2010 Log Book

April 3, 2010, 12pm - 4pm

Hit the same spot today as i did on the opener.  Started out with the little brown trout and got two on very quickly both about 10 inches or so.  I didnt get another hit for the next hour so i moved down to the next pool with a muddler.  Got anothoer two in the next hour, and a few strikes which i totally missed.  Black stoneflies were out so i tied on the best thing i had to imitate, I couldnt get a brookie to take the fly though.  If i had a decent nymph pattern for the black stonefly i am sure i could have landed something.  A good day nonetheless.



April 13, 2010, 5pm - 7pm

Today I hit a river I had been meaning to try for some time, its not a far drive from the city, and i had heard people had found some brookies in there.  I busted out of work at 4pm and as always had my waders, vest, flies and rod in my car.  When i got to the river i immediately headed up stream and found a huge beaver dam.  There was an older gentleman fishing there already with worms who was just leaving, said he hadn't had a bite.  The place looked interesting enough, it was a nice evening so i figured i would just cast a few streamers into the pool and enjoy the quiet.  It didnt take long for a little guy (really little!) to grab my little brown trout streamer, i got him released quickly and my fly back in the water and almost right away got a carbon copy of the first trout.  I could tell this river wasnt supporting much in the way of size, so i decided to just explore the waterway.  There was a beaver in there that had really taken over, amazing to see his work actually.  Not much in the way of insect activity today.

April 16, 2010, 12pm - 3pm

Fished another inflow of a small lake this afternoon, started out with the "little brown trout" streamer as it has been very good to me so far.  Again i was able to get a couple very nice trout in the 12 inch range straight off the bat.  There was a father son fishing just down the river who i watched, they were having no luck with a bobber and worm, i worked the river a bit with my streamer and was able to land another little guy, and loose one more.  I lent the fly rod to the little guy in place of his bobber and worms and mended line out for him, and wouldn't you know it he hooked into a nice trout!  Unfortunately he didn't land the thing, it was only on for 5 or 10 seconds... but i think i got the dad hooked on fly fishing!  To me thats a pretty good day.  Saw some balck stoneflies, turned over a few rocks to find what looked like mayfly nymphs to me.  I need to get better with my entomology.


April 25, 2010, 8 am - 12 pm

A very good friend of mine, Jake, decided he was going to get into fly fishing so he could enjoy nature, and also hang out with the boys a bit more.  Hes one of these married dudes.  I was all for it, so i advised him on a starter rod/reel/line and he was ready for me to pick him up in Musquodoboit harbor at 8 am. 

I had never really fished the Musquodoboit River before, and you'd think i would have growing up on the eastern shore for a large chunk of my life.  The lower stretches of the river are closed this time of year, so we headed upstream, i didnt really realize the Musquodoboit river was so big, deep, and slow moving.  Its also got a lot of growth on its edges.

When I get people out fly fishing for the first time, I like to limit the casting to a minimum.  Beginners just arent usually very effective casters, they got caught on trees and brush, and the end up getting frustrated, this isnt a good thing when you're hoping to get someone interested in the sport.  I usually find a river that runs into a deeper pool, and let the current do most of the work in getting the line out.  I had no idea there wasnt really a good spot for that on the Musquodoboit River.  Anways, we waded in a fair distance  to get somewhat decent back casts, i gave him the standard lesson, and i am no expert caster myself.  We hooked a few trees had some good laughs, but no trout.  No sign of a trout.  I realized I dont really have any idea how to fish big deep moving water at all.  No idea.

May 8, 2010

I took another newbie to fly fishing with me today.  The thing was this trip was also a first for me, I was after shad.  I had never fished shad before, but had heard they are tons of fun.  I did some research the night before, and found some really good information on Steve Dobson's blog, about techniques and flies.  I tied up a few shad patterns and I figured I was ready.

We hit the intersection of the Nine Mile River and the Shubenacadie.  There was loads of people fishing, and a couple of guys directly across the river who seemed to know what they were doing.  I watched them for some time, and asked them a few questions, they were more than willing to share their approach.  Basically a 45 degree downstream cast, drift, then short 6 inch retrieves.  I saw one guy land a nice shad there, and they said they had been having lots of luck earlier that day on pink or green flies. 

I tied on a pink head gold body fly and gave it a shot.  We stuck around for a good two hours and didnt catch a thing, but neither did anyone else i saw.  It was a good day nonetheless, i think i learned something, taught another guy how to get his fly line out, and i'll be ready for the next time.


May 15-16, 2010

My very good friend and I headed out to Cape Breton this weekend.  I cant say enough about the beauty of this place, I really should get there more often.  I have had some fantastic fishing there in the past, and always enjoy myself.

We stayed at a terrific place for a very good price, River Trail Cottages.  These cottages are right on the Margaree river and but up onto some very good and famous salmon pools.  The Margaree is also known for its sea run trout, which is what we were after in this trip.  The fellow that owns the cottages, Edsel, was a terrific guy.  From day one he was more than willing to show us around, take us to the best spots for fishing and get us anything we needed.

We were probably a bit early for the sea run, but this was the right weekend for my married friend.  I am single, so i have no concept of these things.  Anyways, there was a very good dump of rain around this time, and the river was very very high.  From experience i know that too high is hard on fishing.  You like a rain to bring in the runs, but i just have never had luck when the river is way up.  Not too sure why.  I'd be happy to hear anyones theory on this.

We fished many spots on the river, and i only had one hook up and wasnt able to land it.  We even tried some smaller brooks and a lake, but not a bite the whole time.  Thats fishing sometimes, i'm glad its tough at times, it just makes landing a trout that much more special.

I totally was not disappointed with the trip.  Excellent accommodations, great food, beers, and the Cape Breton scenery just cannot be beat.  Next year I hope the weather helps out a little better, but we'll definitely go back.

May 22, 2010, 6 am - 730 am

Got up really early today and hit the river.  Fished a section of the river with calm waters that I was seeing some rises on and noticed the black mayfly on the water.  I tied on my blue upright and gave it a shot on the dead drift.  It took me a half hour, but i eventually landed a nice looking 11 inch brookie.  Fished it a bit more with no luck, but i was satisfied.

May 23, 2010

I realized I have camera problems.  I can get pictures of fish, but they are never that good.  My heart is always pounding and I am always thinking about how to get the fish released. I can never get a photo with me and a fish, cause that requires synchronizing with someone else.  I am almost always fish on my own, and when i am with someone else getting organized with a camera is tough.  I bought a tripod for cheap, but i know it wont work on sections of river that i work on the move.  If anyone has some good advice for taking pictures of fish, or how to get pics of yourself with a fish, or even how to take good pictures of flies... i am interested in advice!  chris@novascotiaflyfisher.com .

May 29, 2010, 8 am - 12 pm

Took Jake to a good beginer river today, lots of places to get him fishing without being an expert caster.  I immediately went to the little brown trout streamer and got two trout, seems to be the way it goes.  Jake was using a muddler and was getting fish to come to it, but being a novice he was getting very excited and pulling the fly right out of the river every time he felt a tug.  When he did finally settle down he had spooked all the trout away for half hours at a time!

I wanted to try some different things besides my very effective streamer, I had seen some fish at the surface taking the odd stone fly.  I decided to tie on an orange bug, just for fun.  I wasnt having any success on the dead drift, but as soon as i started skirting the fly across the surface it got nailed.  I was rewarded with a nine inch trout.  I had a few more come to the fly but not take it, so I switched to the orange mud hopper.  I got one on the dead drift, then decided to make sure jake got a trout. 

By this time he had lost his muddler in the trees, and was onto his third fly.  I saw him land one more in the leaves and got him to tie on a Mickey Finn.  It didn't take long and he had his first trout hooked.  He brought it all the way to him and just shook off as he almost got it to his hand.  I still consider this fish landed, its justa quick release!  So good for Jake.  He was very happy with the catch, only about 8 inches, but a very nice looking brook trout.



June 1, 2010

Bought a used float tube today.  I've already got one for myself but I wanted to pick up another one for taking along my friends.  I havent really used mine much, but i figure when the weather gets a little warmer i am going to do this quite a bit.  The other tube needs fins though, so i am still looking for a pair.  Anyone interested in selling me some fins, or has any good advice on float tube fishing please email chris@novascotiaflyfisher.com.

June 5, 2010, 8 am - 2 pm

Jake and I explored a river i have fished many times in the past, but never the upper stretches of it.  It turns out there is some excellent fishing further upstream.  We first tried my honey hole, wear i caught to very small brookies on the "little brown trout" but the action wasnt that good.  We got to hiking and found a nice stillwater, i worked the bottom of it while jake worked the top.  I was not having any luck with my orange buck bug, so i went to check on how jake was doing.  As I approached I notcied he a fish on which i watched him bring it to hand.  I advised him to try to keep it in the water so we could release it unharmed.  He did, but was not really confident in getting the hook out, so i helped him out.   As soon as i could see the fish I could tell it wasnt a brook trout, Jake had caught a perch.  I wiggled the hook out of its mouth and set it free.  I had spoken with a guy a month before whom i had met on the river, George Taylor, who had told me there was perch in this system, so I wasnt surprised to see this.  I would guess this isnt good news for the trout though, as a perch can be a pretty good competitor.  Jake was just pleased to have landed a fish on his fly rod.

Jake had lost the "Bloody Muddler" i had given him to try (in the trees again!)  So he had tied on a small black nymph he had in a hand me down box of flies that were his fathers.  He told me he had been getting a lot of strikes just a long a little shoal that was visible from where we were standing.  I tossed my bug over the shoal, and almost right away landed a nicely colored 8 inch brook trout.

We kept fishing for another hour, some fish striked but we lost them.  On the way home we explored some other rivers that we are going to try in the near future.  I am hoping they get a sea run!


June 6, 2010, 2 pm - 3 pm

Sundays are great, in the fall and winter i've got football season, and in the spring and summers i am free to fly fish.  I decided i would give the mighty musquodoboit another shot, the rain had come down pretty good so i figured that might bring in a sea run.  I have heard this river supports a good population of sea run brook trout and to be honest i dont know of a lot of rivers that do, any advice on this matter would be appreciated chris@novascotiaflyfisher.com.

When i got to the river i realized it was very very high, and running very brown.  I doubted if I would have luck... i found a spot where i could reach some decent back eddies and mend my line a fair ways out.  Casting was impossible.  I had no luck.  Not a bite.  This river is getting to me.  I dont know how to fish it.  Too Big, Too Deep, No Back cast.

I decided to get out of there and see if i could find a river further down the eastern shore.  I was really hoping for a sea run.  I drove towards tangier and contemplated checking out the ship harbor river.  I have never heard anything about this river, so i decided to keep going.  I thought i might also try the tangier river when i passed over it, but it looked huge and hard to navigate by foot.  I got all the way to the mooseland road and decided to give it a shot.  I had heard some good things about fishing in that area, and i thought i remembered some rivers passing under the old dirt roads when i was a kid.  I went all the way down this road and didnt see one river system, except where the fish ladder was... and there was someone there... so i kept going.

I thought there was good fishing up that way? If anyone wants to tell me where i shouldve turned... i would appreciate it!  chris@novascotiaflyfisher.com.

At the end of the mooseland road i turned right, I found a small brook right around the community of long lake.  I went downstream and fished a few small pools with no luck, then i decided to fish the inflow to a small pond i saw upstream.  There was a little white house on the pond if that gives you any indication of where i was.  I tied on my lucky "little brown trout" and cast downstream into the pond.  I wasnt seeing any sign of fish for a good twenty minutes when i finally got a VERY strong tug on my line.  My heart was pounding as i was expecting a very large brookie, but as it got closer to me i noticed it was very silvery in color.  I had caught a salmon!  Probably about a foot long.  No idea what it was doing in that little brook, especially at the same time I was there!  Thats the first salmon i had ever caught.  I was able to take a picture and release it unharmed.

After that I packed up and headed home very nicely surprised.



June 7, 2010, 6pm - 8pm

I am still hunting down this elusive sea run with no luck.  I decided to try a small river I grew up next to.  I remembered seeing trout caught in nets by gasperaux fisherman when I was a kid, thinking back these must have been sea run fish heading upstream, I had also heard that Gasperaux are usually accompanied by sea run brook trout.  Not sure why, and it was an old timer who told me that, but i had seen trout in this brook before so i had a hunch it might be worth a shot.  I fished the bottom stretches of the river for an hour with no luck at all, and the river was actually way smaller than I remember so I would have been very lucky to grab a trout in there.  I decided to hike to the river outflow, and when I did i could see a large school of Gasperaux at the mouth of the river.  I watched them splash and circle before finally making there way to the river.  I cast my fly into the river mouth and a Gasperaux just hammered onto it, it was quite an impressive fighter too.  It darted directly for the overhanging bushes and tangled me up.  I eventually landed and released the fish, it was fun, but i didnt want to disturbed their run too much so i just sat and watched them splash and throw themselves upstream.  I was very impressed.  No sea run trout for me though.  Again.

June 8, 2010, 6 pm

Still chasing the sea run, went to the Musquodoboit again, it was still running very high and brown... and I just cant work this river from the shore.  I think one really needs a canoe here, I am giving up on this river.  I cant cast here and mending my line for hours is tiring.  Especially when there is no trout taking my flies.  I would really appreciate some help on this one, i would be glad to fish this river with anyone who knows what they are doing. chris@novascotiaflyfisher.com

June 10, 2010, 6pm - 9pm

I decided to go out chasing trout again today, had to, it was gorgeous outside.  The trout were sipping SOMETHING just under the surface, but i couldnt get them to take anything I threw at them.  A lot of splashes, they drowned my fly a few times, but I didnt get a thing.  I figured they might be going after a caddis nypmh as there was caddis on the water, but they didnt seem to be nailing them as they do caddis flies that I have seen.  I didnt have a good caddis nymph in my box, so I will get on that right away.  They outsmarted me this time, but I cant complain about the peace and quiet on the river tonight.