A fly fishing journal - Ste-Marguerite River

Hard Lessons Learned

2011-07-18T11:15:00.001-04:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - July 18, 2011

In French we have a saying, "Cordonnier mal chaussé". Or A Shoemaker with worn out shoes!

When I'm out with friends and visitors, I make it a point of looking after the gear. I usually tie up new leaders, clean the lines and check all the knots beforehand. During the day I'll constantly check and re-check lines, flies and knots.

This past week, I finally got out to the river. The spring run is starting, water conditions are perfect! It was also a first outing for Joelle. A newcomer to fishing of any sort, she was excited to see what all the fuss is about!

We explored a few runs in the lower sections then moved up into the middle section of the river. I can't remember exactly when, but I seem to remember that as I swing a few streamers through the #45a, my leader scrapped over some rocks!

The 45a is a shallow rapid

Late in the afternoon, we dropped into the #48. This pool is a smooth deep slick which holds salmon as well as sea run Brook Trout.

Salmon hold at the head of the 48

And 15 feet up from the tail out!

Since the sun had been out all day I figured that the salmon would be up for some dry flies. A nice bushy #6 Bomber!

Two drops on the upper end of the pool gave no results so I turned my attention to the tail out. I had earlier spotted some salmon holding in the middle of the water column there.

I scooted back to the beach and walked 40 feet down before wading back out about 40 feet from the pod of salmon. On the very first drop there is a boil, the fly disappears, I draw the rod back and strike with my free hand. Connected!

Jo is 25 feet behind me spooling up her rod so I waded over and handed my rod off to her. She has good rod control and fights well left and right to get the salmon back towards the beach.

5 or 10 minutes into the fight I figure the salmon is ready to come to hand. I reach out and take hold of the leader. On the first pull towards me, Pop! The fish was gone!

I check the leader to see if a knot had let go and I saw that the tippet had broken 10 inches down from the connection! No knots failed there. With a 15lb test fluorocarbon tippet, the only explanation would be that the line had been weakened as it scraped over some rocks earlier in the day!!!

I would have liked to have been able to get the salmon into Joelle's hands for a first ever salmon (first ever fish for her), but I'm positive that there will be other opportunities in the future.

So a quick reminder; check your gear regularly during the day. You never know what surprises are in store for you.

Tight Lines.

Christopher Chin – Proulxville Quebec.

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Joelle : 2nd salmon of the season

2011-07-08T11:44:00.001-04:00

Big Salmon - Little Lady

2011-06-23T11:48:00.000-04:00

First EVER salmon for Joelle ... Well, .... first EVER FISH

Last Light

2011-05-09T08:55:00.000-04:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - May -09, 2010

It’s that time of the year. Potential Clients are setting up for the coming season. As with any well organized outing, I always get asked what the daily schedule looks like (if they don’t ask, I’ll certainly tell them).

My home waters are on the Ste-Marguerite River in Central Quebec. It is an Atlantic salmon river and I have been fishing almost exclusively there for well over a decade. The river is spring fed and can vary in flow rates quite dramatically in a 24 hour period. Normally, over the summer season, flows are low and clear. This means that very early mornings are part of the order of the day.

Flow rates on the North arm of the Ste-Marguerite. The top graph shows the year (red and blue) Green is the 9 year average; Grey and purple are historical highs and lows respectively.

Typically, I like to meet newcomers as early as possible. Early for me is before 5 o’clock. If they promise to have had a real breakfast, we can do this a tad later.

The theory is that the salmon who have seen all manner of fly over the past few days or weeks are less shy” in the early morning. On other rivers around Eastern North America I truly believe that anglers start so early because of fishing pressure and overcrowding. Up here, it’s a question of tactics. If the flows are high and the air temperatures cool, there is little reason to get out so early!

As we start out so early in the day, a mid day nap is in order, followed by an early supper. It is important to eat well at the end of the day because the evening fishing session will go right up until dark! In Quebec, Provincial regulations state the one can fish from 1 hour before dawn right up until 1 hour after sunset. When water conditions are low and clear, this last 45 minutes of fishing is often the very best opportunity to connect!

Hitting the evening session with friends on the #23

A few years ago, I had a couple of friends out with me. We fished the day and I showed them a few pointers. As I had to be back to town for a supper meeting, I left them on at their camp with instructions of where and how to fish the evening. The following week I called up to see how things had gone.

I asked if they had connected. No! I asked if the No-see-ums and mosquitoes were bad. No, when they came out for the evening feed, my Buddies had called it a day!

News flash! When the evening rise of biting critters come out, the pools may just start to activate too!!!

We move to dark coloured bigger flies. If you think like a salmon, dark flies are logical. They see our offering in contrast against the lighter sky. I like to use Black Bears and Muddlers.

Mario holding on to a nice salmon which took a forest green Muddler

Boris working hard a big buck which took to the biggest Black Bear I had ever seen attached to a leader!

We work the salmon hard and fast as they all go back to fight another day!!

The last light of the day is often a fine time to hook-up on my home waters. It is worth it to wait those final moments and fish right up ‘til dark. You may have to brave a few mosquitoes and nosee’ums though. Also, remember to bring a working flashlight. The trail back to the pickup can be a bit treacherous in the dark!!!

Tight Lines!!

Chris Chin

(Actually, I suppose that this text is the sequel to an earlier article “First Light” from December 10th 2010)

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Why We Fish III

2011-04-11T08:07:00.001-04:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - April 11, 2011

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a few expositions and activities this past winter. I (thankfully) didn’t do the booths. I mostly gave conferences about my home waters (the Ste-Marguerite River) and Atlantic salmon fishing in general. Basically, the theme of the discussions I gave was that fly fishing for Atlantic salmon in Central Quebec is not just for Pros, the rich nor the famous. It is quite affordable and as simple (or complicated) as one wishes to make it.

In the Q&A sessions as well as in the corridors, one particular question always seemed to come up: I always answered; “Yes, I fish pretty well on one single river. I don’t really have enough time to get around to visiting others, but this suits me just fine”.

To put this into perspective, one has to realize that I fish as an excuse to get out into Nature. It is an activity which demands my concentration and I get to meet friends and newcomers alike.

The truth be told, I guess I don’t concentrate all that much anymore while I’m presenting a fly to a lie. I am far from being an elegant caster, but I look where I want and the fly just goes there. The mending, stripping and recuperation of the line just seem to get done at the proper moment all by themselves.

Case in point: On the #45a pool, there is a broken rapid running left to right. A midstream sunken gravel bar means that there are TWO lanes running with a slower current in the middle. When I fish this run with wets, I know that the farther lane gets fished less (as it is a lengthy switch cast). When I lay down a cast I will lift and send a downstream mend which will fish the fly. An upstream mend mid-stream makes the line swing properly and a second delayed upstream mend close in helps keep the line nice and firm.

I do this all automatically as I watch the leader and fly.

Downstream from André, we can see the two lanes on the 45a.

On the other hand, if I start thinking about anything like the office, phone calls missed or looming deadlines, even the cast itself, I’ll soon have a #10 Green Highlander stuck in the back of my hat!!!

As for meeting friends and newcomers, I suppose that it’s one of the reason’s I like going back to the same waters week after week. I am comfortable there. Everyone knows my name (and I theirs!). There is something reassuring about that.

There is also the fact that as a Guide on my home waters, I get to meet newcomers from all over the World. There is no experience like it. Every day out with visitors, I get to re-experience the wonderment of discovering the river through their eyes!

Fellow Guide – Romain Tremblay
We teamed up in 2009 to initiate a group to Salmon fishing.

When I sit down and actually try to figure out why I fly fish, the answer is simple. A mix of good friends, wonderful surroundings sprinkled in with some serious concentration make for a nice break from the Rat Race.

Even lounging on the beach to select a fly can be a relaxing experience. There is no rush. The salmon have been coming to the pool for nearly 10,000 years. They can wait another 10 minutes.

Finally, with over 100 km of runs, rapids, pools and slicks, the Ste-Marguerite River offers quiet time if I prefer to seek that out.

Sunrise on the #3
Marianne Courteau Photo.

I know some of the reasons why I fish. My reasons aren’t your reasons. It probably doesn’t even matter if you know or not. I believe the only important thing is to get out and go fishing. ... Hey, you might as well bring along a friend or two!

Tight Lines,

Christopher Chin, Chicoutimi, Quebec.

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Days or yesteryear

2011-03-28T08:17:00.000-04:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - March 28, 2011

Winter is dragging on. True, the days are longer and the sun sets later and later in the evening. Still, the season is a long way off up here.

It’s not true cabin fever. Maybe Shack Nasty’s as Betty would call it. Anyway, I do find myself looking forward to the coming season. Still, motivation can take a hit! I started an article 4 weeks ago and never finished it. Since my computer died Thursday evening, I lost the draft. It wasn’t a very interesting blurb anyway!

The coming season is too far off to really get into the spirit, so the next best thing is to flip through the fishing journals from yesteryear.

I only have journals dating back to when I arrived in Quebec. I was too young and foolish in my youth to think about such things. Back then, I guess I figured I could remember everything! I suppose that these journals covering the past 23 years will have to do!

I’ve read and re-read these pages so many times I don’t actually READ the words anymore. The first 3-4 words in an entry are enough to whisk me back a year or twenty. There are also a few real standout entries I always seem to go back to. The 3 days I got to spend with JC and Deanna, a memorable sea trout which was hunkered down in a lie 60 feet out, watching one of the local old-timers bring in a monster salmon on the #28.

While I browse through the pages I also seem to time warp from the past to the future. Past outings set the stage for new ones to come. I recently met up with a brother and sister who will most probably give fly fishing a shot this coming season. Pure rank beginners, I’ll want to set them up somewhere to have fighting chance for some action and still be able to learn to cast comfortably.

I reach down to the floor to pull up one of the older volumes. Aha! 1996. I seem to remember a nice beach where we can learn to cast and also find salmon and big sea trout.

The number 43 pool on my home waters is a nice run (up here, the French language calls all holding water a “pool” or “fosse”, even if it’s a run, a riffle, a rapid, pocket or true pool). It’s a left to right run with a deep riffle at the head, 200 yards of run and a shallow rapid at the foot.

The trail leading to the #48

On the far side, a deep back eddy holds some truly monstrous sea trout.

Since the first time I discovered this run, I’ve spent many a day or evening on it. There’s a 100 yard trail leading from the pull out to the beach. Quite often, over the course of the day, I’ll end up ferrying down chairs, coolers, BBQ and kitchen to the beach. At the end of the day, it could appear that someone is setup there for the season!!!!

The #48 is a nice wide open run. When the river is running at anything less than a blow out, there is always a beach and easy wading.

It’s always handy to be on such a run. When one’s back cast isn’t quite high enough, at least I’m not going to be tying on a new fly!!!
(André – Keep thy back cast upeth!!!)

The #48 is a good place to start beginners. There is a nice steady current. There is lots of room for a back cast. The presentations are relatively simple.

... and when the big bruisers come out of the back eddy, they are really willing to take a fly!!!

Looking back on the old journals is a small ray of sunshine on a gloomy late winter day. It also opens up visions of the season to come!!

Christopher Chin, Proulxville Quebec.

Anyone can do this!

2011-02-21T08:28:00.000-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - February 21, 2011

This isn’t really a rant, and if it is, Deanna lets me get away with it about twice a year:-)

I am always amazed that many folks believe that fly fishing is difficult or out of reach or simply for the rich and professionals. For those of you, who are looking to get into the sport, know that fly fishing is as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.

A few days ago I was at a regional fly fishing get-together. The conference I gave was targeted at newcomers and I tried to show how fly fishing for Atlantic salmon can be truly simple.

At the wrap-up banquet, one of the invited guests gave a nice speech thanking the organizers (all volunteers) but then ran on about how it is instructive to see how well the “experts” and “specialists” present have mastered all the technical intricacies of the sport (bugs, casting, techniques etc). She also sort of put fly fishing up on some sort of intellectual or social pedestal, implying that the sport is more complicated or refined or accomplished than other forms of fishing.

Strangely enough, over half of those present seemed to glow in the limelight of elitism that was shining down upon them! For a handful of us in the back (closest to the bar), our table fell a bit silent. I guess the message is a bit slow getting out!

Here’s a little secret for those of you who believe that you are really good at your fly fishing: “There is someone else out there somewhere better than you”!

Ok, that said, what must we do about it???

Well, for one thing, start at home (on your home waters). Look back in your mind’s eye. You’re stringing up, getting ready for a nice morning of fly fishing. You’re in a picnic pull-out off the highway. There is a family (tourists) having breakfast at the picnic table next to you. It is pretty obvious that the kids are intrigued by your stuff.

Do you prepare your gear, making a big show of the thousands of flies in your boxes (99% of which you don’t use), pulling on your waders, hat, glasses and boots as if you’re #1 in a stick going to HALO jump over Afghanistan?

Or,

Do you nod a hello and smile, ask them where they’re from and show the kids the difference between an artificial fly that floats and one which doesn’t?

There is a whole lot of myth, legend and mystique surrounding fly fishing in North America. Maybe “the Film” had something to do with it. Maybe it’s a cultural thing. All I know is that it is up to each and every one of us to try to spread the word that fly fishing is really quite simple and easily learnable by anyone who cares to give it a try.

So I’ll quit ranting and tell you some of the things I do:
- I often give casting demos and classes at lunch hour next to the office.
- I encourage youngsters to try fishing and especially fly fishing when I speak on any subject
- I invite friends, associates and family fishing!
- I am humble (at least in my mind).

Lastly, I hope you all realize that we are a community. Because of our gear, (waders, glasses, hat and long rod), fly fishers do stand out in a crowd. As a member of any “group”, you, me, we have a certain responsibility to act as ambassadors for that group.

So the next time you’re out on the water, at a shop or just napping by the river, remember that we are all representatives of our respective town, region, club and sport.

Try to leave a (positive) lasting impression!

Last spring at the Sherbrooke Spey Clinic, the local Scouts were there at the same time by pure chance to get some their fishing badges. We easily found some spare gear and they soon put aside the spoons and tried some fly fishing!

And with DH rods at that!

Christopher Chin, Proulxville Quebec

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Fly fishing Cuba (part 3 of 3)

2011-02-14T07:54:00.000-05:00

Fly fishing Cuba (part 3 of 3)

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - February 14, 2011

Sysadmin Note
Part 2 can be found here.

When I decided to try salt water flats fishing, I had in mind mostly bonefish. In fact, all the reading I did was on bonefish. It never really occurred to me that the area I was going to was one of the best flats destinations in the World.

Fortunately, friends gave me advice on the rods and gear to bring along. Bonefish rods were 6 and 8 weights. I also had brought along a 9wt for permit and a 10 weight for Tarpon. Friends also put together fly boxes for me so I had 3 separate boxes; one each for Permit, Bones and Tarpon. The Tarpon flies were ordered and the others were tied by a friend in Chicoutimi.

A mix of Permit and Bonefish flies

The last of my Tarpon flies

Actually, when I was getting ready for the trip, I really had no true intention of going for Tarpon. In reality, I was pretty intimidated by the idea! I sort of figured that I could just pass off any opportunity for Tarpon to my Skiff mate. Well, I also forgot that I would be in a single Skiff almost half of the time!!

On the first full day of fishing we were all up bright and early. They had said that there would be coffee delivered to the cabin door at 6:45. Well, at 5:30 I found myself on the fore deck stringing up the last rods in the company of my 4 fishing mates!!! We tossed a coin to see who was going single skiff first (3 of us were sharing 2 skiffs for the week). I won!

A lavish breakfast, eggs, prepared meats, fruits and lots of coffee, and then we prepared boxed lunches of rice, potatoes, poached fish and pork strips. When we came out of the dining room, the rods were all stowed in the skiffs, gear was loaded and the Guides were waiting for us.

There was to be a cold Northerly coming in tonight so we decided to bee-line it for a sector in the North-East where there are usually lots of big Bonefish. Fine I thought, I could learn the ropes a bit on the first day and maybe go for bigger stuff later in the week.

We set out for a 45 minute run to cross the channel then we were to turn up into the sector. We were following the other skiff, just getting across the channel when my Guide hits the brakes, looks over into the Mangroves and turns right. He settles into a bay 40 yards from the entrance to a tiny channel and says “Ok Mr. Chin, Tarpon rod”. Oh great!

The Guide Yesy has a look at my rig to make sure all is up to snuff. He re-ties the leader (Guides are the same all over the world). I show him the flies and he selects one, and then goes about trimming down the wing and shortening the length.

Into the tiny channel, we start looking for Tarpon hiding amongst the Mangroves.

We see them. They are in amongst the mangroves and cruising a pattern, occasionally coming out into an opening in the tees.

The cast isn’t long and there is no wind. Actually we’re almost too close and it’s hard to get the 10wt GLoomis Crosscurrent to load!

On the second cast, I strip long and slow. The lead tarpon turns, follows, follows then takes the fly! I strike with my stripping hand straight back and he’s on! All my trepidation about fishing for this beast evaporates in an explosion of spray when the Tarpon, about 30 pounds leaps. I even remember to bow and point to keep her from throwing the fly.

The she turns, pulls a few yards and leaps straight into the branches of the Mangroves!! I can see my fly dangling into the water and I get a glimpse of one very angry tarpon streaking back into the cover of the swamp.

A few minutes later we are pulling into another channel, more Tarpon. I hook several but don’t boat any. The last one of the morning is on for several minutes, which was long enough for 3-4 short runs. Long enough for the Guide to climb down from the platform and give me pointers on rod position and fighting techniques. I think I’m not setting the hook quite well enough. Practice is needed!

Over the next several days we hook a few dozen Tarpon in the Mangroves, in channels and on the deep flats. Alan gets into a school in a channel and hooks a dozen and boats several one morning.

Eventually, Alan calls us on the radio to tell us to come to this channel. He’s tired!

Permits are a whole different ball game. Actually, I had no idea how, where and when to fish for Permit! We did spend a good evening looking for Permit. We were trying for a Grand Slam for Pierre as he had Bones and a Tarpon in the morning.

Permits are either very wise or very dumb. We had them following the fly, bumping the fly and on 2 shots, nibbling, but not eating the fly. Sometimes the fly would land 18 inches from the fish and it would ignore it. Other times, it would land gently 3 feet away and the fish would bolt!

Most of our casts were very long. The hard coral bottoms in the areas we found Permit makes for lots of noise as we poled the skiffs. Instead of spooking the fish, we were casting 65-80 feet with heavy weighted flies! We didn’t try hard that hard for Permit. The tide schedule was not quite aligned that week. The week later, our friends got into Permit every day and Boris got his Grand Slam on the very first full day!

Our week in Cuba was fantastic. Avalon Cuban Fly fishing Centers has an excellent setup. The Tortuga is a floating hotel, permanently moored in the very heart of the archipelago. All their gear is top notch and the Guides are excellent and professional.

Will I go back? Most certainly. I’m trying to schedule a return trip soon!

Christopher Chin, Proulxville Quebec.

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FLY FISHING CUBA (part 2 of 3)

2011-01-24T07:40:00.003-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - January 24, 2011

After months of reading, dreaming, getting together the gear, a quick plane trip, 5 hours of bus and 4 hours of boat transit, me and my buds arrived at the Tortuga in the Queen’s Gardens off the South coast of Cuba.

The Tortuga is permanently moored in a cove in the middle of the archipelago. From there, Avalon uses skiffs to get around. We had 2 skiffs and Guides for the three of us. There were also 2 other anglers that week, each in a single skiff.After months of reading, dreaming, getting together the gear, a quick plane trip, 5 hours of bus and 4 hours of boat transit, me and my buds arrived at the Tortuga in the Queen’s Gardens off the South coast of Cuba.

We arrived around 14h00 in the afternoon, so we quickly dumped our bags, rigged rods and set off for some bonefish. We knew we would be fishing on the first afternoon, so the evening before; we had spent a few minutes preparing the boat bags etc. All the reels were already spooled up with leaders attached.

On this first quick afternoon, my partner, Pierre landed several bonefish and I missed another half dozen. The last time I had been fishing in September, it was for trout and was a bit too quick on the strike and a whole lot to hard!

The first of MANY! Pierre Manseau with a typical Bonefish in that part of the World.

Of course, Pierre has been at this gig for a while. Thanks to his guidance, a few good books and the info I got beforehand from the outfitter, I was pretty well ready for this beast.

Back to the Tortuga for supper, strategy and a bit of Internet chiding of our friends back home!

There is WiFi internet access on the Tortuga so we sent daily updates back to friends. This also means that with my Blackberry, which has a UMA package on it, we could call home toll free!

On arrival back at the boat each night we were greeted with cocktails and pizza. We had time to rinse off the gear and chat before supper.

Oh, a note to potential travellers, if you don’t like fresh fish and lobster, you might get a bit tired of the suppers!

The next day, I was in the single skiff. We hit some Tarpon early (more on this next week), then into the mangroves for Bonefish.

A peculiar thing, my Guide the day before had said to strip short and slowly. The Guide today had me stripping the line short, but quite a bit faster. I guess the Guides all over the world are the same! We all have our own recipes for success!!!

Well, I finally got the hang of hooking Bonefish. Actually, before lunch I had boated and released over a dozen and landed well over 25-30 during the day!

The first of many!!!

We spent most of the morning meandering amongst the mangroves hunting for Bones.

Bonefish are wonderful! Following Deanna’s counsel, on the very first one, I had the drag set down one click, I let it take then run. I listened to the reel scream a bit and thought about her!

My rods were 8 and 9 wts and I used my switch and spey reels to get on enough backing. In my case, this was 200 yards of 20lb Dacron. Oddly, with the +100 bonefish I caught in 6 days of fishing, only one got me half way into the backing. I suppose this was because I caught most of mine in the mangroves. One of the other anglers got into the backing more often, but he was wading a whole lot more than I was.

Oh, as for the hat, buf, long shirt etc. I had on #60 spf sunscreen. I would slather up in the morning and touch up my ears and feet at lunch. I still got a raccoon tan on my face and a pretty decent tan right through my shirt. Over kill??? Probably not. I prefer to be more safe than sorry.

Hiding from the sun! 11 hours per day in an open skiff, - better safe than sorry!

I had a wonderful time on my first ever trip for Bonefish. They fight hard and they pull and run better than an Atlantic Salmon. In 6 days, I had the chance to fish over tailers, lone fish cruising, giant pods of 20-30 fish as they moved about and several groups that were mudding in deeper water.

(Photo: Alain Lavoie 2010)

I have a lot of respect for these fish. They are skittish, often choosy and very hard fighters!

Next week: Tarpon and Permit!

Christopher Chin: Proulxville Quebec

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Cuba 2010

2011-01-22T15:45:00.000-05:00

A few shots of the Christmas trip to Avalon's setup!

FLY FISHING CUBA (part 1 of 3)

2011-01-10T05:35:00.001-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - January 10, 2011

Note: I will mention various products and brand names. This is not a product endorsement. I simply use specifics so you can know exactly which equipment I use.

Back in January 2010, I had changed jobs and I knew that my 2010 salmon fishing would be less active. At the same time, friends got back from a fly fishing trip to Cuba. They turned around and started organizing groups for December.

I figured I may as well give this a shot.

Getting ready for the trip was actually pretty simple on my side. I booked a trip to Los Jardines de la Reina, with Avalon Cuban Fishing Centers.

The gear:
Avalon provides a good check list of stuff to bring. Since I was going out of prime time, some of the list wasn’t needed, such as 12wt rods for Tarpon (right!).

I didn’t need much new gear for this trip. My regular salmon rods are all salt water ready with anodized or stainless fittings. I used my salmon reels as well. I rented a 10wt from a friend’s shop and got some saltwater lines. Here`s what I brought:

6wt TFO Axiom 9 ft with a Lamson Velocity V3;
8wt Redington Redfly2 9ft with a Galvan Rush R-8 (which is my usual 5wt switch reel).
9wt Sage Flight 9ft with a Galvan Torque Large Arbor T-10 (my 8wt spey reel)
10wt G Loomis Crosscurrent 9 ft with Sage 6010.

Lines were all Cortland Bonefish lines with 200 yards of 20lb backing. The 6wt and 8wt were for Bonefish, the 9wt for Permit and the 10wt for Tarpon. The Tarpon rod had an intermediate sink Ghost tip. All the others were floating lines.

It was breezy some mornings, so I soon rigged the 9wt eventually for big Bonefish flies. I tied a heavier, shorter leader to help turn over the weighted flies. I would leave the Permit for my friends. Since I wasn’t going for any Class records, the Tarpon rod had a short 41lb 3-4 foot level leader and an 18 inch 60lb fluorocarbon shock tippet – Nothing complicated there!

All the rods, reels, clothes and fly boxes fit into a Fishpond rolling gear and rod bag. I use a Fishpond Cloudburst gear bag as a carry-on and it doubles as my boat bag. I already use C&F Design waterproof fly boxes and my cameras are always in a Pelican case. The Pelican case is my second carry-on. Lastly, I stash a Sage DXL Lumbar Fanny Pack in the rolling gear bag for wading.

To not worry about rods getting lost in transit, with my 2 fishing buddies, we had complete rod and reel sets in 3 different bags, including an assortment of G Loomis, Ross and Hardy rods (including the new Proaxis SINTRIX™ !!!)

The rest of the gear was several fishing shirts, 1 pair of shorts, travel clothes; Simms flats cap, sun gloves and Buff. I also have 3 pairs of fishing glasses (2 for me and one for the Guide if need be).

All my accessories are already salt water resistant so I didn’t need any special tools. I pack on me (even on salmon rivers):

Swiss army multi-tool;
Abel Perfect Tool;
Long nose forceps (10 inch);
Fishpond Pitchfork Clippers;

I had no idea of flies to bring, so my friends put together 3 boxes of flies for me.

I used mostly shrimp for Bones, Crabs for Permit and an assortment of Peanut butter’s and Pinocchio’s for Tarpon.

Some of the stuff you might not think about:

Small laptop or NetBook computer;
Smartphone with a Wi-Fi/UMA setup (so I can telephone from the Tortuga);
Lens cleaner or wipes for getting salt spray off your glasses;
Neoprene cold water gloves in case it’s cool and you do a channel crossing.
IPod loaded with books and films for the bus ride(s) and flights;
Note pad and pencils;
Cold and flu meds. Two of our fishing buddies caught head colds on the trip.
Waterproof camera: You WILL get at least spray on you, so full waterproof is a must. The DSLR and RAW compact stay in the Pelican case most of the time.

The destination:

From Montreal, I flew Air Canada to Toronto then on to Havana Cuba.

The departure – I met up with my comrades in arms at the Toronto airport.

In Havana, we stayed overnight at the Hotel Central Park (a nice 5 star hotel in downtown Havana).

(Photo NH Hoteles Parque Central)

Up at it early the next morning, we took a chartered bus from Havana to Jucaro at 04h30

A bus ride of about 5 – 6 hours and we are at the jump off point.

From Jucaro, it’s a 3-4 hour boat ride to the Tortuga.

On the ride from Jucaro to the Tortuga – The hat is getting some mileage!

The Tortuga

The Tortuga was completely refitted in 2008 and features rooms for 14 anglers, hot showers in each room, air conditioning and Wi-Fi Internet access. There is a dining room, bar on the back deck and sunbathing on the roof. On the foredeck there are rod racks and a fresh water hose to rinse off gear.

We got in a first afternoon of fishing straight off. A day on the Tortuga starts at 6h45. A knock on the door and coffee is presented. Breakfast is at 7h00. The Guides arrive with the skiffs at 7h15 and load the rods, gear bags, drinks and ice. After breakfast, a table is set with the fixin’s for a bag lunch (rice, fish, pork, fruits etc).

One can come back to the Tortuga for lunch, but it can be a long way, depending on where you are fishing, so we preferred bringing lunch.

After a day of fishing, we are back to the boat around 5h30 or 6h00 in the evening. Drinks and pizza to hold off until supper, which is usually around 7h30. We also fished for Tarpon until late at night right off the stern of the Tortuga (hooking many and boating 1).

During the week, we were a total of 5 anglers in 4 skiffs. We had Los Jardines de la Reina all to ourselves!

Next week: Bonefish!

Christopher Chin, Proulxville, Quebec

Editor's Note
It is currently illegal for an American Citizen to travel to Cuba except on official business. Our writer, Chris Chin, is a Canadian citizen and does not come under that prohibition. FAOL does not endorse American Citizens traveling to Cuba.

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The Joy of Casting!

2010-12-20T10:03:00.000-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - December 20, 2010

I like casting a fly rod! Good thing, because I spend most of my time on an Atlantic salmon river here in central Quebec. The famous fish of ten thousand casts! There are plenty of opportunities to practice our casting and presentations.

Sunshine, dry flies and friends! – A switch rod is a versatile tool.

I also like to have fun casting. That is, I’ll usually have at least 2, but usually 3 or more rods strung up to accommodate different conditions and targets.

Typically, for a morning of salmon on my home waters, I’ll have an 8wt – 10ft, some 6 or 7wt 10 footers and recently, a 5wt 11ft switch rod. After all, fishing here isn’t a numbers game. Quality seems to reign over quantity, so we might as well have fun casting!

This past season, I was still feeling out a new switch rod. I have spooled this rod up using a “classic” spey line so it is mostly for downstream wets. In a pinch, it loads nicely with an overhead cast and can still present a big bushy dry fly with no problem at all.

Since I was still working on a groove and proper anchor placement, I dropped down to the #8 pool. A perfect left to right run, for my, a right hander, it would be just fine for some d-loop practice. When I say practice, I don’t mean practicing distance casting. Sure it’s fun to double haul and see a dozen feet of backing stream out the guides, … then again, at that distance, precision and presentation can start looking a bit weird.

When I’m out practicing, I like to start short. I find that, it is much more difficult to cast less than 50 feet than it is to cast 65 feet! Out the window goes a myth about Atlantic salmon fishing. Most presentations on my home waters are under 60 feet! For example, the line on my switch rod had a 48 foot head. The rod will not load properly with more than that out the guides. With a 16 foot leader, this means my casts on the swing are all less than 65 feet!

This afternoon, there is a pretty stiff breeze coming down the river, so I can’t really do a simple double spey. I strip line off of the spool until the color code tells me that the head is off the reel (I wonder why all lines don’t have this??). I let the line dangle downstream to my right and use a brisk snake roll to bring the line back up towards me and anchor properly.

I only plan on practicing shooting line off of a glorified roll cast, so I’ve tied on a #8 Mickey Finn. The current here is steady and firm so the fly is tied in regular proportions (not too sparce, not to full).

I love casting. While I’m casting, I don’t think about bills, deadlines, nor projects. There is no cell phone service in the valley, so that isn’t even a problem. Paradoxically, I don’t think about the cast either. If I do, I start getting wind knots or a fly in the back of my head. No, I simply look at the target and the fly just seems to go there!

Pickup, loop, anchor, roll, mend. Pickup, loop, anchor, roll, mend. Pickup, loop, anchor, roll, mend … I side step down the run about 2 feet before each pickup and I’m mending a downstream belly into the line to get a bit more speed into the swing.

I get a bit mesmerized while I fish, especially on downstream presentations. So much so, that when the line gives a tug, then a pull, I almost drop the rod!

Thankfully, the salmon has decided to take the fly cleanly and turn away from me, keeping the line taught and setting the hook all by himself!

The #8 pool is a long run with a rapid at its base (behind off image to the right)

The salmon decides that this isn’t such a nice place to hole up and continues turning; broad side to the current he heads downstream for another zip code! I have a medium weight tippet so I can easily put pressure on the rod. The fact that I know he is hooked on the near side of his mouth means I can pull even harder once he turns back towards me.

The water is quite warm so instead of waiting for him to turn again I chase him down along the beach, spooling as fast as I can to recuperate line and get along side him. Large or mid-arbor reels are a blessing in this situation.

Mid way down the beach, I’m huffing and puffing when I catch up and he is now straight out from me. A long rod helps here and I can put side pressure on him. (don’t laugh, you try sprinting down a soft sand beach in waders and boots!!) Within 5 minutes he is at hand. The barbless hook easily slides out and 12-14 lbs of very angry Salmo salar is back on his way into the depths of the pool.

I find a lot of pleasure in the simple act of casting a fly rod. Then again, once in a while, it is a whole lot of fun connecting!

Christopher Chin, Proulxville Quebec

First Light - Part 2 of 2

2010-12-13T20:40:00.001-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - December 13, 2010

I have a chance to scan the river which runs alongside the regional highway. I hadn’t seen the river on the drive in as it was dark, but in the growing light I can make out the sand bar on the #27. From the length and width of the bar, I can tell that the river is really low, even for the mid summer season.Since it’s 800 yards from the #23 pool up to the #28 pool, I grab the trout rod, a streamer wallet and I hop into the pickup.

I pull into the parking lot on the #28. There are two other pickup in the lot, but I know that they are the vehicles of some of the locals who have hiked in to a trout lake on the other side of the river.

I have a mental flash of Deanna as this is the same place she wet a line for the very time on our home waters back in 2006.

The salmon have arrived for the season. A small population will come in over the month of August, but for the most part, the main run have arrived and has set up in the various runs and pools, … usually a short distance downstream from their spawning beds. A distinct advantage on the Ste-Marguerite River is that there are redds up and down the river. Sure, there are more spawning beds in the upper reaches, but there are also several scattered along the lower sections. This means that during the entire summer, salmon can be found holed up in all of the zones.

I know (believe) that there are salmon in the main current of the run, but since I’m really only interested in a trout now, I skip the formalities and quietly walk to the base of the rapids.

Here, the run empties out into a very large pool. It is deep and calm. A feeder stream empties into the pool on the near side helping the water temperature to hold at a reasonable level even in the middle of the summer. It is a short stream; spring fed at its source it is 5 degrees colder than the river proper. The richly oxygenated water coming out of the cool stream makes for a dandy holding pool for trout.

I strip several yards of line off of the spool and lay down a streamer swing. I let the fly swing towards me in the current about 3 feet upstream of the pool, … just in case some nice trout are holding high in the pool. … No luck.

On the next cast, there isn’t enough current to properly swing the fly so I strip off 60 feet of line and lay the cast down along the head of the pool. The very instant the fly touches the surface I start a panic strip, popping and gurgling the fly straight across the weak current back towards me. No luck.

I already have enough line out for the medium weight rod with a fairly heavy fly so I pickup and recast about 3 feet to the left and start the same retrieve. On the first strip I see a boil under the fly. I stop!

The fly sinks an inch or two and I give one quick 12 inch strip. BANG!

In a boil the line is going tight and line is feeding out the guides.

The take is too strong to be a small juvenile trout. It’s too early in the season anyway for them to be here. It must be a spawner so I will do this quickly. Since the line has been peeling off the spool I can fight from the reel. If there had been slack, I wouldn’t have bothered and just simply stripped in line.

Brook trout here don’t run like a salmon and the don’t jump like a Rainbow. Instead they like to pull hard in one direction or another, often diving deep for cover on the bottom or against a bank.

A long rod helps me here to keep side pressure on the fish and control a bit his movements. Within 5 or 10 minutes I have him at hand. I could have probably pulled harder, but I could have easily broken off. Since I only have a limited supply of these Muddler’s in the truck and I’ll be on the river for a week, I don’t feel like losing a fly so early!

It’s a magnificent specimen: A big Buck, … almost 24 inches. He is already starting to develop a keep. I retrieve the barbless fly with a flick of the wrist. The fish doesn’t even come out of the water and he dives back to the depths.

I spool up the rest of the line and the leader. It’s time to go wake up Dany so we can have a proper breakfast. The sun is starting to peep around the corner of the bluff. Daylight will soon be streaming into the valley. The trough isn’t supposed to roll in before mid afternoon.

Sunshine, dry flies and friends. The day is shaping up to be just dandy!

All I have to do now is remember where I left my coffee cup.

Christopher Chin
Proulxville Quebec

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Archive of Our Man in Canada

First Light - part 1 of 2

2010-12-06T07:24:00.001-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - December 6, 2010

There’s just something special about dawn. I guess it could be the calm windless air, the mist shrouding the rapids or just the simple knowledge that you are the only one out and about.I know I’ve said that one really doesn’t need to get up well before dawn on my home waters. Truth be told, I do frequently crawl out of my bunk in the wee hours of the morning. I don’t do this to be the first one on a run, nor because there is an over abundance of anglers here. In reality, I really like the early morning, always have, always will.

This past season I was up for a week on the river. Liliane was in France for a month so I was going solo. Well, not truly alone as several friends were also camped out up and down the river.

I pulled in rather late into camp. Sure as sunrise, the wardens had lit a fire in the wood stove and there was a pile of dry birch in the corner of the camp. It is the third week of July, but the evening chill will still settle into the bedding. (I guess I’m just getting old!). I quickly dumped my gear under the awning of the prospector’s tent, setup an extra lantern then went about stringing up a trout rod as well as a salmon rod.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a clear and sunny morning and then a trough will move through dropping 20-35 mm of rain. The river is really low and clear so the leaders get re-vamped and lengthened well past 2x the length of the rods. The salmon rod ends up with a 22 foot leader ending in a 6lb tippet. The trout rod is rigged with a 26 foot leader and ends with a 3 lb tippet. I will prefer to get in a few hours in the early morning. Since I’ll be fishing before sunup, I tie on a big #10 rabbit strip Muddler for trout and a sparsely tied #10 Green Highlander for salmon. Not your standard fare for salmon fishing, but it has been a weird season with low water conditions ever since spring breakup.

During the 2010 season I have been running all over Eastern Canada for the day job, so I just naturally open my eyes around 4 a.m. This morning is no exception. It’s too early to fish, so a pot of coffee sets to perking while I take a short walk up to the #25 pool to see (hear) if any trout are out hunting for voles.

No such luck. I walk the 200 yards back to camp by the light of my head lamp. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee can be perceived 50 feet out. I load up a travel mug and grab the salmon rod to see how I can do over on the #23.

From the gallery over the #23 one has a perfect vantage point to try and spot salmon. (Left – Jack Crawford searching for salmon).

In the faint light I can see the distinct forms of salmon amongst the rocks. Not an easy task, but since I know where they should be holding, I can quickly make out several salmon and estimate their relative sizes.

Near the tail end of one group I can see there is a Grisle (juvenile salmon) holding back. I trot down to the edge of the river and strip out some line.

I know that there are other salmon in the pool, but since I know friends will be fishing here in a few hours, I leave the head of the run and target only the tail end of the pod holding the farthest down the run. I really only want to try for the Grisle anyway.

Ever since the remnants of Katrina rearranged the run a few years ago, the #23 pool here has become a classic run. We use a simple streamer swing here; down and across on a tight line.

I strip of 40 feet of line from the spool and lay down the cast at 45 degrees. No stripping, no mending, no extra movement imparted to the fly from my end. The light tippet, small fly and gentle current is all that is needed to get the fly to swing and swim at a medium trot through the current back towards the near bank. Further, the salmon are holding in a perfect situation.

Once the cast lies down, it takes a few feet of swing for the line to settle in, create a slight “J” and start fishing properly. As the salmon are mid current, the fly is swinging nicely as it passes 10 feet up stream form them. I let the swing fish out, strip off another 4 feet of line and cast again. This is not good technique. I would usually strip off 12-18 inches of line at a time to thoroughly cover the run. In this case however, I am sight fishing.

On the second cast, the fly comes within 6 feet of the pod and the Grisle gives a quick look. A bit more speed is needed on the swing. To do this, I strip off another 3 feet of line, cast and send a downstream mend into the presentation.

The mend speeds up the swing considerable and the extra line makes the fly swing through the same arc as the previous cast. The added speed is all it takes. As the fly swings into the Grisle’s cone of vision, it can’t help itself. The urge to take the fly is there. He darts forward 4 feet, lunges, takes and turns!

In a boil the line is automatically going taught. I keep a 6 inch loop of line between my finger and the reel. As this loop gets taken out, I simply raise the rod tip to vertical. I have a light tippet, so I don’t strike with my stripping hand too.

As the salmon has taken the fly and turned LEFT away from me, I know that he is hooked in the right side of his mouth. As soon as he turns again to face into the current, I can pull on him as hard as I want, knowing that the line won’t be pulling across his mouth (and thus often pulling the hook out!).

I haven’t kept a salmon in years and a Grisle is no exception so the fight is short (but exciting). He leaps several times and I bow to him each time (lowering the rod tip to not break the tippet). Within 10 minutes he is at my feet in the shallow water. I’m alone, so I don’t waste time trying to get a photo. A quick flick of the fly and the barbless hook easily slides out of the corner of his jaw. At 5:30 in the morning, it wouldn’t make a good photo anyway.

I inspect the fly to make sure it is still in good shape. Liliane makes most of my classic feather wings so the quality is impeccable. Still good to go! I spool up and head back to camp. I want to go check out a trout pool next before Dany wakes up and I haven’t even finished my coffee yet!

Looking for rises on the #3 – Photo: Marianne Corteau

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Archive of Our Man in Canada

How to choose a rod

2010-11-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - November 22, 2010

As we are gearing up and reserving dates for the 2011 season, a common question seems to be popping up on a lot of forums and e-mails: I'm looking for a new fly rod. Which one is best?

Ooops, sorry gang, there is no way to give an honest answer to this question.

You see, rods are a really funny thing. For one, a rod may be just fine for me when I'm on a small run dropping upstream dries on a picture perfect autumn morning, … chasing after sea run juvenile Brook Trout. This same rod, same place, same time may just be a broom stick for someone else. You see, I am far from elegant when I cast and I can load a rod quickly, even on short casts using a bit of line speed.

When looking around for a fly rod, one has to take into consideration first off, where and when will this rod be used. Ok, sure, there are lots of rods that get used as general duty rods. Then again, general duty for me would be a work horse everyday rod for Atlantic salmon on my home waters of the Ste-Marguerite River. So my general duty rod is a 10 foot, 8wt XP.

My general duty light rod is a 10 foot, 6wt Native Run or a TFO Axiom 9ft 6wt. Somehow I don't think that these workhorse rods would be considered general duty on some of your home waters out there!

Case in point: A very good friend has been upgrading her rod(s) over the past few years. She has become a very enthusiastic Atlantic salmon angler. She fishes on Eastern Canadian Rivers with downstream wets and upstream dries in moderate water levels and she can cast comfortable about 65 feet. This covers 99% of the runs and pools out here.

First problem my friend started to run into when she began her search for a new(er) rod was that she believed that a less expensive rod would not perform as well. I suppose that this may have been true 15 or 20 years ago. Today, the playing field has been leveled and less expensive rods perform quite well, even compared to some very expensive rods.

I believe that there are very few BAD rods on the market today. There are however a heck of a lot of rods being used in situations that they weren't make for. This can lead to a whole lot of frustration!

Next problem she ran into was when she began speaking with associates and friends about their rods. A few have been fishing for salmon for literally decades. When my friend got out onto the water and actually tried some rods that were being recommended, she just didn't find them fun to cast! This is entirely normal. What your friend finds as a fantastic rod, you may just not like.

We all have different casting styles and personalities. A rod can be too quick, to soft, to heavy, too slow or any combination of the above once you get it into your hands. The words we use to describe rods are another problem. Rods can be quick or fast or slow or classic or European or parabolic or modulated or well, you get the idea!

In my humble opinion, there is only one way to know if a rod is for you. You must get out somewhere where you can cast one. Better still, on the water, with your reel and line. If you plan on setting up a full kit with a new reel and line (and backing), fine, use a setup from the shop. If you plan on just buying a rod, you really need to use your reel and line.

Two last points:

Overlining: This is when the caster puts a line on a rod that is heavier than the line rating for the rod. This (in my opinion) is not really a good idea. I realize some do it to get the rod to load at short distances (let’s say, under 30 feet). This could be a real necessity. But then, if you're out at +40 feet and have overlined your rod, you probably should re-think your casting stroke or look at a different rod action for your style.

Lastly, choosing a rod is supposed to be fun. If it gets frustrating and you're overwhelmed by ads, the Web, friends’ advice etc, just try to take a step back, re-think where and when you'll be using the rod, then try to find a good shop, a Guide or friend and go fishing!

Trying a rod for me, means trying it on the water

The rod rack we see in the right foreground was one of several scattered along the banks with every rod weight, action and price you could imagine!

When you can get out onto the water to try rods, take along as many rods as you can beg or borrow. Hey, it's a fine excuse to get one more day on the water and you'll learn a lot about what you like and don't like.

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Breaking down the Walls

2010-11-15T09:34:00.001-05:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - November 15, 2010

Quebec is a paradise for fresh water angling. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of lakes, mile after mile of rivers and countless streams. We have Pike, Muskies, Arctic Char, Brook trout, Rainbows, Sun fish, White fish, and Land Locked salmon, Bass, Walleyes and Carp.

We also have a few Atlantic salmon rivers. Well, actually something like 117!

Most of the salmon rivers in Quebec are scattered up and down the St-Lawrence sea way
Source: Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife

Strangely, there are very few anglers in Quebec who fish these rivers. Over the years I believe that the majority of clients and friends I have introduced to my home waters have been from out of Province.

This past summer I met up with a few friends in mid-July for a few days on the river. One of them mentioned that the week before had been the very first time she had fished in the limited rods zone farther up on the river. I was a bit taken aback and then I came to the realization: Fishing on Atlantic salmon Rivers in Quebec can seem awfully complicated!

First off, salmon rivers here are managed for the most part by non-profit groups. These groups hire the wardens, run the logistics on the river and handle the reservations and rod fees. They also can sell you your salmon license. So that gets two things out of the way. You see, in Quebec, to have access to salmon waters, you need both: a license for salmon (which is not the same as the regular sports angling license) and; a paid rod slot, that is to say, you have to have paid your access fees for the day.

So there, getting access to a salmon river isn’t really complicated.

The second stumbling block I have noticed which newcomers can run into is the apparent complexity of the fishing itself. I do admit that there are some seasoned Salmo salar enthusiasts out there who seem to go out of their way to keep this myth alive. For those of you who believe or have been told that fly fishing for atlantics is complicated, here’s a secret for you: The two basic presentations for Atlantic salmon are simple upstream dries or down and across streamer swings!

As for fly selection, life gets even easier here. Atlantic salmon don’t eat while they are in fresh water. This means you don’t have to match the hatch! … At least, I can’t remember the last time I saw a hatch of Green Highlanders!

Sure, we can get fancy with the types of flies we use,

Then again, the dressing can get more simple.

We also use many trout flies!

I suppose the only flies newcomers don’t have are smaller ones. Stream side, I’ll have on me models from no. 6-8 all the way down to 14’s (and some special ones in 22’s)

Choosing the right fly for the right situation can be a bit of a learning experience, but not as much so as on a Brown Trout river in New York! (Generally – Bright sky light fly, dark sky dark fly but there are variations)

So if the actual fishing isn’t all that difficult (and it isn’t – casting distances are also pretty short on most Quebec rivers), the third aspect of salmon fishing could (unfortunately) be a contributor to our problem here recruiting newcomers.

Atlantic salmon fishing in Eastern Canada and even more so in Quebec, is shrouded in a sort of mystique. Rivers here used to be privately owned or leased to private companies or individuals. Angling with a fly for salmon was perceived as a sport for the rich or elite. I suppose in those days that could have been true. Then again, thanks in some part to the control and conservation efforts of the old private clubs; Quebec now has some of the best salmon fishing in the world.

Unfortunately, the flip side to private clubs was the lack of access to the resource by the “Habitants”. Back then, poaching wasn’t seen as stealing a public resource, but more like putting one over on the company. This mentality has taken years to change (an ongoing battle).

To help break down this barrier we all have our bit to do. As I’ve mentioned on several occasions, when we are out and about, we are ambassadors of our sport, our region, State, club, or whatever:

Take the time out to rest a pool and chat with the visitors who may have stopped by; if you have the opportunity to help out with one of the clinics, forums or claves around your area, go for it. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet other anglers as well as help promote the sport.

Making sure the leader knots are up to the task.

Take a friend fishing! It will amaze you how many our friends and family are interested by fly fishing, but just can’t find the opportunity to give it a try.

The gallery on Glass Pool: Ste-Marguerite River

Taking the time to help out a newcomer.

Lastly, for those of you who have always wanted to try salmon fishing, but just believe that it is too complicated, too expensive or just for Pros and experts, ask around at your local club or on the internet. There will always be someone around willing to show you the ropes.

For more information on sport fishing for Atlantic salmon in Quebec, one can consult the Salmon Quebec web site at: https://www.saumonquebec.com/Default.aspx.

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Les Mamans Sassipirilla and Isabo s'occupent des chatons

2010-10-31T18:57:00.000-04:00

Quality time!

2010-09-27T08:31:00.001-04:00

QUALITY TIME

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - September 27, 2010

We all have busy lives. It is easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day chores and routine. Then we all complain when we talk to our Parents, Kids and friends: “We never get to see you!”

The reality of life is that quality time is not something that comes automatically. Not that is complicated or difficult. One does however need to take the 5 minutes out of a busy week to actually pick up the phone and call.

I did it the easy way to make sure that Liliane and I could get in some quality time with her girls. Last Christmas, I gave an all expenses paid, guided weekend of fly fishing to one of her girls and her hubby. As things turned out, the others all decided to come along too.

I took care of the menu, reservations and such. We had the gang up for a weekend BBQ and corn roast for some casting lessons. Then last weekend, we met up in Chicoutimi to head down into the Ste-Marguerite River valley for a few days of fishing.

Ann and Julien practicing in our back yard
As they only had salmon licenses, the Sun Fish in the pool had no worries, the flies didn’t have hooks!

A backyard BBQ is also a good time to spend some time with the family
Lisandre with the newest addition to the family – Her ‘lil girl Gabrielle!

The gang was pretty big. Bigger than a group I would ever Guide.
Just getting the rods strung up took a few minutes!

Luckily, we’re set up to handle big groups!

Even more luck! A good friend and fellow Guide just “happened” to be at the camp site

Dany Berube
He also took out some of the gang and got Adrian to connect to some nice trout

Adrian found that trout on a fly rod fight pretty well, even compared to commercial fishing for tuna!

Of course, a shore lunch (supper) was in order!

The next day Liliane got into the act too!

This is supposed to be fun and relaxing, so let’s have fun and relax!
Liliane in the #23 pool.

Ian bringing one home for supper

September sea trout – Sunshine, dry flies and Family

So if you find you can’t see the grand kids often enough or if Mom and Dad just seem to always be busy, a few quick phone calls and you could quite possibly set some time aside to get together.

Christopher Chin, Proulxville Quebec

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Archive of Our Man in Canada

Liliane: Une belle prise. Truite de mer Septembre 2010

2010-09-18T12:46:00.001-04:00

Lili avec une belle prise lors de notre fin de semaine en Famille (Sept 2010)

Motivation Factor

2010-09-06T20:24:00.001-04:00

MOTIVATION FACTOR

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - September 6, 2010

Atlantic salmon fishing on the fly can be a bit of a grind sometimes. That is to say, the days are long (can be long), one can walk and wade for miles … and they salmon don’t always move to the fly. It is entirely normal for a beginner (or experienced) angler to get a bit discouraged from time to time.

One of the big advantages on many Atlantic salmon Rivers here is that you can always switch over to sea run brook trout!

On my home waters, the Ste-Marguerite River in Central Quebec, there is a pretty good run of sea trout. Starting in early July, adult anadromous Brook Trout start coming back to the river after spending time in the Saguenay Fjord. These wonderful trout (well, Char) range from 2 lbs to over 8 lbs, a nice average being around 3-4 lbs.

Adult sea trout are in themselves a pretty difficult fish to catch. They are extremely wild and are easily put off. They don’t flee from the pool when put down. Instead, they do a pretty good imitation of their Salar cousins and simply ignore a fly. However, the simple fact that there are more sea trout than salmon means that there is a better probability to connect with a trout than a salmon (usually!!).

My Liliane started fly fishing with me last summer. She has come a long way in one season. She still hasn’t caught her very own first salmon yet, but with a bad back and limited opportunities to get out, her first salmon is still in the offing. How to keep her motivated for fly fishing? Simple, set her up over a nice pod of sea trout for the morning!

A couple weeks ago we ran up to the river for some quality time. After doing a road side trailer hub re-build we finally made it to the camp in time to see the annual meteor shower.

The next morning, hot, sunny and calm weather isn’t always the best conditions to connect to salmon, so after a few casts I had Liliane switch to trout flies and she set up on a pod of sea runners.

Liliane on the #23 – the salmon hold in the foreground right and the trout out in the pool.

Since I could see the school of trout and Lili’s presentation was perfect, …
it wasn’t long before the inevitable happened!

Liliane had been fly fishing about 10-12 days so far over the past year, but she still hadn’t connected to anything. It made a really big difference to her motivation factor after connecting to her very first fish on a fly rod. (oh, … and she DID shout “Fish On!!”)

So just some food for thought. Many of us have been at this for quite some time. I have caught and released more trout ‘n salmon than I can truly remember. For a novice it is a whole different story. If you want them to keep at it, they do need some motivation sometimes.

I have sun fish out back of the house about 20 feet from the porch. It still puts a smile on my face when I go out and catch a few after supper. The neighbors’ kids get a kick out of it too when they come fishing here.

Chris Chin, Proulxville Quebec

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The 2010 Album

2010-08-27T12:28:00.002-04:00

Just a few photos! I'll try to update them when I can find some time!

Timing!!

2010-08-16T08:22:00.001-04:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - August 16, 2010

One of the toughest questions that I get up here is when friends and clients ask: When is the best time to come to the Ste-Marguerite River?

Back in the “Good ‘ole Days”, any time starting from the middle of June out until the end of July would have been the simple (and correct) answer, but that all changed in 2002 though when returns dropped dramatically and the river also went to mandatory C&R for adult salmon.

Since there are fewer salmon in the river, the timing starts to get a bit tricky. Timing in the sense of when in the day and also at what time of the season. Flow rates, the tides and water temperature start playing an even more important role compared to years ago when simply having salmon in the river was enough!

In my humble opinion, several factors help quite a bit when gunning for Atlantics on my home waters:

First, fresh from the salt salmon seem to be more prone to take fly than seasoned salmon that have been in the river for several weeks. This means we like to try to hit the river very shortly after the monthly high tides (as it can give an influx of new salmon)

Second: Water temperature. Hot and sunny weather often makes salmon hunker down in the daylight hours. This leads to those famous long days. Up before dawn, hit a pool or run 30 minutes before sunrise. Change to dries in the mid morning, midday break and a nap, then return to the river very late in the day and fish until after sunset. Timing here is very important as many anglers start TOO early at the end of the day. You also have to time your meals to have plenty of energy at dusk.

Thirdly: Flow rates and water levels. Over the summer, one of the big factors I like to watch is the water level on my home waters. When things are stable (and low), fishing will be steady or drop off. When the river is rising, often fishing isn’t so good, but once levels stabilize and start dropping fishing can get pretty spectacular!

Last week I was up on the river for a few days. On the first day, it was hot, sunny and humid, and then a trough rolled in during the afternoon. A steady rain pelted us for the remainder of the day and the river rose 25 inches over night. A cold driving rain all day, then the river started dropping. It came down about 3 inches between 15h00 and 17h00.

Working the #49 under an overhead trough. Windy and cool, the water conditions were perfect.

Needless to say we quickly set up on a favorite run for the evening session!

In a matter of minutes a friend hooked and released a very nice salmon. A few short minutes later his girlfriend landed her very first Atlantic, a nice hen about 12-14 pounds. We proceeded to catch and release several salmon, missing a few and doing long line releases on 5-6. The last one separating me from my last Colburn when the take popped a 12lb tippet!

Boris working a nice Buck hard to get him out of the pool quickly!

Boris saw the river was going to rise and top off. He left work early to hit the evening session after weeks of drought.

The next morning, conditions were slowing down, but some trout were still trying to set up in the runs.

The Grisles were at it too, setting up in runs as the water levels stabilized.

This week we got another series of showers and thunderstorms in the mountains. The river came up a tad and is dropping rapidly. I may just have to find some time to run up as the timing just might be right again!

This week’s flow rates on my home waters. It spikes to 14.5 m³/sec and will stabilize around 10.5

Of course we can’t all just pack up and head out when the conditions are just right. We often plan and reserve time months (even years) in advance. How to time it then?

If you can, stay flexible. Be ready to change sections, zones or even rivers. If sea trout haven’t come in yet because of low flows, look into hitting the estuary.

Time your fishing sessions. Early morning and very late in the evening may be your best bet if it is sunny and warm. This means timing your meals and naps to be up early and ready to stay out (very) late.

Lastly, try to get good river reports. The Internet is pretty good for this, but not always. Hire a reputable Guide if you want really good information. Drop by the local fly shop, pickup a few local flies and you will probably get some local info too.

Tight Lines!

Christopher Chin
Proulxville Quebec

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THE BASICS!

2010-08-02T06:10:00.001-04:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - August 2, 2010

I won’t get a chance to fish much this season. I will however make the most of the days I have on the water!

One of the highlights of the season will be a stint on my home waters with Liliane’s Girls! I offered a weekend of fishing to the Gals at Christmas so we’ll be up on the water in early September! Now to get them ready.

All of them are rank beginners. They have never cast a fly rod so lessons are set up for late August. I’m getting rigs ready for them and working on strategy to teach them to cast. This won’t be the first time I’ve taught beginners to cast and fish. In reality, if you are relatively relaxed and not too over anxious, casting a fly line is actually really simple.

The basics:

We cast the line not the fly. This is a problem with bait fishers who switch to fly rods. To get the line to cast, the rod has to load (bend). So the question is; “How to load a rod?”

Start with your rod tip low to the water and the line straight out in front of you:

In this way, water tension against the line will start loading the rod the very instant that you start to lift. It will also help you to set the hook more quickly if need be!

Lift your rod towards the back cast in a smooth acceleration:

You want to avoid ripping the line of the water! A smooth acceleration will help.

STOP your ROD over head!!

Here, Liliane has stopped her rod overhead and is waiting for the line to straighten out behind her.

After a good solid basic back cast, the forward cast is just as simple! Remember to stop your rod!

So why do we need to stop the rod?

Well, imagine you have painted (again) the house and you’re cleaning the brushes. Soaked in water, you want to flick the water off the bristles. To do this, you shake the brush around. But think about it. The water flicks off the brush when you STOP the brush and Shoot the water away. Same thing with a fly rod (Thanks Deanna for the teaching aid!!)

So there are 3 simple basic steps to get the fly line up:

Start with your rod low to the water;
Lift with a smooth acceleration;
Stop your rod overhead.

Some of the basics that are overlooked: (as always, in my honest opinion)

This is supposed to be fun and relaxing. (So relax and have fun)
We can't throw a fly 65 feet (try it), we cast the line, the fly just goes along for the ride.
Only line speed can load a properly balanced rod. (That is to say, make the rod work as it was designed to).
This is supposed to be fun and relaxing.
Wet flies can float and dry flies can (will) sink.
If you're having trouble timing the casting stroke with 45 feet of line out, pulling out another 15 feet of line won't usually help.
If you’re tired, rest a bit, this is supposed to be fun.
When technical casts start falling apart, go back to the basics and start over again.
This is supposed to be fun and relaxing.

Have fun. Casting practice may seem weird at first, but it’s also a good way to practice the basics, without the panic of trying to cast to a rising 2 lb brown 10 feet farther than you comfort zone!

Christopher Chin, Proulxville Quebec

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Think like a Salmon!

2010-07-12T17:05:00.000-04:00

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - July 12, 2010

So we FINALLY got in an opening weekend of fishing! Yes, I know, for many of you, the season never really ends and the only real change you do is buy a new fishing permit!

Well up here, we do shut down for the winter. Since the salmon only start arriving in the Ste-Marguerite River (Saguenay) in mid-June, we really only seriously start looking at the critters in the 3rd week of June. Job obligations and spring cleaning at the Cat House means we only got to schedule time off on the July long weekend!

Liliane and I drove over to the river on Wednesday and set up camp. We fished the next day in a middle zone and explored some around the old Bardsville Site.

The restaurant at Bardsville – Unfortunately, it’s been closed for several years now.

As we explored a couple runs around the site we found a few salmon and one monster trout hiding out along the slick. A small group of anglers had also found these same salmon. Then I saw them do a mistake I see done hundreds of times each year over here.

The salmon were holding hard into the bank amongst some big boulders. They always do. Tight in the shadows, they are in the deepest and coolest water of the slick. They probably “feel” a bit safer there. As the salmon are only about 3 feet from the boulders, the anglers all set up on the very same boulders and try to drop dries onto them from 4 feet away.

News flash: At such a close distance, if You can see the salmon, she most surely CAN SEE You too! I think that many anglers do this because the salmon won’t bolt; instead relying on its camouflage, she’ll hunch up her shoulders, nose down a few degrees and FREEZE!

Instead of fishing to these poor stationary bombing targets, Lili and I drifted down a bit to explore another run. Even on the July long weekend, it was easy to find a beach to ourselves!

Strategy – A nap or a drop with a dry fly?

We settled in out behind the old restaurant and did a few runs on wets and dries. With no real takers to be found we headed back to camp for a rest and a late lunch.

A good rest, a late lunch and we’re ready for an evening on the river.

Ever wonder why salmon Guides sort of “insist” that clients take a good long rest at mid day?

In reality, it is NOT because they want to get away from their clients for a few hours. The idea is to have ‘em rest up properly, eat a real meal so that they will be able to fish right up to and past sun set!

We rested a spell, did up a real lunch around 3 o’clock and head out again well after 6 o’clock. When we go back to the slick, the anglers were still there bombing away at the 3 salmon that they could see. They had not moved an inch (the angles nor the salmon)!!

Just a bit of reflection here, but if you were a salmon, would you spontaneously move to and take a fly that you had seen 500 times in the past 7 hours; a fly that is that is attached to a bright yellow line, which is attached to a waving stick attached to some sort of monster perched on a rock 4 feet from you!!??

Seeing as the salmon were utterly harassed there, we spent a lazy evening exploring for trout.

The next morning I was up around 4 o’clock and Liliane wanted to laze around camp for a few hours. A cup of real coffee and a bagel; then I headed back to the slick to take a look around.

Sure enough, the salmon were still here, but now they were relaxed, drifting up and down in the column, lazing in the growing light. They were also 10-12 feet from the bank having wandered around the slick in the safety of darkness.

I walked 200 yards downstream and forded the river. Back up the beach, I setup 60 feet upstream from the most likely prospect. Since the light was still dim, I kept the same fly on that was rigged for the past evening’s session ... a royal blue variant of a Cossaboom.

One swing and I knew she would not take the fly. A few seconds after the fly swung past her lay there was a boil and a flash. The fly is too big and too dark. The rays of sunlight are rapidly filling the Eastern sky so I change to a modified Green Highlander #12.

A first cast is short by a couple yards. The second cast lays down nicely. As the fly drifts back through the current and past the nose of the salmon (where I know her nose is) the leader mover slightly UPSTREAM then the line pulls tight. I only have a 6 lb tippet so I lift the rod smoothly and strike with my left hand only a tad.

The small hen pulls hard left and moves with the current to my left. I know she is hooked in the right side of her mouth so I really can’t pull hard, else the hook will pivot out!

After losing about 30 feet of backing to the small salmon she turns back against the current to try to setup in line with the force of the river. I can now pull hard. Seeing as she will be released, I pull hard horizontally on the rod. Either she’ll come to me or break off. The water is already 15 degrees, so this will not be a drawn out battle.

Since the current is light, after a short 10 minutes and not a single leap, the small 11-12 lb hen is released. (A quick move with a single barbless hook)

This same salmon had seen dozens of flies presented hundreds of times the day before. IMHO, she just wouldn’t take because she was so darn afraid of the shadow looming over her that she wouldn’t move to a presentation!

So think like a salmon ... It may just help you to get them to come out and play!

Christopher Chin, Proulxville, Quebec

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READY TO ROLL(ALMOST)!

2010-06-28T09:37:00.003-04:00

READY TO ROLL(ALMOST)!

Chris Chin (Proulxville, Quebec) - June 28, 2010

Well the season was looking off to a weird start. Because I changed day jobs, I was worried that I would miss some time on my Home waters. As contracts and projects seem to be rumbling along pretty well, Liliane and I are setting our sights on a few weekends of fishing.

I remember that I rambled on a few months ago about tying up flies for the 2010 season. All that got done. The Bombers and big streamers are all lines up and ready for the big water we come up against the first few weeks of the season.

Big water?? Spring run-off, not this year my friend.

In Eastern Canada, we had a particularly light winter. Snow packs were low, spring rain was non-existent and some record high temperatures have meant that the rivers and streams are fairly low.

Our man in Canada - Chis Chin - June 28, 2010

It’s in French, but the Green line is normal flows, the Grey is record high and the Purple is the record low. Well, I guess the record low flows will be reset by this spring’s data!!

I don’t mind. Well, I actually do, but I won’t complain!

Low water conditions, especially in spring for salmon up around here creates some very special challenges. For one thing, the salmon which come in early in June seem to get into a quandary of some sort. They have that fresh from the Salt impulse to move to the fly, investigate, follow ... everything to get your heart just a poundin’ … but they often refuse at the very last instant. Sometimes in a very spectacular fashion!!

As with many fly fishing situations, the standard reply to a splashy refusal, … go to a smaller fly. Of course, over the past few months, we’ve been busy filling the spring season boxes with big feather wing classics as well as #4, 6 and 8 streamers and such. What is there to do but pull up the vices and re-do most of the patterns in #10, 12 and even #14’s!

The stand by patterns in #6 and #8’s will soon be joined by some smaller cousins!

Fortunately, the Bombers and Birds still work in such conditions, even in low water, so we won’t be doing another run of Bombers!!

They ain’t pretty flies, but they get the job done!

In Eastern Canada, the winter was very mild with record low snow accumulations. If you are coming out East, … you might want to give a shout to a local outfit to see how the flows are doing (or drop me a line).

Christopher Chin – Proulxville Quebec.

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