nkuchmak

Hey guys, Thanks for the positive feedback following my trip report from the Elk river drainage. For those interested here are a few words to conclude our trip to the west and a few photo's as well. Following our journey to Fernie, we left Canada to venture down to Montana. When we chose to go west, BC was the focus but when I realized we had the time to fit in a side trip to Montana I felt this would complement our journey nicely as it was somewhere we had talked about visiting most of my adult life. It was a pleasurable 4 hour drive south through rolling hills, pastures, mountains and political billboards before we arrived in Missoula. We stayed in a cabin along Rock Creek - a very friendly river to the wading angler only about 40 mins outside of Missoula. The rustic cabin would be our home base for trips to other systems and for exploring the nearby area. We had arrived during the spruce moth hatch; a unique terrestrial insect that falls from the spruce trees while laying its eggs in the spruce tree and is beloved by the trout as a calorie rich meal. I began to notice them fluttering about only moments after arriving . I was early to bed that evening with the visions of trout rising to these moths circling in my head. We had a guided guy booked the following day to float the Big Blackfoot, a river name familiar to anyone who has ever held a fly rod due to its role in the movie " A River Runs Through It". This was the river that haunted Norman Mclean and for me definitely lived up to its expectation. The river was full of boulders the size of cars and our fishing techniques simply involved putting dry and dropper rigs along the countless seams created by these obstruction infront of the hungry trout that lay hidden beneath. The fish caught consisted mostly of rainbows and cutthroats which often interbred with the rainbows to form hybridized cuttbows. Montana no longer stocks trout in its waters; however, many years ago, similar to many Western watersheds, the Big Blackfoot saw the influx of non native rainbow and brown trout into the native bull trout and cutthroat trout waters. While the rainbow trout was the hollywood star in the film, absent from the movie was Mclean's fascination on the challenging nature of brown trout detailed in the book. In the novel Mclean hooks and looses a large brown trout only to have the fish bury his line in the tree all the while his brother Paul watched the scene unfold from the bank. Somewhat to my disappointment my guide explained there is not a large population in the upper Blackfoot but the ones that are there are often large although they prove to be very elusive. Our day was great and only got better as the spruce moth hatch picked up throughout mid morning due to rising air temperatures. We boated many cutthroats and rainbows on dry flies and were completely satisfied with our float in the beautiful scenery consisting of parched hills and scattered trees. The intensity dial turned up though when my dry fly dipped below the surface, indicating a fish had taken the sunken dropper below. Following the hook set it was one of those moments that we as fisherman dream of. Heavy weight and few serious head shakes which had my heart racing and I knew something was different this time. The guide seemed to recognize the situation almost instantaneously and his shift in calm collective mannerisms changed immediately to intense focus and calls of "let him go" and "this is a big fish". Luckily, the fish was hooked in a perfect location without obstruction and following a deep water tug of war later the fish was brought to the net. I don't think I even looked at the fish until I managed to peer over the side of the raft to see the golden flanks of the brown trout shimmering in the morning light. The guide lost it with excitement. This was the best brown he had guided a client to and his excitement was only matched by my own. A few quick pics and careful release sent this fish back to its home in the pool. The day was made already and the cutthroats and rainbows that followed were really just a bonus as I tried to simply enjoy the scenery and take in the fact that I was floating down a river I had dreamed about since I was a kid. While floating a swift section It came only as a matter of reflex as my blissful state was disrupted when my dry indicated another fish had taken the dropper. I set and the rod bent over harder than on any rainbow or cuttbow before. Drag peeled and almost exactly as before, I knew I was into another good one. This fish ran directly up the river this time and headed straight for the boulder s above as I called out "Ohhhh crap". The guide yelled to maintain pressure as I leaned as hard as I thought the tippet would hold. The fish took a dive into a unseen sunken tree as we hovered above it in the raft. I looked down into the clear water only to watch a trout even larger than the last weave my tippet in and out of the branches like a surgeon with images of the two foot bar of gold thrashing wildly until I felt the end of my line go still. I knew he was gone. I had to laugh as this was Norman's result although at least I could say I put a magnificent fish in the net earlier; however, it has been a month since and that fish is certainly haunting me. The remainder of our time in Montana was spent as a DIY operation and we explored Rock Creek on our own accord. I have been lucky enough to take a few guided trips in my life and while they are not cheap, I find them to be extremely rewarding, educational and the guides I have had the pleasure of fishing with are really some of the most hard working people out there. That said, as i become more and more confident in my angling abilities beyond my home waters, I have come to realize that fishing unguided has a greater feeling accomplishment that comes when one finds sucess. The flexibility to try your own techniques, methods and fly patterns is really what this sport is all about to me. Our time on Rock Creek was the perfect example of that. We had spent the previous few weeks fishing dry flies both in B.C. and in Montana and while this is my preferred method, I had come to realize that the dry fly fishing really didnt pick up until mid morning when the spruce moth's began to fall into the water. Our early mornings on Rock Creek saw me tight line nymphing the runs and pocket water and this method did not disappoint. Rock Creek is not famous for extremely large fish like others nearby systems but instead the population density of trout makes for some of the most enjoyable watersheds to fish in the area. Small mayfly nymphs were the ticket as I plucked a large number of fish out of both primary and secondary water. I found it beneficial to stay away from the very fast currents which often saw the rocky mountain whitefish grabbing the fly before any trout could get to it. While these were super exciting at first as they were a new species for me, soon they became a nuisance. My Dad however, stuck it out with the spruce moth and once the air warmed slightly his patience was rewarded. While I was busy putting bends in the rod upstream, the slower tailout sections began to see rising trout taking interest in the spruce moths. I moved back down after he put a few nice fish in the net and here we fished side by side to rising trout until the spruce moth fun ran out and the bugs returned to the trees and us to the cooler of beer back at the cabin. It was cycle we repeated. We returned to this water on our last evening, hoping to find a few more rising trout before having to make the long drive back to Calgary the next day. The fish again made an appearance; however, our moths and hoppers now being ignored. I went back to nymphing but yet again, Dad stuck with the dry fly. I put some nice trout in the net including a wonderful tiny bull trout, which is threatened but making a comeback in this region. As the sun began to set the last week of fishing hard was beginning to take its toll. The browns continued to rise and I opted to put my rod on the bank as my Dad attempted to stalk the weary rising trout with minimal success. I worked together with him as the caster and myself as the spotter as I cycled my favourite patterns for evening fishing. The fish were keyed in on none of the flies that we had found success with so far in our trip. The low casual rises indicated that they were likely taking something low in the surface film and after an hour of trying I had one of those eureka moments. "Give this tiny mayfly a try" I said as I tied on the tiny fly. The low profile, low light and his aging eyes meant that I would need to be honed in on his fly through the drift but it wasn't long before we knew we had it right. On the perfect cast to an actively rising fish, the fly disappeared in a sip indicating the fish had taken it. A few amazing leaps and we had the gorgeous brown in the net. The sun was behind the hills and with a few hrs left of light we knew It was one of those moments in sport that could not be improved on. We decided it was time to break down the rods and end the trip on that note. Thanks for reading. Nick @nickgoesfishing

Very envious that you lived near such an awesome place.

Aw thats too bad. It is such a great destination with lots of great fishing nearby.

I fished one of the lakes in Arrowhead and it had very good smallmouth fishing. The fish weren't huge but we caught tons in the 1-2lb range. It was a blast. We caught all of them on senkos. There is a canoe rental right at the lake we fished where can grab one for a few hours. I have also fished the big east and caught plenty of smallmouth and there are some brook trout spots. Definately worth fishing if you can locate access.

Hi all, Let me introduce (or reintroduce) myself. I was an old member of just about every Ontario fishing forum a long long time ago but have fallen away from the online fishing community and even fishing itself for some brief periods but this last year saw me diving head first back into this sport I love. I moved to the Hamilton area a year ago and have been looking for some sort of community outlet to talk fishing since my wife is starting to get frustrated hearing my "theories" of why the fish aren't biting. Hopefully this great forum will provide this fix and may help to save my marriage In the meantime, I figured I'd share a brief report with photos from a trip I took with my father this month. When he turned 60 last year he asked me to plan something that we could do together since he has growing concerns that soon I will have kids and forget to make time for fishing with him. Over the last few years we have fished together only on a semi annual basis and I thought this the perfect opportunity to spend some high quality time together. I almost exclusively fly fish and my father enjoys this style as well despite being a little rusty so we chose a destination that provide some guided fishing and some DIY fishing. We chose Fernie BC as our first destination and it truly did not disappoint. A few thoughts on the fishing in this region... Cutthroat trout are typically given a reputation of being non selective near suicidal surface feeders. This was actually not my experience as frequently I would cast to rising fish with the same pattern I had success on the day prior only to get refused. A few fly selection changes later would usually bring the fish around but to call these fish unselective is insulting to the trout. That said, they certainly were focused on the surface and if the hopper pattern or beetle pattern didn't get a rise, a small may fly or ant likely would. The cutthroats are quite large in this region. It was rare to catch tiny trout with the average cutthroat being around 12-16 inches and very thick due to the powerful currents of the systems in this area and prolific bug life. This is no place for your 6x tippet. Routinely we fished 3x and only went to 4x for smaller flies when needed. A note on the Bull trout. These fish are known as voracious predators and while that definitely is true, When I arrived at the end of July the fish I encountered were at the very beginning of their run upstream. First thing in the morning they would chase down large streamers and crush them with reckless abandon however as the sun crept in the sky the fish would shut down and become lethargic or "zone out". Despite being able to see large fish in the crystal clear pools I found the inactivity of the fish to be reminiscent of spring time great lakes steelhead and preferred to leave them be when they were clearly not active. Unfortunately, even in the mountains, many anglers find the temptation of these impressive fish too great and end up foul hooking them. Local guides informed that it is becoming an even larger problem of anglers targeting these fish later in the spawn when they turn colour and move up onto the reds. Sad to see this behaviour in such a pristine location. On a more positive note there is incredible backcountry fishing throughout this region and it was not hard to find some DIY locations if you had a 4x4 vehicle and a can of bear spray. While I enjoy guided fishing in new locations nothing really beats going exploring on your own and finding success at the end of the journey. I am already planning to head back in a year or two as I have only really scratched the surface of this amazing place. Lastly if you are fishing in BC the classified waters regulations are something very different that we have in Ontario. Some of the best rivers in this area only permit a certain number of non resident anglers per day and must be booked well in advance. Advance planning is needed and I'd suggest doing your homework if you want to fish these popular rivers and you are not a BC resident. To conclude we had an absolute blast fishing for 5 days in this part our beautiful country; however, we were not heading home just yet. After our time in Fernie we moved on to fish near Missoula, Montana. A bucket list destination for me and what I have always considered the epicentre for fly fishing (think A Runs Through It). I will put a post together sharing some of my experiences in that great state next. I have attached a few photographs below that I hope you will enjoy. I posted a heck of a lot more on my instagram if you'd like to see more i'm at @nickgoesfishing. Im always looking together to connect with others from the province so shoot me a message anytime. Anyway thanks for reading, Nick

I second hiring a guide. The learning curve will be decreased very rapidly and you will have a lot more confidence in your approach. The local fly shops are a great resource and there are some really great independent guides in this area too. In my opinion the best thing you can do if you interested in river fishing is to start with bass. Trout can be super snobby and picky and steelhead...well sometimes they just arent there. Since your in the Hamilton area the middle Grand is the PERFECT place to learn some basics. Theres good fishing from Brantford to Cambridge. Grab some basic wooly bugger flies and practice casting upstream. Let the fly sink to the bottom (use weight if needed) and experiment with slow and fast retrieves. You really cant go wrong! Have fun and welcome to one of the most pleasant ways to fish. Nick

Wow dude. incredible! I fished char in nunavut 10 years ago but Im dying to do it again they are such an awesome fish.

Wow great photos and a great family trip! Thanks for sharing.

Hi guys, Thank you for all the incredibly useful responses. I have been in touch with a few operators including Mike at Handlebarz. He seems like a great guy and Im currently working on finalizing the dates with him. Again thanks for the help! Nick

Hello all, One of my best fishing buddies is getting hitched this year and I have taken on the challenge of planning the bachelor party. The only guidance the unlucky fellow has provided is that it must involve fishing! Almost all of the men in attendance are serious fisherman and we are less interested in partying (during the day at least) and more interested in spending some quality time on the water. There is a total of 6-7 men and I thought it would be a great idea to book a charter on Lake St Clair to chase some muskies. A quick google search revealed a few charter options but it seems most of them are on the states side. I could use some help if anyone can recommend a charter company based on the Ontario side that may be able to accommodate us? Any recommendations are welcome. Thanks in advance,

thanks for the comments guys. Unfortunately gone are the days when fishing spots can be shared online without negative reprecussions. Algonquin is a massive place but splake are only stocked in selected lakes and stocking information exits out there. Im sure you can find some good spots without putting in the tears and sweat it takes to find something like say....the brookie hot spots. As far as lures go. We took a lot on the slash bait style raps, small spoons and worm harnesses/spinners. Most of the fish were tight to structure although a few were taken trolling off drop offs in about 20 feet of water. Glad you enjoyed the photos!

Sheepshead (freshwater drum)

Thanks for the comments guys. Im glad you enjoyed the report. NorthernPike56 - as far as general photo advice goes id say just keep shooting digital makes it easy to take hundreds of pics. Musky or Specks - what exactly is an F1 splake? are their different strains stocked into specific lakes? I was wondering this as most of the fish we were catching seemed to be closer looking to the specks.

I've mentioned in previous posts that my yearly backcountry/fishingtrip into Algonquin was not able to happen this spring which of course left much to be desired as fall seems quickly to be taking over. I was asked by both my Dad and my friends if we could get something going in the fall which we allcommitted to, however, most of us were not able to get away before trout seasonclosed on the 30th of September. This left only the thanksgiving weekend openand i picked up the phone and made some reservations. 20121006-DSC_0021 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Just because the Lake Trout and Specks were busy doing their thing didn't mean we had to forgo the fishing either. Splake a hybrid of the two, are stocked in a number of lakes in the area and are unable to reproduce making them the perfect gamefish in the fall. Having never targeted splake before i wasn't sure what to expect however I figured they were pretty much the same as a lake trout in behavior so I packed accordingly. This assumption was definitely challenged over the next few days. 20121006-DSC_0003 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr We made it to our lake of choice after some portaging and thats when the weather went from bad to worse with rain falling from above just a few minutes after we got our tents up. Some tea was boiled and our group sat under the tarp waiting for the system to pass overhead. We hadn't been at our site longer than 20 minutes when a heavy antlered moose was spotted high tailing it across the lake in search of a female I'm sure. Since the camera was still packed away I was unable to manage any photos but the image of the big bull appearing out of the rain was certainly a great way to start the trip. 20121008-DSC_0418 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr After an hour or so there was a slight lull in the weather and while the other 3 didn't seem to share my enthusiasm, i was out solo in the canoe fishing in front of our site. I was worried that the cold front that had just occurred would have shut the fish down but it was only a few minutes later that i was into my first fish. A short tussle and the fish was in the boat meanwhile i noticed the rest of our group was scrambling on the shoreline trying to get rods rigged up. The fish was a plump 18 inches and it was bit busted up so it was decided we would have this first fish for dinner that evening. 20121006-DSC_0054 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr That evening I landed 3 more fish around the same size and our other canoe managed a few small ones with a big one lost boat side. As the sun dipped down, it was clear seasons were changing with temps around zero, sleeping was relatively uncomftorable for those of us without thermal sleeping bags. 20121008-DSC_0385 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr The following day we lucked out with clear skies and no wind allowing us to explore a lot more of the lake and fine tune our techniques. I managed to pick up a few small fish on a bottom bouncer rig with a spinner while my Dad in the front of the canoe managed more and larger fish fishing tight to the wood on the shoreline with minnow baits. It seems that the splake follow their brook trout genes and take to the shoreline cover in a similar way. What left me more awestruck was the aggressiveness of these fish. Despite a drop in temperature over the last few days, these fish would often strike multiple times if they missed the bait usually hooking themselves right beside the boat as they chased the lure down. 20121008-DSC_0367 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr The highlight was on sunday evening, just before we were about to head infor dinner my Dad proclaimed he had a good one on. This being a smaller size lake i wasn't sure of how big the fish could get but we knew it was a little heavier when his line began to head for deeper water. The first view we had of this fish our mouths just about hit the floor with the spectacular colour on this fish. I have long had a fascination with the char species and got the opportunity to catch chrome bright arctic char in Nunavut a few years ago but never have i seen anything like the colours on this male splake. The fish measured 23inches and looks almost like someone mounted a lakers head on a brookies body.Of course this fish was released. 20121007-DSC_0346 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr The following day we broke down camp in the morning and managed a few more hours of fishing and of course a few more splake on the way out. Having never had much interest in fishing for them before and despite the smorgasbord of weather including rain,snow,sleet, and sunshine, it was a great long weekend.

yup...leaving in a few hours!

Seen it many times even here in Ontario by so called Fly fisherman. Had a discussion on the riverside the other day with what seemed to be an educated angler until he began to tell me the only way to catch a salmon was to hope for the fish to swim into the bait. I began trying to explain the possibility of eliciting a predatory response but he refused to believe this was possible because of the old saying "salmon don't feed in the river". I think education is key for the ones who believe what they are doing isn't wrong. The ones who don't care well...then its up to our CO's to enforce our laws. I can't wait until these salmon move on up and clear the way for the rainbows.

So i had a quick trip with some friends at the end of the summer hoping to get into some walleye. Now, none of us are even walleye fisherman but we stocked up on bottom bouncers and jigs and got to it. This was really only my second time specifically targeting walleyes and having only ever had success slowly back trolling around point and islands, this is what we stuck to. Bottom Bouncing Works by nickkuchmak, on Flickr We had no problem catching lots of tiny tiny walleye and we were able to secure our daily shore lunch of fish and chips or fish tacos. However, we had yet to see anything of any size. Shore lunch by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Of course, it wasn't until I spent an evening fishing with an old friend who hadn't wet a line in 7 years that things turned around. Before this trip he didn't know what a walleye was let alone caught one. This is the same guy that on the way to the lake he had forgot to purchase a fishing license and was there anywhere to "pick one up" on the way? While the sun was setting we decided to troll past a point which led into a very large large bay. The sonar showed a lot of rocky ups and downs and so when my fishing buddy hollered that he was stuck on the bottom it didn't surprise me one bit. What did surprise me was once over the "snag" the clear bounding of the rod indicating it was a fish. Some carefully coaching on "letting the fish run" and not simply "hauling it in" in later and we had the fish in the net. Im pretty sure everyone on the lake heard my buddies excitement at that moment. Was a great walleye at 27 inches and after a little boat side rehab she was back down to the bottom. Beginners Luck by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Funny thing is I have had many phone calls from this guy asking when we are going fishing again!

Im going to join in and say I agree with Brook Trout being some of mother natures best work. If only they could be caught in huge numbers in larger sizes....wait a second they do...Arctic Char is as close as you can get without a science lab! But since we are playing Dr Frankestein, Im going to take the airborne ability and strength of the Tarpon along with the dental work of a goliath Tigerfish. You guys seen these things????

I will admit I have never milked a fish. However, I have watched it done for conservation purposes and can say that at the very least, it causes unnecessary stress to an already exhausted fish and if not done correctly has potential to cause harm and only for the benefit of obtaining bait to catch more fish. I would be very curious to see actual data on survival reports of these stressed out fish being milked by non professionals but I'm not going to guess. Maybe my last statement may have not taken the "milking" of fish into account, and leaned towards the crowd that harvests fish for roe (i.e. most i see on the river) but i just don't understand why someone who takes the conservationist role can then go ahead and strip a large spawning female of future generations of fish. These are some great questions being asked on this topic and we all have different opinions and roe ban or not,its important to talk it out cause the only thing that is going to make our fisheries better are the fisherman who enjoy it. Just imagine, if those P3TA retards find out fish are being slit open and left to rot...well the future of our beloved sport would have some steep opposition.

The argument that a roe ban would never be a worthwhile regulation due to a limit of law enforcement is nuts even if it may be true. All we have are our regulations to protect the fishery and we have to have faith in them. Almost all our fishing regulations are little to never enforced on a regular basis but the impact that changes have, such as slot sizes and limit changes have a positive effect on the fishery because the majority of the fisherman follow the rules and respect the resource. Im sure back in the 50's when stringers and stringers of walleye were being pulled out of nipissing for the table, if you explained to one of those fisherman what a slot size was he would have a comment along the lines of...it could never be enforced so its a bad idea. The problem with the use of roe is that even a catch and release angler is still killing a fish to catch a fish.

This is always a hot topic... I agree that Poachers are going to do what they are going to do...law or no law but personally I would be all for a ban on roe and here are a few instances I have come across that I would see a ban as having a positive effect. Last year I witnessed a guy with two fat hen browns on the bank on a Lake O Trib. I commented that it looked like he had a successful day which he grinned ear to ear explaining to me that him and his fishing partners came specifically to that creek because they needed to stock up on brown roe and would now have enough for the winter season. He explained that it works much better than salmon/rainbow roe. Sounds ridiculous but i have heard this many time before and well yes he was well within his legal limits taking those fish, I have to wonder how many people specifically target a species or system solely for the purpose of harvesting eggs. Another time I was flyfishing for rainbows on my favourite Gbay river and I hooked up with a nice bow. The angler nearby was nice enough to assist me in landing a 7 lb female chromer and commented that because I was fly fishing, could he take the fishes roe because he needed some. I explained that I was not planning on keeping the fish and handed him a few yarn flies instead. While no laws were being breached, I believe it comes down to selective harvest. True these fish could also have been taken for the purpose of eating but we all know it is better to harvest the smaller juvenile fish for eating like most do with bass walleye etc. All these fish were above average size spawning females and wild fish at that which we need in our systems. Fishing roe really comes down to the fact you have to kill a fish to catch a fish. A ban might not solve all our problems but really any more protection we can get on our rivers the better even if it does upset some peoples routine methods of catching fish.

Shasta - Upper or Lower Grand?...anytime Woodenboater - You've got the location pinned. Beautiful little lake Moosebunk - Yeah I was in Fort Albany for a couple years and worked with one of your fishing buddies occasionally, Steve B. He would tell some tall tales about your fishing adventures but every time I see a trip report on here I can see that there are no exaggerations. It was a shame I never really got a chance to go up river but hopefully I can one day make it back up north and fish on the Albany or even the Attawapiskat. Thanks all for the kind comments!

Hey all, I've been reading through the amazing information on this site for the past few months and although being a member on many other boards this one truly seems to be a "community" so I figured i should introduce myself. I really enjoy reading the trip reports on here so i will try to return the favour as often as possible. Anyway, heres a little about me... Im in my mid twenties and have been fishing since I was around 5 and fly fishing since I was 9. Once i finally got a drivers license things took a steep turn and every minute of every day was devoted to fishing particularly fly fishing. Then I moved away for school and luckily gained employment in the far North on the James Bay Coast. One would think, as i did, that moving up north would be great for a fisherman, sadly this was not the case and most of my two years were spent working around the clock with only a few days here and there that i actually fished. When I left my position, I took some time off traveling around Asia and the middle east before ending up back where I started in the GTA. Despite being back in the familiar, the last few years have seen my passion for the sport reignite itself and I can be found on just about any river within 3 hours of Toronto on any given weekend. Apart from chasing steelies and browns with fly gear, I love fishing muskie whenever I can get my oldman to take me out on his boat usually in the Kawarthas and I try to get to Algonquin Park for some backcountry fishing as often as possible. Which leads to my first trip report... I have made multiple trips to the backcountry of Algonquin and before I started slogging the canoe on the trials, I fished lakes near the border for brookies and lakers since I was very small. It was actually these experiences which got me "hooked" to begin with and some of my best memories are from spending time outdoors in this area. Like most, my fishing efforts in the park are usually concentrated in the spring time when the ice first disappears from the lake but having wanted my girlfriend to experience the beautiful landscapes inside the park for a while , our trip together would need to be in the warm/bug free weather of late August. 20120826-DSC_0029 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr We picked up our Permit in Kearney and our canoe was waiting for us at our chosen access. Lianna having grown up a city girl has never been camping in Canada, let alone, any portaging or backcountry stuff. But, having been on trekking trips in India and Peru with her in the past, I knew she would be up for it as long as her endurance level was not pushed beyond her limits so I chose a fairly simple route with only a few portages. Our paddle down the access lake was wonderful with sun out in full force and we reached our first portage ahead of schedule as it was only late morning at this point. At first glance this portage looks like a beast but once over the horrendous hill things got better. We managed to carry all our gear/food in the first carry and I would make a final trip to grab the canoe and this was the way things went until we reached our lake of choice. 20120826-DSC_0084 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Our campsite was chosen based on the fact that we were expecting thunderstorms the next day so we found one with some shelter and of course tarped off the majority of the site. Once things were set and a dinner of campfire steaks and potatoes were enjoyed I set about to do some fishing. 20120827-DSC_0340 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr It wasn't even 30 seconds my line was over the edge that a fish slammed the small perch coloured shad rap off the back of the canoe almost yanking my rod over board. A couple jumps later and a nice smallmouth about two pounds was in the canoe. 20120826-DSC_0214 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr This pattern would be repeated the next few days over and over and over again. Despite a cold front coming in and some serious rain showers the next morning things didn't seem to really slow the fishing down and we caught and released oodles of small bass. Even though the lake was a descent a size no fish over the 2 lbs mark were to be found. Im guessing a very slow growth rate on this particular lake or possibly a low level of crayfish so the bass can't get too large??? Im not sure. 20120828-DSC_0475 by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Either way, it was a great few days camping in one of Ontarios beautiful parks and aside from a little rain the weather was perfect. However..... ......I do prefer fishing for these guys....... Fraser and a Large Brook Trout by nickkuchmak, on Flickr

I agree with you DanC. There really is something fascinating about the char species. Since i was a kid i wanted a chance to fish Arctic char and my dream came true a few years ago. The one who broke my rod by nickkuchmak, on Flickr A Kiss Before I Go by nickkuchmak, on Flickr My top 5 in no particular order: Brook trout over 20 inches, Brown Trout over 10lbs, My first Atlantic Salmon, Golden Dorado in Bolivia, and another chance to fish for char in full spawning colours.

This is a great idea for a post! Great photos so far but my favourite one so far is the second shot of the sturgeon jumping. Just awesome! Algonquin Laker Fighting Lake Trout by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Rainbow Relealsed DSC_0559hue by nickkuchmak, on Flickr Tailing a large char in Nunavut Tailing a Big One by nickkuchmak, on Flickr