End of year kayak Steelhead

[emjay88]

Managed to get up north and hit a Georgian Bay trib one last time a few days after Christmas for a kayak day trip with a good buddy. Conditions were perfect with some higher water but that perfect steelhead green hue. Temps were at -2C with a mix of sun and a few flurries. We first learned how to steelhead on this river over a decade ago thanks to our good friend who's family owns a private stretch, as well as an old timer named Chris Lyons (spelling?!?) a mystical figure we would run into every fall, a guy with a big white beard who seemed forever connected to this river and showed us the ropes as well as how to fish each hole. He taught us how to tie knots properly, run the right length of leaders and weights etc. and swing a well placed flatfish in the current. He was a staple on the river every fall but haven't seen him in almost two years now. Hope he is doing ok. This was the first time for me to kayak with my good friend for a long run from bridge to bridge. By far and away my favourite method of travel for steelheading. We ended up going 4 for 9 on the day which was a bad percentage but a great day nonetheless. Numbers seem to be down everywhere this year, and I hope it's not a sign of things to come, hopefully just something cyclical. Conditions like this in the past would have yielded twice the fish. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics and tight lines to all for 2015!!

Matt

 

[BillM]

Very nice! One of my fav rivers to fish.

[Fang]

Very nice,

 

Hopefully the same Chris Lyons. I was able to jump in a group and fish with a group of guys that included Chris out on the Ganny in the early 80's. I swear those guys were part fish and I learned a ton. Back then a lot of the guys were fishing to old green cardinal 3's and there were a number of US guys that came up that fished the Johnson/Shakespeare 1810 closed faced reels. I can remember seeing my first float reel in action fishing the mouth of the Ganny by the Willow Hole.

[esoxansteel]

Very nice,

 

Hopefully the same Chris Lyons. I was able to jump in a group and fish with a group of guys that included Chris out on the Ganny in the early 80's. I swear those guys were part fish and I learned a ton. Back then a lot of the guys were fishing to old green cardinal 3's and there were a number of US guys that came up that fished the Johnson/Shakespeare 1810 closed faced reels. I can remember seeing my first float reel in action fishing the mouth of the Ganny by the Willow Hole.

 

 

The 1810s and 1800's were reels of distinction for steelheaders, as well as the Cardinal 4s and especially 3s back in the late 70s and 80s, and anybody who wanted to be recongnized as a steelheader, and fit in with that crowd wanted one or soon had one, as the Cardinals dwindelled, another gap needed to be filled and the Daiwa Whiskers tournament reel was adopted as the next steelhead tool, those reels are still found on the rivers, but have taken up 2nd fiddle to the centrepin, mind you its hard to throw Flatfish on a centrepin, but you can still floatfish with a centrepin I still on occasion bring out my old retro green Shakespeare 1800 with the rim blow reel handle, like those old pealized steering wheels common in the mid 50s cars

[Ron]

Nooch, as we all know him by, is very alive and doing well. He has gotten up north only a few times this year as he plays on weather conditions. I usually run into him every other morning or so. Next time I see him, I will show him this thread.

[emjay88]

Nooch, as we all know him by, is very alive and doing well. He has gotten up north only a few times this year as he plays on weather conditions. I usually run into him every other morning or so. Next time I see him, I will show him this thread.

Thanks Ron, please tell him I say hello. Just found a pic of him

[buckster]

Thanks Ron, please tell him I say hello. Just found a pic of him

602586_10152230054095203_1502542670_n.jpg

I've net quite a few fish for that guy! Good fisherman.