As I sit at home battling the proverbial “mother of all chest colds” it is emails like the one we received this week that make all of the effort of running a fly shop worthwhile. It is always gratifying to receive words of praise and we thank Ken for taking the time to let us know what he thought about our hatch chart for Whiteman’s Creek.

“I just joined your site & was totally AMAZED that u had a hatch chart for Whiteman’s Creek. I have had a 35 foot trailer 20 ft. from the creek at a gun club for 23 yrs now & many members fly fish. I have taught many younger & older members how to fly fish (as I have been doing it for about 45 yrs) & taught my 2 kids boy/girl how to fly fish at the age of 5. I will shortly be ordering a few of your flies [and] will definitely be giving your address to everyone here & am sure they will pass it on to all their friends… I am very glad I found you! Ken”

If you would like more information on hatch charts for the Grand River, the Maitland River, the Saugeen River, the Credit River, the Nottawasaga River, the Humber River, the Boyne River Nd other fly fishing destinations in southern Ontario please go to the Members area of our site. It is free to join our Fly Fishing Club and we trust you will like what you find!

Happy Thanksgiving – we hope you and yours have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

The following story appeared on InsideHalton.com on October 18th and is worth forwarding…

Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources is investigating what could be the wasteful killing of salmon in Bronte Creek for the purpose of harvesting their roe.

Last week, the creek, just north of Rebecca bridge, was lined with dead salmon. Salmon naturally die after spawning up the river, but a number of local fishermen say it is too early for this number of dead salmon.

“We’ve received numerous tips to our tips line,” confirmed Jolanta Kowalski, a ministry spokesperson.

Kowalski said the ministry is currently investigating whether the fish have been killed and slit open to extract their eggs, which is a natural resource violation. She said this practice of catching salmon to extract the roe for the purpose of using it as bait is very common.

Angler Tom Oliver, of Hamilton, visited the area recently hoping to do some fly-fishing, but was angered at the sight of countless dead fish.

“These salmon were beyond counting. They were just caught and slit from gill to tail and the roe is used for bait,” he said.

He added eyes were also removed from fish.

“It’s just terrible. That fish doesn’t get a chance to go up and spawn,” he said.

“There are literally thousands of them that die, but the fact is, when you catch them before they get a chance to spawn and take the roe, then your cutting down the population of this salmon that was imported into this part of Canada from B.C.”

Oliver is calling on the Town to do something and hopes the culprits are charged.

If convicted, fines start at $200 and increase, depending on a number of variables, such as whether fishing was done in closed season, without a licence, snagging, in a sanctuary and more.

People who witness natural resource violations can call the ministry tip line at 1-877-847-7667.

I like to think I am a fairly level headed, upbeat person but yesterday was an off day. The day started out on a sour note and got progressively worse. It’s not that anything bad happened but rather nothing was going quite right. My son Jake had been cranky throughout the night to the point that he may have been awake more often than he was asleep which didn’t help. I think our household’s circadian rhythms were just off kilter. After attending my first meeting of the day my decision to work out of my home office quickly morphed into taking a mental health day so I grabbed my gear bag, jumped into my car and headed for the nearest stream to my house which is Bronte Creek.

For those not familiar with Bronte Creek a great description is available on Trout Unlimited Canada’s Ted Knott Chapter website (http://tutkc.org). This creek is a local and accessible oasis of calm for any angler who is looking for a fun outing and it is a preferred haunt for anglers who need a quick escape. As I parked my car in Lowville and took the keys out of the ignition I could feel my anxiety start to subside and by the time I had my waders on and my rod lined up my frustration level had dropped well below the ‘#@&% you’ threshold. The sun was out, the humidity had dropped and I had a fly box waiting to be opened.

Bronte Creek at Lowville is not difficult water to fish but as I mentioned earlier it is fun. Through the efforts of Trout Unlimited Canada and other like-minded organizations this watershed is undergoing a rehabilitation program that is improving the fishery ten-fold. River bank stabilization projects and a fish stocking program have made the angling in this area excellent for those who don’t mind catching smaller fish and yesterday was one of those days. I am a huge fan of dry fly fishing and the fish in the creek were on the same page as the longer I spent on the river the broader my smile grew. Trophy anglers may disagree but an afternoon of catching a couple of dozen creek trout that are 6 to 8 inches on a dry fly is fun – and the perfect way to get my mental state back on track. What made the start to my day even better was meeting a fly angler from Hamilton at the end of the lane where I had parked who kindly shared not only his knowledge of the creek but one of his own custom flies he had been fishing that was working particularly well (thanks Dennis – it worked for me also!). His generosity and kind words were a harbinger of things to come and the following 4 hours were exactly what the psychiatrist ordered.

As I was wrapping up my day I rounded a bend in the river and saw the only other angler I encountered casting into a riffle above a bridge. We waved from a distance and as I approached I introduced myself by first name and said I was finishing up. As we chatted I added that I hoped his day was going as well as mine and he smiled and said, “It’s going great – I just caught my first fish!”

“First fish of the day?”, I asked.

“No. My first ever fish on a fly!”

What I then learned was that Brian Mori and his son Michael had come to Bronte Creek directly from WILSON’S an hour earlier where they had invested in new Sage rods, Abel reels as well as Simms waders, boots and vests. I smiled when he told me this and then thanked him for the business – which initially puzzled him until I introduced myself as the owner of the store. We both laughed at the irony of our meeting and, to be honest, sharing the excitement of Brian’s first trout on a fly was the perfect reminder of what first drew me to this sport and also why I love being in fly fishing retail. There may be more noble pursuits in business but none more important than one that helps people enjoy the small pleasures in life. Congratulations Brian – and thank you for allowing me to share this moment with you and your son.

I was driving home on Saturday and saw a sign that said “No Exit”. Knowing that I had never been down that stretch of road I decided to take a quick detour and found myself at the end of a lane where someone has decided to establish their own garbage dump. But beyond the garbage I could see a path and my GPS told me that path likely lead down to the valley below the road. I doubled back and drove into the last driveway to ask the owner about whether it might be possible to walk through the woods on their property to try fly fishing the creek which I knew ran below their house. As luck would have it the owner, Evelyn, was just walking out of her barn and waited for me as I drove onto her property. After introducing myself and explaining why I was there she smiled, thanked me for asking and said I was more than welcome to walk through her property. She then added that many people don’t ask and when she sees them she goes out of her way to ask them to leave. As she said, “It’s a courtesy – but it means a lot.”

If you have never knocked on a door to ask a landowner for permission, in my experience the typical response you get is, “No problem – thanks for asking!” Many landowners are more than happy to grant permission to fly fishers but if we don’t ask we’re lumped in with that knucklehead who is dumping his garbage at the end of the lane way. We are breaking the law.

So if you see a stretch of water and you are not sure if it is public property, do the rest of us a favour, err on the side of caution and ask permission. And a word of advice: don’t be shy asking because it’s kind of like being back at a high school dance. Remember those painful moments when you saw the one with whom you wanted to dance but couldn’t muster up the courage? All we have to do is ask…