Barbarian Fishing

December 29, 2009

Fly Fishing in Canada

Canada is a beautiful place to visit. When you are planning a fly fishing trip, you’ll find an amazing adventure in Canada! Many of the rivers and lakes where fly fishing is the best are in remote areas, so when you choose fly fishing in Canada, you’ll have privacy with the added perk of some great fishing!

Some of the best fly fishing in Canada is found in the province of Ontario. There are many lodges you can choose from to stay at when you are there, but be warned that most of them are in very remote places where you are likely to be left alone with your party and can only get in and out by plane or train.

The Brown Bear lake system in Ontario is considered one of the best fly-in trophy smallmouth bass lakes in the area. The fish here average between two and three pounds, but four pound fish are common every season with some trophy wall hangers of 5-6 pounds being caught each year.

Norse Lake is a prime example of a remote Canadian fly-in wilderness lake. The lake is protected by a high, picturesque landscape that stays relatively calm even in windy weather. Here, you can catch beautiful walleye, Northern Pike, and smallmouth bass. Trophy sized fish are found every year, so fish this lake for some great opportunities.

Populus Lake offers twelve miles of beautiful water and land for you to explore when fly fishing in Canada. There are numerous channels and bays dotting this lake with all sort of landscape features like rock outcrops and weed beds which are prime breeding ground and hiding places for fish. This lake is situated in a very remote area with walleyes, trout, and Northern Pike in abundance.

Picture a cool, clear Canadian lake with lots of trophy sized smallmouth bass and Northern Pike and you’ll have Treelined Lake. This lake is so clear, you will be able to see the fish clearly near the shoreline. Wildlife is abundant here and it’s not uncommon to see a moose feeding on the shoreline in the twilight. You’ll find some real trophy sized fish on Treelined Lake with Northern Pike averaging over 5 pounds and smallmouth bass at 4-5 pounds.

Because so many fly fishing spots in Canada are located in remote locations, you’ll find peace and serenity during your fly fishing trip there. Enjoy the beauty of the Canadian wilderness while you catch the fish of your dreams. There are so many choices available to you that when you choose Canada for your next fly fishing trip, you’re sure to come away a winner either way!

Fly Fishing Calendar

What are the best times to try and schedule a fly fishing expedition? When we talk about a fly fishing calendar, we aren’t referring to a printed date book that you can hang on your wall. We are talking about targeting and specifying the right times to fish and the right places to fish at.

The things you need to look at most when considering a fly fishing calendar is when the water will be at the right temperature that is prime for catching fish. Depending on the area you are looking at for your fly fishing trip will depend on the right time to go.

In some places like California, the fishing is pretty good year-round. While in other places such as Washington, you’ll want to avoid the water in the winter as the cold temperatures will stress the fish and they won’t be as plentiful.

Generally, the fly fishing calendar shows the best fishing in the spring and summer months. Early fall will also find some places showing good fishing as well. Almanacs can be helpful guides to guide you towards the best fishing times as can constant updating through Internet web sites.

Most places will give weekly, and sometimes daily, fishing reports on their websites. They can tell you where the fish are biting and where the best places are to cast your line. They generally keep these areas of their sites updated pretty regularly, so you can get quality reports just by looking at what others have to say.

Fish like warmer waters, although, there are other species that thrive in cold water such as salmon or steelhead. In general, warm water will attract more fish. However, if the water is too warm, the fish will be sluggish and will navigate to places where the water is cooler.

The fly fishing calendar used most often by experienced fishermen has been compiled over a period of time. They spend a considerable amount of effort to estimate where and when the best fishing will occur. Then they share it with others. That’s one of the best parts of fly fishing – the camaraderie and sharing that can come about with a love of the sport.

You can compile your own fly fishing calendar with a little time and effort. Just do your homework and keep copious notes. When you see a trend, you’ll know it’s time to fish! Then be sure to help your fellow fishermen as they try to figure out what you already know. They’d do it for you!

December 22, 2009

Fly Fishing Books

Although experience is a great teacher when you are learning about fly fishing, you may also want to look into the myriad of books that are available on the topic. Fly fishing involves a lot of things, and you’ll need to know about these things if you’re going to be effective in the sport. Fly fishing books are a great way to start learning!

A quick search on Amazon.com shows over 8,000 titles on fly fishing available! Prices range between $10 and $50. Some of these books are purely instructional while others contain anecdotes and fish stories designed to entertain. You can get books that tell you the best places to fish at and the most satisfying fly fishing destinations.

Fly fishing books are great resources as well if you want to learn how to tie your own flies. One of the first things you need to know in fly tying is what the flies look like that you’re trying to mimic. When the book comes with illustrations, you can easily match your fly to the picture.

Online books are another great way to get information about fly fishing. There are many e-books available for download. Look for the ones that will fit your needs. If you’re a beginner, you may want a comprehensive guide to all aspects of fly fishing. If you’re more experienced, an update book may be the way to go.

When choosing a fly fishing book, look at the author first. Are they qualified to write this book? What experience do they have in the sport? Can they provide you with compelling reasons to take his or her advice? You will get more accurate information from a person who has personal experience to offer.

Is the book easy to read? When you are reading a book filled with technical language, it can be overwhelming and it isn’t likely to help you much. The author should define unfamiliar language early on in the book and keep reminding you throughout the text what they are referring to.

Don’t opt for long winded tomes of pages akin to War and Peace. They aren’t likely to give you much good advice plus the boredom factor has to come into play. A lot of great information can be packed into a few pages. Opt for the shorter book rather than the longer one so you get what you pay for!

Fly fishing books are wonderful sources of information when you are learning about this sport. Find a book that you are comfortable reading that also gives you what you are looking for. The choices are vast, so go online or get to the bookstore today and learn what you need to about the sport of fly fishing!

December 16, 2009

Fly Fishing Clubs

Fly fishing clubs are a great place to learn, apply, and share knowledge of a great outdoor sport. Fly fishing clubs are the best “hands on” resource if you are thinking of entering the fly fishing experience. If you want to learn more about casting a fly rod, how to tie fly’s, how to make fly rods from blanks, or just have a great outdoor experience, check out a club in your area.

If you don’t have a fly fishing club in your area, you might want to access some of the resources available to you on the Internet. There are many places you can go to online where you will find camaraderie, advice, and tips about fly fishing.

Fly fishing clubs are often regional in nature. You can usually find a club that caters exclusively to residents of the state of Michigan or Washington. You can also find a fly fishing club that is geared toward beginning fly fishers or one that gives tips and advice about how to tie flies or the best casting techniques to use.

One of the greatest advantages of a supportive fly fishing club is the opportunity to go on fishing vacations with people you meet. When you get to know people who share your love of fly fishing, they are eager to co-mingle with other people who share their passion.

If you are a member of an Internet club for fly fishers, it can be fun to make plans to meet at a designated spot to get together for some well deserved R & R while fly fishing. You can find camaraderie and friendship by joining a fly fishing club plus, you can learn a lot about the sport from fellow club members.

When joining a fly fishing club, you can further your fly fishing education, practice conservation, and enjoy the company of some interesting people who share your interest in the sport. You can draw on each other’s knowledge and learn new things just by talking and participating in club activities.

Not only are there local clubs, but there are also national fly fishing clubs that you can become a part of. The Federation of Fly Fishers is dedicated to enhancing the sport of fly fishing for all species of fish. International Women Fly Fishers aims to educate women in the sport of fly fishing. Trout Unlimited is committed to the preservation of all cold water species and habitats.

Many people join more than one fly fishing club as the choices can be endless. If you are truly dedicated to the sport of fly fishing, joining a fly fishing club can truly enhance your enjoyment of this exciting and diverse sport!

November 21, 2009

Top Snapper Fishing Tips For This Season

My top Snapper catching tips for this snapper season are designed to help you catch a great fish this year.

Firstly, lets start with fishing tackle.

Snapper fishing is popular enough to warrant specific fishing rods and reels, as well as a particular line and hook setup. Not to mentioned the other options such as soft plastics which I will also look at.

Snapper Rods

Buying the right snapper fishing rod is important. Snapper are a fighting fish, and love to take line and run hard away from the boat. A Snapper rod should be longer than a normal boat rod and have a strong butt section for good lifting power (some snapper may be will over 10kg in weight) and a reasonably soft tip action to allow maximum pressure to be applied to the hook at all times.

My tip is to buy a fibreglass snapper rod, length of 7 foot (2.1m) and about 7-8 guides. There are variations on this, and if you can’t find a ‘Snapper rod, then a spinning rod designed for catching Barramundi in Northern Australia would be a close approximation.

Snapper Fishing Reels

Ahh, now we get to the important item, the best fishing reel for snapper!

There are 3 options. A regular spinning reel with anti reverse, a bait runner style spinning reel (dual drag settings) or an overhead reel.

Most of the experienced snapper fisherman I know use the bait runner style spinning reel. It has a number of advantages, those being :

This last point is the most important. Snapper don’t like to feel tension on a bait. If they take a bait, they don’t want to have to ‘pull’ it. once a Snapper takes a fish, it will swim off, and the bait will move a little further into its mouth. Itis at this point you want to strike, by flicking the reel from its ‘light drag’ mode to regular drag. This process is designed to get a great hook set.

So my best tip for a snapper reel si to buy a baitrunner style reel, with the rod style mentioned above.

Line and Hooks

Snapper tackle should be reaosnably heavy. There is no real advantage either way for using braid or monofilament line. It comes down to personal preference.

Hook sizes are determined by location, bait, and fish size.

in Westernpost bay in Victoria for example, and in some South Australian waters, larger fish are possible so a hook size of 7/0 or even larger would be appropriate. For other bays, perhaps where there are more ‘pinkies’ or junior snapper, a hooks size of 5/0 might be best.

Line should be strong enough to withstand the fight, but enough to leave a bit of sport! My tip is to use Mono line at about 20lb strength.

Bait

There are lots of options for bait, but my top tip is to try a few. Most popular are whole Silver Whiting, whole and portion squid, whole pilchards, and soft plastics, and snapper snatchers.

In Victoria, fresh Silver Whiting are most popular, along with Pilchards.

For Soft Plastics, my tip is to try 5″ shads in bright green and pink. In the Berkley range of soft plastics, this colour is know as Nuclear Chicken.

Fishing Areas and tactics

For bait fishing, cast out, leave no tension on your line, and wait on dusk/dawn for the best chance. Look for changes in bottom elevation, structure like rocks etc where fish might congregate. Snapper move throughout bays during the season, into shallower and deeper areas based on water temperature and moon phase. Find a local takle shop to get their best tips for the area!

For Soft Plastics, cast out with a medium weight plastic. Let it fall to the bottom, and twitch return back to the boat. Snapper tend to feed near the bottom, so keep your plastic low. When you get nearer the boat, twitching all the way up through the water to the boat could give good results.

Snapper snatchers are baited jigs that can be retrived, or left at the bottom. You can get great results with these!

In summary, those are some good tips to help you catch more Snapper. Buy the right Snapper fishing tackle, like rod, reel and bait and you have taken care of the basics. Then, its up to you to find the fish!

Powered by WordPress