Trout season opener means spring to anglers

[Spiel]

Trout season opener means spring to anglers

 

 

Doug Edgar / owensoundsuntimes.com

 

 

Forget robins and the equinox. We all know spring really starts when the trout season opens, which just happens to be today.

 

While the significance of the opener isn’t what it once was due to year-round and late-fall fishing opportunities at many river mouths and extended closed seasons in many tributaries to protect spawning rainbows, it is still something I look forward to, even though seasonal duties usually keep me off the river for the first few days.

 

For flyrodders, this could end up being a good start to the season, with recent warm temperatures likely giving stream life a bit of a boost and encouraging the early season mayflies — mostly Hendricksons (Ephemerella subvaria and others, for those of you who seek fish that speak Latin) and early small olive (Baetis) mayflies — to make a break for the surface.

 

But still, the key to early season fly fishing success is being prepared for change. As I write this, the sun is shining — as it has pretty well non-stop for almost two weeks — but there’s always a chance for cooler temperatures and rain, which can make a big difference fast. So while it appears to me this should be a good year for local early season fly fishing, it’s important to remember the cards are stacked against it and everything can change due to as little as a cold, overcast day.

 

So what should work?

 

If you’re a dry-fly purist, Hendrickson imitations on #14 hooks are likely a good bet for the next few weeks. The classic light and dark Hendrickson dries, tied with dark grey or tan bodies, grey hackle and barred duck flank feather wings, do a good job, but I generally prefer comparadun flies, which have a fan of deer hair on the top half of the hook that acts as both wing and hackle. If tied properly they do a pretty good job of staying afloat on boisterous spring rivers.

 

I like little deer hair caddis dry flies tied dark early in the year too. Again, they are good floaters that you can see on the water. I think they work because they remind the trout of the little dark stoneflies that have been hatching for months now — they’re the little, black, winged cockroachy things you can often see clambering around on the snow near rivers in March.

 

The early blue-winged olive, on #16 or #18 hooks, is another dry-fly possibility, but they can be a challenge to fish if there’s much water in the river. I also believe you’ve pretty well got to repeatedly bonk a trout on the head with such a small fly this time of year to get a reaction. These are best saved for calmer stretches and pools.

 

In any case, most early season hatches seem to happen later in the day, perhaps early afternoon, after the sun has had a chance to warm things up. Again, that’s if they happen at all.

 

Most of the action is likely going to be below the surface for the next while and that means nymphs — the young aquatic stage of many river and lake insects — and streamer flies, which mostly resemble small fish.

 

As far as mayfly nymphs go, a gold-ribbed hare’s ear (#12 to #18) is a good choice for a lighter-coloured selection, while a pheasant tail nymph in the same size range is a good all-around dark pick. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of nymph patterns and fishing them is a science unto itself — far too much so to do justice here.

 

A few large stonefly nymphs have to be in the early season arsenal. Golden and dark stonefly nymphs from last year will be getting big (#8 hooks and larger) and make a good meal for trout. Fish them deep in pools and deeper rocky areas. Don’t be afraid to use weights.

 

Muddler minnows, say on #10 down to #16 hooks, seem to catch trout pretty well all the time and are probably my favourite all-around flies. Zonker strip streamers, tied with a strip of rabbit fur along the back, are also popular. I like woolly buggers in black, brown and olive as well, and usually have a few bucktail streamers such as the black nose dace and Mickey Finn along too.

 

Try retrieving streamers through pools at different speeds, occasionally letting them stop or even drift back, and keep an eye out for the flash of a trout taking a run at them without striking.

 

Then there are the glo-bug eggs and such, which can often salvage an otherwise fishless spring day.

 

There’s still a lot of water in the rivers and trout could be spread out to places they won’t be later in the year when they start seeking protection from the heat. In fact, you can sometimes see them lounging in the sun to warm up this time of year.

 

Don’t forget many local streams are still closed because of rainbow spawning runs. While I don’t think there are changes on that front locally, it would be wise to check the new fishing regs to make sure your intended stream is in fact open and there are no new limits.

 

Also, it seems there are more “no trespassing” signs around every year. While some people just don’t want anyone on their land, it’s been my experience many landowners will give you permission to fish, signs or not, if you are courteous and respect their wishes.

 

 

Trout derby underway

 

By now the Georgian Triangle Anglers Association’s 28th annual Spring Trout Derby should be well underway.

 

The derby, which started Friday and is to run until May 4, is a big fundraiser for the Collingwood-area-based GTAA’s fish enhancement programs, said derby chairman Gary Lawrence. Money raised helps pay for the club’s stocking and stream rehabilitation efforts.

 

The club stocks about 250,000 small rainbow in the Georgian Triangle area, about 100,000 brown trout in the lake and about 100,000 speckled trout in streams, Lawrence said.

 

The club sold about 400 tickets for last year’s derby, with has weigh stations stretching from Wasaga Beach to Wiarton. Tickets, which are $20 are available at the weigh stations — Something Fishy in Owen Sound, Outback Tackle in Wiarton, Garnet’s Esso in Meaford, Gyles Sails and Service in Thornbury, the Sobey’s store in Collingwood and Wasaga Marine in Wasaga Beach — among other places. There’s a list of ticket sellers at www.meaford.com/fishbyte/gtaa.htm

 

The top rainbow fetches $1,000, second is $500 and third is $250. The top brown trout and salmon prizes are $100.

 

 

Hunting regs out

 

The 2008-2009 hunting regulations have been released. If you can’t find a printed copy, information is available on the MNR website at www.mnr.gov. on.ca/en and follow the links.

 

The summary provides information on upcoming changes, including a new non-resident outdoors card to be introduced in 2009, and information on the review of Ontario’s moose program, as well as information about a pending fall turkey hunt. There are also changes in the works about returning some hunter questionnaires and antlerless deer tag deadlines.

 

I hope to to review changes in an upcoming column.

 

 

Gleason brook work postponed

 

The Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association got all the necessary humans on side to add gravel to improve spawning areas in Gleason Brook, but the trout jumped the gun.

 

Club member Al Hunter said he received landowner permission for the project, but when he and another club member went to inspect the stream one last time before ordering in the equipment to spread the gravel, they were more than a little surprised to see a fair number of rainbow trout already well up the stream.

 

“The run is obviously early this year and we could not add the river stone without the possibility of harming the trout and eggs already in the creek. We will have to defer the project until late in the summer when we can hand-bomb the stone back with the assistance of the Stewardship Rangers (MNR) or try for the slinger again next spring,” he wrote in an e-mail.

 

Club members have also been speaking with rainbow anglers at Colpoy’s Creek and Gleason Brook about respecting the sanctuary areas. They have also been asking anglers to release spawning females caught outside the sanctuary ensure a sustainable rainbow fishery. Additional sanctuary signs and club posters requesting fishermen live release spawning female have been posted at both areas. Response from the fishermen has been positive, he said.

 

The improvements the club made to stream habitat last summer and fall are providing better spawning and holding areas for the trout, he added.

 

The BPSA has also put out a call for prizes to support its 2008 conservation and outdoors recreational projects. The club is looking for prizes such as gift certificates or anything related to outdoors recreation that it can use to support its projects, including fishing derbies, fish stocking, stream rehabilitation and deer feeding during extreme winter conditions.

 

Contact Ted Wilford 519-534-5168, 519-534-2803, or at [email protected], or Stu Paterson, 519-534-5194 or at [email protected]

 

 

May cleanup

 

The annual community cleanup in Owen Sound will be held May 3, starting with a gathering at the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum on the west side of the harbour at 9 a.m., the Sydenham Sportsmen’s Association heard at its April meeting.

 

The club helps out with the annual roundup of trash, tires and runaway shopping carts primarily along the harbour and riverbanks, but volunteers spread out around the city for the annual spring cleaning bee.