During the second week of May I spent a couple days filming episodesof BC Outdoors Sportfishing with host Mike Mitchell.  The goal of these shows was to feature early spring fly fishing tactics on productive stillwaters.  Day 1 was spent on Six Mile lake located approx. 30 km west of Kamloops.  This low elevation lake is situated in the rolling grassland, sagebrush country that surrounds the greater kamloops area.  We caught a good number of fish on micro leeches and very small (#18) chironomid pupa.  The majority of fish we caught were in the 1.5 to 2 pound size range.  We had some good discussions on early spring tactics that are applicable to any western stillwater. Day 2 saw us on my favourite lake, Roche.  This is an incredibly productive waterbody and … Read entire article »

It has been a really cold and windy spring and ice off is quite late when compared to recent years.  In the Kamloops area we have only a handful of waters to fish but within the next 10 t0 14 days we will have a lot of lakes becoming ice free.  We are finally seeing some good chironomid emergences on lakes like 6 Mile, Morgan and White.  The bugs are small, often best imitated with #18 pupal patterns.  I have been tying #18 bodies on # 16 hooks as the slightly bigger hook size is stronger and less susceptable to bending or straightening on a bigger fish.  We are definitely in very early spring mode and really rushing the fishing but it is hard to stay off the water after … Read entire article »

In early April I had the opportunity to spend a week fly fishing in Cuba with the boys from Sport Fishing on the Fly TV Show and other great guests.  We had a great time spending 6tdays on a big boat that moved during the week.  We fished a lot of good water for bonefish, tarpon and permit.  I am now hooked on tarpon fishing!!  Those fish pull but I am worried about the first few trout I set the hook on this spring!!  This is definitely a trip I will do again. It was great to get away while the local lakes are still frozen.  Here a few images of the fish and fishing action.  … Read entire article »

I often get asked about seminars I am conducting each fishing season. Here is the rundown of what I have on the books for now. May 27-29 will see Kathy Ruddick and I at our annual spring school at Stoney Lake Lodge on Douglas Lake Ranch. This is a great weekend of learning aimed at beginner to intermediate level anglers. It is an ideal location for couples as well. Kathy and I will cover a wide variety of topics during our classroom sessions. You will learn about lake biology, seasons of a lake, trout food sources, fishing tactics, knots, basic equipment selection, fly casting instruction and lots of time on Stoney and/or Minnie lakes to practice what has been taught. There should be some … Read entire article »

It’s early Feb and definitely time to spend time at the vice. I always start by replenishing my stock of chironomid pupa. Despite probably having literally thousands of pupal patterns there are always new colour combinations, sizes to tie. Much of the tying ideas come from looking at the real bugs that have been sampled through the use of a throat pump. Here are some images of live pupa to give you some ideas of how diverse they are in terms of colour and size. Time to get back to the vice, Good luck with your tying!! … Read entire article »

Over the past couple years I have been learning how to cast the spey rod with the intention of fishing it for steelhead, salmon and trout on some of the larger rivers in BC. This has been a lot of fun mixed with enough frustration to keep me coming back for more. I must thank Brian Niska from Whistler Flyfishing who spent a day introducing me to the game and getting me pointed in the right direction. From then on I had the bug. Learning the various casts, what lines work with what rod etc. I have been able to make 2 trips to the Skeena River area during steelhead season and have hooked enough fish to know that I should have started fishing this … Read entire article »

It’s early January and definitely winter in Kamloops. It has been a great winter for cross country skiing and less than 3 months before open water again!! In the mean time I have been tying flies, catching up on articles and planning out my fishing year. I’ll be attending the Calgary Fly Fishing show January 28 to 30 and will be working out of the Superfly booth, tying flies and talking fly fishing. In March I will be conducting seminars at the Fraser Valley Boat & Sportsman’s Show at the Tradex centre. I hope your winter tying or other fishing projects are going well. See you at one of these shows. … Read entire article »

I had the good fortune to re-visit Kluane Wilderness Lodge on Wellesley lake during the third week of June 2010.  Wellesley is located approx. 200 miles NW of the city of Whitehorse.  Access to the lodge is via a 90 minute float plane trip that passes a lot of beautiful Yukon wilderness.  This was my 3rd trip to this wonderful fishery that features superb fly fishing for lake trout, pike and lake whitefish. What keeps me going back is the clear, nutrient rich water that supports heavy emergences of chironomids, mayflies, caddisflies and other invertbrates. Lake trout to 10 pounds and lake whitefish to 7 pounds can be readily taken on chironomid pupa, mayfly nymphs and adults and caddis pupa and adults.   Much of the fishing for the smaller lake … Read entire article »

It has been too long since I have updated my blog.  Needless to say I have been spending a lot of time on the water both around Kamloops and fishing waters in the southeast corner of the province.  Overall it has been a pretty good spring season although unsettled weather seems to have been the norm.  It has been a long time since we have had more than a day or two in a row of good weather and a stable barometer.  I have also been busy filming shows for The New Fly Fisher, Sport Fishing BC and Sport Fishing on the Fly.   Don Freschi and I had 4 days of great fishing and filming in the Fernie area during mid-May and prior to that I filmed 2 shows with … Read entire article »