Going on Vacation? Don't forget your Fly Rod!!
By Bryan C. Meck
My father introduced me to Southern Ontario Bass and Pike fishing as a high school kid. We used spinning tackle to fish for bass and pike in Cranberry Lake, part of the Rideau Canal system. Compared to the heavily fished lakes in Pennsylvania, it was more catching than fishing. There are so many lakes as a result of receding glaciers tens of thousands of years ago that you can literally go days without seeing another angler. Now that I'm married I wanted to introduce my wife to the pristine waters of Southern Ontario and have her "catch". We booked a cottage through Cottages Unlimited and came up the first week of July. I took plenty of spinning tackle and after a few 50-75 fish days decided to break out the fly rod. Julie had thoroughly enjoyed our trip because she literally had no time to become bored! I started fly fishing up in Canada because I missed the thrill of light tackle fishing. I used a 10' 7 weight Redington Wayfarer rod and an Orvis DXR reel. I'd recommend at least a 9' 7 weight although you could use a heavier rod. I tied up a variety of patterns from mice and frogs to some salt-water patterns, Clouser Minnows, and Bead head bunny streamers. Was that ever fun!! I hooked and landed quite a few large bass and pike. I simply cast my fly along the weed bed lines and slowly stripped the line in a straight retrieve. With my Orvis Polarized glasses you could see the fish come from all depths to lash out at their prey. It was a great trip in the fact that I was able to introduce my wife positively to fishing and I was able to catch some fish I never would have been able to in Pennsylvania or New York State on a fly rod.
If you have a family and are looking for a fairly inexpensive trip, if you have kids that you want to introduce to fishing in general, yet you'd still like to do some fly fishing for some bruiser warm water species, give Southeastern Ontario a shot. You'll be close to charming Perth or an hour or two from Ottawa for a day trip. It's truly a great compromise on a fishing only or a trip to the beach.
Cottages rented at: WWW.CottagesUnlimited.com
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