snakeman4 Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 didnt see a thread already started, maybe there isnt one for december? either way ill share mine regardless. Josh (cndfishguy) and i headed to the glen for first light this morning, Both of us running a little late, and arrived at the parking lot a little behind our anticipated schedule. Either way, our schedules were finally on track as we have been trying to meet up to fish for a few days now. So we head down to the glen, i wanted to fish a certain pool with him that i have had very good success in the last few days. get down to the river side path, i look down at my beloved golden goose of a honey hole, and there are 3 ppl that we later talk to from out of town fishing down there. No big deal, we head to the next pool i pulled a few fish from the day before. i let josh know this pool is a little tricky to fish, big rocks on either side, have to drift it "just right". So i set my rod up, lucky colour streamer on there from earlier in the week, being a little cheeky, i yell out to josh, hey man wanna come tail my first fish i usually get one first drift through here. he says yea sure man. well sure enough same spot same run, same bait, float goes under, fish on! josh looks over in disbelief, comes over to help me tail it. was a rainbow, gave a few acrobatic leaps and off my line. disappointed i check over my leader, and get ready to toss it back out. As josh is walking away i yell back to him, where u goin im gonna catch that fish again, he replies with the yea sure what ever reply, and sure enough second drift through the pool, FISH ON again! Again in disbelief he returns to help me tail my fish, i get this one in and snap a few pics. Had a good laugh about the mornings events, and i let him have my spot and try his luck. I explain to josh where the underwater boulders and such are, what to look for to avoid the snag in this drift and he begins to fish. i moved up to the top of the pool, and fish a little farther out. i recommended he throw his float a little farther up, so his line would line up and he could fish the top boulder at the head of the flow, and i kid you not, i commented on his nice float placement and said, ur gonna get a fish. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, float went under, and fish on! We both could not believe that just happened. Josh brought it in i tailed it for him, and snapped a few pics and on it went. as the day went on, we just kept hammering fish, and another quite comical incident , when josh tossed his float upstream to the top of his pool, but he didnt realize my float was just about right there, he gave a quick sorry sorry didnt see ur float, i assured him it was fine, because his float, wasnt going under, mine was gonna. just as i said this, BAM my float went under, FISH ON. At this point we are both hysterically laughing at the events that just transpired. Josh inquired if i could see the fish underwater or something. I guess we just had the fish dialled in really well today, we could tell exactly where we were getting hits, how far down and behind which rocks in the drift. So i landed my fish, josh tailed it, and we snapped a few pics and quick release. All in all, it was a great day, so many fish hooked, quite a few of them landed, lost a few to a certain rock that my line got wrapped around, but with today's results, a few fish lost is worth a few fish landed. had to really put the boots to the fish when hooked as to not take off to America. We completed the whole "niagara trifecta" of fish today between the two of us. Bow, brown and lakers. heres a few more pics from today, we had a really good time, and we now have another go-to spot in the glen. What a B-E-A-U-tifull brown Josh. And the icing on the cake for the day was all fish were caught on our own hand tied flies! Tight lines and bent rods to all! happy Holidays and safe fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanl Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 great story, and really glad someone had such great luck today, josh took me out for steelhead for my first time a little while back, hes pretty good at what hes doing but i guess you schooled him:P what colors were working for you guys? i couldnt get them to bite today, only managed one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niagarangler89 Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Way to be boys! Tis the season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blairwelsh Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Great Story! Great Pics ..>> Well done Guys! Thanks for the awesome Post Snakeman. Goes to show that one of the MOST POWERFUL little "TRICKS" in our fishing ARSENAL is: KNOWING YOUR OWN "BACK YARD"! I remember one particular drift out west in BC. If you missed it by even 1-2 ft, NOTHING. If you hit it right on ... the HONEY HOLE produced practically every time. Everybody should/ Would/ Does have their own special spots that are magic. Glad you have worked hard at finding yours. ps: Cant wait to meet up with you guys some day, down at the Glen. I'm all ears... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bites Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 I've only fished the niagara a couple of times so I don't know the area, where is the glen exactly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Great report...glad you guys got into them. Wish i could get out, but Christmas functions getting in the way. Hope to get out soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasin_musky Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Nice work guys, some nice fish you got there. Good write up to. One of the ones where even if you don't feel like reading you know you got to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mford Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 good job, i haven't fished that drift in a bit. Good spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lushis Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Bravo boys! Awesome report and even more impressive display of pinmanship. LOL Now one of you come over here and shake my hand so I can dial them in this weekend too. Just got my first 2 bows of the season last week...menawhile guys are crushing them everywhere! I need catch a brown hen damn it! Later boys. Hope to see you down at the glen one of these days. Later Lushis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverNinja Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Good job gents.. Great post as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_b Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Nice story Snake... Really enjoyed reading it; hopefully try my luck at it tomorrow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Cliff has been sick...so post your Dec fish story here to be entered into this Months draw for a prize Package from Saugeen custom rods / fly shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Ok, there is a catch chase.....any words with more than 6 letters auotmaticlly get changed to the word "I can't describe what Im talking about" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josey12340 Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Nice pics and great story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron4blues Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 OK. Decided that I'll submit a story. This is a tale that I often tell people about my best ever day of fishing. It was late May in Nova Scotia. Prime season for brook trout! My brother George and I had plans to spend a Saturday fishing the river that flowed through an abandoned mining area several miles from home. At the last minute, George's plans changed: a job came up that he had to attend to. All the same, he drove me to the area, and wished me luck as I gathered my rod and a back pack containing my lunch. I eyed his camera sitting on the seat between us and thought about asking George if I could borrow it, but for some reason I didn't. With a promise to be back to pick me up before dark, George drove off and I started the 4 mile hike along the seldom-used road to what was then our favorite fishing spot. As I hiked along, I allowed myself to become immersed in the quiet solitude. No traffic noises, no dogs barking, lawnmowers buzzing. Just birdsong and the relaxing sounds of a forest just waking for the day. Before long I slowed my pace: I had all day and the forest enclosing me invited me to breath the scents and embrace the solitude. I was in a place in my mind that cannot be described. Only one who has experienced it would ever understand. Eventually I stopped along the way to grab a drink from my water bottle. As I slid the bottle back into my backpack, I had the sensation that I wasn't alone. Slowly I turned to scan my surroundings and found myself making eye contact with a beautiful peregrine falcon. It was a female, I could tell from her size, and she was perched on a branch just above my eye level and no more than ten feet from where I stood. She gave no indication of alarm or concern; she just sat there gazing at me with those dark penetrating eyes. I had never before seen a wild raptor from this range, and indeed, never expected to find one perched so close to the ground. I spoke to her, complimenting her on her beauty. She was still sitting there as I continued my trek, silently cursing myself for not taking the camera. But the falcon was only the first of many wonders on this magical day. Half a mile further, the road curved to the left and rose up slightly into a blind crest. I hitched my pack a bit higher on my back and prepared to take the small hill in stride. As my eye level reached the crest of the rise, I noticed an animal crossing the road ahead of me on an angle that would cross my path. At first I though that I was seeing a dog or a wolf. But the movements were wrong, not springy and jaunty, but smooth as silk and flowing. The colour was unlike most dogs I'd seen: a tawny brown shading to cream at the belly. And the animal was big! Less than six feet separated me from this creature when two things happened. It realized I was there and with a startled hiss, turned and ran into the bushes, and I realized what I was seeing. Cougar! I'd often heard rumours that cougars still existed in Nova Scotia, but never in my wildest dreams imagined finding myself nose to nose with one! It was several minutes before my heart stopped racing. I realized that I'd just been priveleged to see something that very few will ever see. And once again I regretted not grabbing that damned camera! Eventually I made it to the river and started systematically working my way upstream. I was in no rush and took my time casting nymphs into every likely riffle and pool. The air was cool and the forest was in deep shadow despite the brightness of the day. Occasionally I'd look around me, my eyes drawn by a flicker of movement as a Canada Jay flitted about, or a rabbit skidding to a halt when it realized I was there. A male ruffed grouse unseen in the brush nearby treated me to his best drumming demonstration as I watched a turtle relaxing in a small patch of sunlight at the river's edge. Eventually, hunger pangs drove me to open my lunch, so I pulled out my sandwich and started to eat. Once again though, that feeling came over me. That feeling that I wasn't alone. I slowly looked up. There, on the other side of the stream, in a tree a mere fifty feet away sat a magnificent Great Horned Owl, just roused from its daily slumber by some noise or movement nearby. For several minutes I watched those huge, intelligent golden eyes as they watched me. Then without a sound, the bird spread its wings and vanished into the forest. Now I was really wishing I'd taken the camera. The day passed in this fashion. Every sound, scent and movement an immersion into the natural world that gave me a sense of well-being and contentment. Eventually I made my way upstream to a large marshy beaver pond. I was delighted to see mayflies rising from the pond and the surface dimpled with the rise of hungry trout. But I waited to watch two industrious beavers repairing their dam. I marvelled at their unceasing dedication to the task and their ingenuity. It was then that a shadow passed over me. I looked up to see an osprey start its plunge to the water's surface, from which it pulled a brook trout that easily would have tipped the scales in the four pound range. And again, me with no camera. All great days must pass, just as the bads ones do. As the afternoon waned I packed up my rod and started the hike back to the highway to meet my brother. When George arrived I of course filled him in on the day. He was almost as excited as I was with the stories I told, and just as regretful that I'd left the camera. That late spring day is more than a quarter of a century past. But I no longer wish I'd had the camera. Those images, sounds and scents are imprinted on my mind and my soul in a clarity that no photo could match. And yes, I did catch some fish that day, but I couldn't tell you how many for the life of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Great story Coachman.....those are the times we remember the best. The surroundings, the smell of the dew in the air, the wild life around us....catching fish is only a bonus. I can remember alot of fishing trips....the trip alone, pulling in to the beer store, the first opening of the cottage's door you rented.....the evening poker games. The mist on the early morning water. Too me....thats what its all about. I used to stand in the bait shack in the morning...just listening, and as lightly as I used to close the door coming out I always used to think Im going to wake someone up by accident.....Good story Coachman !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfight Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Not December story but will share my first time fishing Whirlpool. Stupidity sometimes do pay! My first steelheading successful experience was at the whirlpool. In fact, I was never in a hurry to visit Niagara Falls in my first 12 years of being in GTA until I heard there were fish down at the whirlpool during springtime, I hit the river first even before I hit the tourist area of Niagara. I have decided to check out whirlpool one Victoria Weekend. Invited another friend and our family to stay overnight at a motel , and decided to fish the next morning . By 8:30am after arriving at Whirlpool parking lot, I did not even know or bothered searching for a potential stairway leading to the water . We just anxiously went straight through the woods across the parking lot just to investigate what to do next. Indifferently staring down the steep hill, through being somewhat persistent and naive, I insisted to my un-confident concern friend to “Believe” there were fish down below to be caught. We then pretended to be real outdoors man hiked down the leaves covered slippery slope of the hill. Half of our hike down, we had to use our bums and our backs to slide down the steep trail to prevent from tumbling straight forward. We were holding our bulky tackle boxes, net and rods, had to grab on to any available tree branches. I am scared to even think about repeating the same stunt today, the scene seem to only exist in a Jim Carrey Comedy movie, my determination or stupidity to fish the spot overcame my worries of breaking anything. I was not even concern of how we could get back up, except to repeat the hike process in reverse. Sometimes, I wish life experience can still be more spontaneous, exciting, uncalculative, and simple as it used to be, during our fearless adventurous years. When we got down below, we were surprise to see quite a few people fishing , we even saw a kid with his dad both landed steelhead using worm on floats. We asked around, felt stupid, and realized there was a safe trail leading to the fishing ground. We both landed steelheads using spinners not too long after we got there, remembered seeing lot of steelhead swimming close to shore. fished for less than one hour and had to head back to meet our families for morning breakfast to tell them the exciting story. The fellow I went with never fished with me again....not to my surprise! Another stupid thing was when I could not find my pliers after fishing for a while, I thought we have to cautiously watch our belonging in the future whenever we fish that spot since someone stole it while I was fishing, I realized after many trips later on that the water rises after 9 am in the morning, and the pliers I lost the first time down there actually got submerge. Since I discovered Niagara river fishing more than 10 years ago, nothing seems to be as complicated as my first experience of being there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 I did the climb down the hill too fishfight....LOL. Your not the only one.....too funny when you think about it. I never knew of any stairs either...lol. Im sure lots of people hear of the whirlpool and head straight down the cliff from the parking lot...pretty darn steep too. I noticed the trail after I was 3/4 of the way down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackz905 Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 i dont know anyone who hasnt done that their first time down there i did and i went back up it as well that sucked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanook Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 My first story on here was one involving a buddy of mine who went down like that. Too funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blairwelsh Posted December 21, 2012 Report Share Posted December 21, 2012 2 summers ago in July .... it was like 33C at around midnight. Humid and HOT Showed up to the pool with my brother IN law. Lets just say that we "induldged" at the parking lot ... (Keys for the car packed away ... planned on fishing all night) Got pretty ... you know - wasted. lol Decided to do the Hike down first (Dont really know why) without our equipment to check out the water levels. We COULD NOT find the Path (Stairways).... Ended up going it the hardway down in the dark ... and then back up! Got our equipment, had some more "Refreshments" and did the exact same thing! DOWN ..... UP.... DOWN -> all through the woods and through what i called a slope / drainage ditch. In the morning, finally stayed into the afternoon (Did some "swimming as well" - with a rope / I know, I know...) and came back up the stairway path which we could finally "See" This was shot during the afternoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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