May 25

Trout Fishing With Spinners

Using the Spinners

I have written several articles on finding fish and articles on different types of lures. I would now like to share some information regarding the use of the spinner. My intention here is to make your experience on the water more productive. Not only will you improve your odds you will have more fun as well. Panther Martin Spinner

Every fisherman has the privilege of seeing different colors and sizes of spinners when he enters the sporting goods store and looks at the shelves. We would all agree the selection is impressive but how do you select a lure which will best suit the river or lake you intend to fish. I used to believe in the old superstition that was based on hearsay, what appealed to my eye or the last fisherman I talked to at the river. What I think happens to most anglers and has happened to me is we select lures “A” “B” and “C” from the shelf. We then go out and fish these lures we selected. We then successfully make a satisfying catch with these lures and then conclude that we have found the “perfect lure”. The fisherman then fishes his “chosen” lures catching a fish every so often. Once in awhile an outstanding catch is made and the fisherman believes he now has an exceptional lure once the fish are “on the bite”.

I now look at things a lot different now I know more. I believe the angler makes a catch when his “chosen” lure coincides with the conditions that are best suited to his “chosen” lure and the style he is fishing it. The result is a predictable one, sometimes he catches a decent fish and sometimes he gets skunked and every so often he catches a monster. This is a classic example of anglers who fish for Trout. I believe the reason that fishing spinners has never been taken seriously is that many fisherman do not take the scientific approach to fishing them, what I mean is matching the lure to the prevailing conditions just like the fly fisherman who carries with him a dozen different fly’s to match the hatch. I believe that anglers when fishing hardware have to consider size, degree of flash, color combination in relation to the water color, temperature, and light conditions. These considerations will produce good consistent catches of high quality fish.

The main objective here is to put spinner fishing within a specific framework where the choice of a particular lure is based upon tangible environmental factors. This will help you dictate what color, size and weight of spinner should be used. An example, a fly fisherman in May will not tie a big fly on the line as this is when the May Fly hatch is coming off here. He will tie a small fly that looks as close as possible to the May Fly, he will use the same colors and will keep the fly at the top of the water surface. Same thing with spinners, use a smaller spinner that is light and has the same colors in it and you will find success.  This is the framework I speak of here. There is absolutely no reason why trout cannot be negotiated with spinners regularly in all conditions. A great deal of practice combined with some patience and an accurate thermometer will be your greatest asset. A note book to write down your experiences will also add to your future fun fishing the spinner.

May 15

Fishing the May Long Weekend

The May Long Weekend is Here

It is May long weekend here for us who live in Canada and it’s the first chance we get to go ahead and get out camping and fishing. I have never really been much for camping on this specific weekend as it usually is a weekend for bad weather. No I am not trying to jinks you here so stay calm. I do not think we will need to worry about the weather this weekend as it is predicted to be about 20-25 degrees above zero. This is a first in a long time the sun will be out all weekend long, suits me just fine. Now the decision is where to go and camp and fish. Well that is precisely why I am writing this article for you, to give you some great spots to check out.

The first decision I personally make is am I going to fish a river or a lake? If I decide to fish a lake here are some of the places I go camping and fishing.  McGregor Lake is one of my top spots to camp and fish. Swimming and boating access is at McGregor Lake Recreation Area (formerly Milo Campground), an Alberta Provincial Park site with camping facilities at the northwest corner of the lake. Amenities include a boat launch, playgrounds, and picnic shelters. Small boats can also be launched at Lomond Crossing, where Secondary Road 531 crosses the lake. Sport fishing yields Walleye, Yellow Perch, Lake Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, and Northern Pike (Jackfish). Local residents have reported catching up to 22 lb northern pike. A campground, picnic area, and boat launch are provided at the north end of the lake.

Crawling Valley Reservoir near Bassano is another one of my favorite destinations. Not much for trees or scenery but the fishing here can be dynamite. Rise early and fish late into the evening for Walleye or cruse the back bays for good sized Pike. Early spring fishing here can be awesome as those big Pike come in shallow and feed heavy on jigs, frozen minnows and those big crank baits like the Rapala X-Rap. Fishing from shore here can be great as well for those who do not have a boat. A relatively new campground which was established in the mid 80’s, Crawling Valley Campground is located on the Crawling Valley Reservoir, NE of Bassano. Services Include Pull through sites, Fire pits, Fire wood, Ice, Group camping, Coin operated showers which are Handicap accessible, Potable water, Dumping station, Boat launch and day use area, Public phone, Fish cleaning stand, Concession stand.

And for the whole family Sylvan Lake, Sylvan Lake is the perfect destination spot for the entire family at any time of year. They are among Canada’s ten best beaches and the fishing here can be very good in the spring time. Sylvan Lake has a wide variety of accommodations ranging from luxurious hotels to clean, rustic campgrounds. Sylvan Lake has clear water, little algal growth and few areas of dense aquatic macrophytes. Although summer kills occur occasionally, the lake supports a popular year-round sport fishery for pike, perch and, in recent years, walleye. Provincial sport fishing regulations apply to Sylvan Lake so check the regulations guide before fishing anywhere.

Please come back to the Blog and I will let you know where I go to fish the rivers and streams here in Alberta. Fish and camp this May long weekend and have fun. Take a youngster out for his/her first time fishing. Practice catch and release fishing and respect your surroundings. Clean up after yourself and if you see some garbage lying around, please pick it up and dispose of it. Let’s all do our part and make sure we carry this way of life far into the future for our kids to enjoy.

May 04

Floating The Lower Bow River

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/pIEAifJ75dc" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]Floating The Bow River

On a windy and chilly day in May I decided that it was time to get that dingy back on the water and get the monofilament wet once again. I rang my friend Stacy and asked him to join me on a float from Policeman’s flats to McKinnon flats and he gladly accepted. The clouds broke at ten thirty and the spring sun showed is warm face. It’s about time we had some sun here in Alberta I thought to myself as I tied my Panther Martin to the Berkley XT. I was eager to get the boat in the water and get into some big wild hogs as the last month of fishing has been a little slow. We pushed out of the bank and off we went to seek and hook those scrappy Browns and Rainbows the Bow River is famous for.

Upon entering the cluttered water I could not help but smile as I cannot think of a better way to spend a Friday afternoon. We started off bottom bouncing Panthers and the first half an hour was slow and no bites. We were finding that this technique was not providing what we needed as the river was full of weeds and debris and getting on our hooks. I decided that a cast and retrieve method would work better as the hook stays off the bottom of the river. I spotted a nice drop in the water where trout usually sit and wait for food then casted my spinner bait into the ledge. After a couple of revolutions of my reel a small Brown Trout latched a hold and fought all the way to the boat, even those little ones fight hard sometimes.

We carried on down the river and the wind would not stop howling. I then rowed the dingy around a corner of the river and casted into the shoreline into a deep pocket of water and bam, a nice brown latched a hold of my rooster tail spinner and went airborne. She took three good leaps into the chilly spring air and then dived back into the water abruptly. She was doing her best to shake the hook but it was set and I was in control. I reeled her into the side of the boat and gently netted her into the boat, popped the hook from her toothy jaws and released her back into the murky water. Stacy was happy to see a good sized trout being landed and I think that gave him motivation to hook one himself. We decided to get out of the boat and stretch our sore legs. We stopped at the same place I had just hooked that female brown trout. I thought that there might be more where that came from and boy was I right. I ended up landing six fish from that corner of the river and they were all browns. Stacy hooked and landed the only rainbow trout from that honey hole.

The day turned windy and the fishing was still pretty good from that hole onwards. Stacy landed another eighteen inch rainbow and I hooked into a couple more fish myself, one was a rainbow and the other was a brown. We were doing more rowing than we were fishing today but it was still nice to get out and float the river once again. I noticed the weir has opened up yesterday May 3 2008, and we will start to see the run off happen here in the next couple of weeks. So if you are going to get out and fish the Bow River, than you’d better do it very soon. I am going to float a couple more times before the river turns unfishable and hopefully I can see those scrappy trout once more.