavier boot but far better traction) and have been thrilled. Heading into my second season. Patagonia has lighter versions as well (think they are ultra lite). Both Patagonia and Orvis have fair satisfaction assurances on their gear.
I was intrigued by Patagonia's boots, but $685!!! Do not get me wrong---I want a pair. It might be worth it if they are legitimately the last boots that I would need to buy. Have you looked into what re-soling costs?
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1 hour ago, northfork said:
I've ran Simms freestone the last couple three pairs and been pretty impressed. Normally I wear the sole off the boot before anything else. and after looking into it before replacing the sole would cost more than new boots. I picked up a pair of simms guide boots over the winter on clearance from the fishin hole, they seem pretty similar to the freestone just look a little better built.
I have worn a couple pairs of Freestones. They were pretty good. They lasted the the same amount of time as the G3 Guide boots but I found the Freestones to be much more comfortable. I know some people swear by the G3.
I had never heard of Chota. They seem to have a similar construction to the Vaportreads. I will look into them. Thanks.
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Hivemind: I am in the market for new wading boots. I have been buying Simms boots for the last few years. I get 18-24 months out of a pair of boots before they completely fall apart. I put in a lot of footwork every season. From May until the end of September, I think guessing 20km per week walking the banks would be a completely fair assumption.
I have worn G3s. I found them to be heavy and cumbersome. My favourite boots ever were the Simms Vaportrail (or Vaportread or something like that), but they have been discontinued. These boots were light and comfortable---I was leery of the synthetic materials, but they drain and dry much faster than leather. The only downsides to the synthetics is during colder conditions.
I have my eye on the Orvis ultralight, but I do not know anyone who has tried them. Does anyone have any experience with them? In fact, the whole Orvis line of boots looks great, but it seems Simms dominates the market here.
I have owned a couple pairs of Korkers, but I have not found the comfortable, and the first pair barely made it 3months before the upper started falling part. I like the flexibility, but comfort is paramount.
What boots do you wear? How do they hold up to walking?
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4 hours ago, Bron said:
Walk three blocks north and go fishing
It really is this simple.
I would probably fish a black-n-white clouser minnow with a backswimmer dropper.
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It was only a couple years ago that I was finally convinced to go 100% barbless. It is not that sz20 does notable damage to the fish, but sz20 are already hard enough to locate (which causes stress to the fish) and remove without ruining the fly. If I am up for the challenge of casting a sz20, I can probably accept the additional challenge of barbless.
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On 2018-07-31 at 1:24 PM, Bron said:
Im no fisheries biologist. But doesn’t a quick google search reveal enough information on the affects of dams on tail water fisheries?
On 2018-07-31 at 2:51 PM, bcubed said:Ya there is a lot of text out there if you spend a couple minutes on google scholar. Here's a couple quick ones, and obviously a lot more out there if you were going to spend some serious time looking into it..
- A framework for evaluating food-web responses to hydrological manipulations in riverine systems
- instream flows and the decline of riparian cottonwoods along the St. Mary River, Alberta
- Basic Principles and Ecological Consequences of Altered Flow Regimes for Aquatic Biodiversity
- Influence of flow regulation on channel dynamics and riparian cottonswoods along the bow river, alberta
- review of benthic invertebrates and epiltihic algae at long-term monitoring sites in the bow river (this one specifially speaks to the impact on inverts at Cochrane due to the impacts of Ghost, which is the kind of management we saw for a week.)I am no fisheries biologist. That is the problem.
Can anyone ELI5 it for me? If it is so obvious and easy to understand, can someone please explain it to me? Seriously.
A couple of hours on Google Scholar just left me more confused.
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I grew up in Red Deer. I watched the RDR change over my lifetime. I must admit, however, that I did not fish it when it was in its brown trout prime. As a teenager in the late 80s, it was possible to catch walleye, pike, goldeye, whitefish, and rainbow trout (yes, rainbow trout) in the city section. So, as long as I can remember, unless you were very specific (like bottom bouncing a sz16 fly tipped with a maggot for whitefish or chucking a big red devil for pike), at least to me, it has always been a piscatorial roulette. Oh, the things a kid could catch with a small panther martin spinner!
I had not fished the RDR since 1992. I took up fly fishing about 12 years ago. I immediately started fishing the RDR, mostly for whitefish and goldeye, as a homage to my childhood. I remember the first brown trout that I caught. I had a WTF moment. I was expecting to set the hook on a 12" whitefish, but was actually a 24" brown trout. Since then, I have caught a steady 1 or 2 per year in an average of 4 or 5 outings per year. They do not live in your typical brown trout lies---those places are occupied by walleye. They live with the whitefish---kind of like a herd of house cats living with a lion.
There is no doubt the brown trout population is in a tenuous balance with all the other species. The brown trout fry have a gulag/gauntlet to run to outsize the walleye, but if they can make it to 12", really, they only have the pike to worry about, and a big brown trout predator has a veritable cornucopia of food sources.
They are very wiley; they would have to be to survive in the chaos of the RDR. But if you can catch one, they really are an archetype of the species---very beautiful.
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Can anyone provide documented scientific proof how changing flows impact an ecosystem AND how human intervention in riparian flows have a more significant impact on an ecosystem than the natural fluctuations?
I actually want to get angry about the fluctuations because I feel it affects the quality of the fishing. With the lack of actual of peer-reviewed, reproducible data, all I can justifiably feel is 'annoyed'.
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BUMP
Because I found these in the middle of the parking lot, I have a feeling the person will not know until the next time they go fishing.
They are Simms boots in fairly good condition.
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I was the last car in the parking lot. I found a pair of wading boots more or less in the middle of the parking lot.
PM me the brand, make, and size to reclaim.
Trying for big pike - what should I use for a netting / landing solution?
in General Chat - Fishing Related
Posted
This is my experience as well---even their darn gills have teeth. Over a day of good pike fishing, I find it almost impossible to entirely avoid getting a few tooth nicks, but even little nicks really should be like big cuts because pike mouths are nasty. I have required antibiotics twice.