This photo appeared in today’s Globe and Mail and it may surprise many readers that there is fly fishing available within steps of a subway stop in the heart of downtown Toronto!

Find out where to go on the Humber and other good places to fly fish in Southern Ontario by checking out the fly fishing access maps in the member’s area of our website.

[Our June newsletter is online - check it out!]

Yesterday’s Globe and Mail published a short story about a joint effort by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and Ontario Streams to stock 30,000 Atlantic Salmon fry on the Humber River. This picture, taken by Peter Power of the Globe and Mail, is of the salmon fry that were released on the Humber River at the edge of the Albion Hills Conservation Area.

Thank you to the Globe and Mail for covering this event. Their interest is appreciated and it is helping make people aware of the great work being done on the Humber River to bring the fishery back to what it once was. On that note, we won’t tell you exactly where this release took place but we will direct you to our fly fishing map of the Humber River that will be a pretty darned good place to start! While you are looking at our map section please don’t forgot to ‘Like’ us on FaceBook while you’re there… www.canadasflyfishingoutfitter.com/maps.php

I was recently invited by CBC Radio to do an interview on Metro Morning. This is CBC Radio’s flagship morning show that airs from 6 until 8:30am Monday through Friday and it is the top-rated radio morning show in Toronto. In spite of having to get up at 4:30 to drive downtown I jumped at the opportunity and although I stumbled a bit (I hadn’t had my first cup of coffee) I hope the interview got people in Toronto who do not currently fish to at least give it a try. I have to admit it was fun getting ‘behind the scenes’ at the CBC and the interviewer, Karen Horsman, was very pleasant and a delight to meet. The goal of the interview for the CBC was to get people thinking about fishing in the Greater Toronto Area but my goal was to get those same people thinking about taking up fly fishing. We covered a lot of ground in the 6 minutes we had ‘on air’ and I hope it helps get more people into our sport.

If you would like to listen to the broadcast (even just for a laugh…) you can click on www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=1896925442

With the snow finally – and quickly – disappearing I have been making occasional trips to the banks of my favorite stretches of river to check on the conditions and see if there are any new pools that may have been carved by the spring thaw. The other thing I have been doing is taking advantage of the lack of underbrush at this time of year to pick up garbage at access points and along the river banks. Candy wrappers, water bottles, cigarette boxes, coffee cups and lids and styrofoam containers are the usual haul but on occasion, like yesterday, there are things like beer bottles, copies of the fishing regulations (at least they were responsible on one level) and a hookah pipe which made for a very relaxing day for someone on the water last year…

I started carrying small plastic garbage bags with me while fly fishing a few years ago to have a place to put the refuse I found along the way. Although a small gesture, picking up any garbage I find makes every outing that much more rewarding. If you are heading out to check on your favorite water in the coming weeks we encourage you to keep a few small plastic bags and a pair of gardening gloves in the trunk of your car with a larger bag in which to put the garbage you find (the larger one will keep your car clean). If we all take a few extra minutes to do a little bit of spring cleaning it will make a world of difference.

Now, if I can only do the same thing around the house…

One of the aspects I like about fly fishing is that regardless of how long any of us have been involved in the sport there is always something new to learn. Some of us focus on casting and teaching. Others prefer to focus on mastering the art of catching a certain species and still others prefer to master the art of fly tying. The list truly is endless but it has one common thread – we all love fly fishing and that bond and the mutual respect upon which it is based is what creates friendships at club meetings, fly fishing lodges, industry shows and chance encounters on a river.

I am not one to make New Year’s resolutions but as this year draws to a close two of the things I would like to learn more about in 2011 are fly tying and entomology.These aspects of our sport are inseparable and while endless in their complexity they also give us countless hours of enjoyment at a tying bench and on a river. I was told when getting into the sport that catching a fish on a fly you have tied yourself provides one of the greatest senses of accomplishment you can experience as a fly angler. Over the years that comment has haunted me and I have decided that 2011 is the year that I will improve my knowledge of both.

To that end, one of the best online entomology resources I have seen over the years is troutnut.com and if you have not bookmarked this website you should. Created and maintained by Jason Neuswanger, troutnut.com is a fly tyers dream come true because it has over 3,700 pictures of 748 subjects and a growing library of behavioral information to help fly tyers understand and better imitate the things trout eat.

To see what I mean go to www.troutnut.com