I often fish near a spot on the Mississippi River a seven minute drive from home. I've always maintained that the "best" fishing is that which is closest to home. "Close" is the key word here. I usually catch "fall fish" here but this OOS SM was caught on the Mississippi Maiden, a fly developed by a local flyfisher gal. It was in fast moving water so he/she was not spawning.
Yesterday, I was invited by a friend to tour the river near Carleton Place in his motor boat. You need a motorized unit to fish this area. I learned first hand that you have find the fish. The area is enormous and we spent most of the day looking only to find them where we started out from. We were fishing for Blue Gill. a most tasty pan fish in abundance (if you can find them).
Of course, when you are fishing where some fish are in season and some out, you are going to catch some that are out. We got into a few SM Bass and they were mostly in the 12-14 inch range, but I did get one about 16 inches. The rule is that you are to move on, that is, assuming someone of authority is watching. They are still on the spawning beds. With the zebra muscles in abundance it is easy to see the spawning beds. I learned that you can tell the Bass beds from the sunfish (Pumpkinseed and Blue Gill) as the sunfish ones are in clumps. They scrape away the plants to create a roughly circular gravel area 16 inches in diameter. When you do find the clump of fish then it is a fish or two a cast. Grant is trying to get me hooked on pan fish eating, so he filleted some for me to try. Will let you know how they taste. This is a very sustainable fishery, at least it is now with the new regulations in place. We almost lost it with Yankees taking them out by the thousands. Best fly were foam flies, although I did quite well with that Mississippi Maiden and a brown CH Rabbit Leech.
Yesterday, I was invited by a friend to tour the river near Carleton Place in his motor boat. You need a motorized unit to fish this area. I learned first hand that you have find the fish. The area is enormous and we spent most of the day looking only to find them where we started out from. We were fishing for Blue Gill. a most tasty pan fish in abundance (if you can find them).
Of course, when you are fishing where some fish are in season and some out, you are going to catch some that are out. We got into a few SM Bass and they were mostly in the 12-14 inch range, but I did get one about 16 inches. The rule is that you are to move on, that is, assuming someone of authority is watching. They are still on the spawning beds. With the zebra muscles in abundance it is easy to see the spawning beds. I learned that you can tell the Bass beds from the sunfish (Pumpkinseed and Blue Gill) as the sunfish ones are in clumps. They scrape away the plants to create a roughly circular gravel area 16 inches in diameter. When you do find the clump of fish then it is a fish or two a cast. Grant is trying to get me hooked on pan fish eating, so he filleted some for me to try. Will let you know how they taste. This is a very sustainable fishery, at least it is now with the new regulations in place. We almost lost it with Yankees taking them out by the thousands. Best fly were foam flies, although I did quite well with that Mississippi Maiden and a brown CH Rabbit Leech.
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