End of Fishing Season
Walking
away from the river on the last day of the fishing season feels like walking away from a funeral. There`s the sadness of loss,
yet celebration of life.
We hold hope that fishing will be reborn next spring,
but we learned from this year`s closures that nothing can be taken for granted.
Assuming
there will be fishing, there are a few important chores that must be done first. The time for that is now, not next spring.
It`s no big deal, nothing like other fall chores, just important that it be done before being forgotten.
Waders & wading boots should be hung in a cool, dry, ventilated and darkened area. Fishing
vest contents should be emptied into a well-labeled bag or box, & the vest washed & dried. Rods & reels should
be hosed down, especially if there`s a chance that they may have seen saltwater use, cleaned & dried thoroughly before
storing them in their protective containers for winter. Many rods are damaged in storage, preventable by proper protection.
Fly lines should be cleaned and some reels, especially older types, may require grease or oil before putting them away. Fly
boxes should be dry and stored in sealed bags to protect flies from moths. Imagine opening a fly box next spring and finding
nothing but hooks and dust. It`s happened to me!
An important thing to remember is that nylon and
many other synthetic materials are harmed by prolonged exposure to sunlight and some artificial lighting. Sometimes
we find a rotten piece of heavy yellow nylon rope on a beach, the work of the sun. That’s why fly lines, leaders, waders,
boots, cordura rod cases, vests, jackets & hats should be stored away from bright light. Good fly fishing shops never
display or store these items in a lighted area, so next time we see leader spools displayed on a store pegboard it`s a tip
that we should be shopping elsewhere. Rotten leader is usually the result of exposure to light, not age.
But all this is just maintenance & storage. After hunting and Christmas & New Year`s
comes the good stuff, fly tying season. Maybe Santa has brought some good fly tying books or equipment. Then we can really
get down to preparing for next fishing season!
Speaking of books, here
are some that make great gifts, available from your local fly fishing shop!
Atlantic Salmon
A Fly Fishing Reference
By
Paul C Marriner
Gale’s End Press, Mahone Bay NS, 2009
New,
Softcover, 8.5X 11”, 238 pages.
Signed by author.
Price
$45.00 + $20 shipping
Atlantic
salmon angling is intimidating to some, challenging for most, and second-nature to a few. To help the first two groups, and
entertain (perhaps intrigue) the last, Paul Marriner has distilled more than forty years of experiences on some 150 publicly-accessible
salmon rivers into Atlantic Salmon: A Fly Fishing Reference. For example, Chapter 10 - Patterns, focuses
on designs to cope with the range of conditions (e.g., pool type, season, water conditions, time of day) encountered streamside.
Although each design is illustrated with a successful pattern, the intent is to simultaneously educate and encourage innovation.
Atlantic Salmon: A Fly Fishing Reference is 8.5 x 11 inches, 240 pages, with more than
300 photos and illustrations. All of the more than 250 photos are in colour.
Modern Atlantic Salmon
Flies
By Paul C Marriner
Gale’s End Press, Mahone
Bay NS, 2009
New, Hardcover Spiral Bound, 8.5X 11”, 160 pages, signed by author.
Price $45.00 + $20 shipping
The first edition of Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies went out of print in 2009, but remained
in demand. What made it unique, carried on in the 2nd edition, is the frequent inclusion of stories of a pattern's creation
or outstanding successes.
Moreover, more than 80% of the patterns reference a recommended river, season, or condition.
For example, some 100 North American, and a score or so European, salmon rivers appear in the text. All recommendations are
collected in the river and conditions indices.
Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies, 2nd Edition, has 158, 8.5 x 11-inch pages. Hard covered for durability, it is spiral-bound for easy reading and lay-flat
use. The second edition features 417 patterns with colour photos and recipes for about 40 more; an increase of almost 25%
over the first edition. Text-only descriptions are typically variations of patterns with an image. Recipes for, and images
of, many salmon flies can be found on the web, but few are shown as tied by the originator—more than 75% of the patterns
in Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies are.
Tying Atlantic salmon flies is both utilitarian and a hobby. The patterns in this edition are all working flies,
but several offer the dedicated tier a challenge. About the first edition of Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies,
John Randolph, former editor/publisher of Fly Fisherman, wrote: Gathered here are the modern flies that entice Atlantic salmon
in all those magical rivers where they endure.
The Legend of the Deadly
MacIntosh Dry Fly
By Stillwater Slim
River
Magic Productions, Stillwater NS, 2011
New, Softcover, 8.5 X 5.5”, 28 pages
Price $14.95 + $10 shipping
I recently had the opportunity to read a new publication on the history of an important
Atlantic salmon
fly in Eastern Canada, the Macintosh.
The publication is called The Legend of Nova Scotia's Deadly Macintosh Dry Fly and is the creation of well known
Nova Scotia fly tier Bill Carpan, writing
under his pen name, Stillwater Slim.
The publication of a new book on fishing in Eastern Canada is always a welcome event, especially when it as well written and entertaining as this one. The cover of Bill's work is illustrated by a stunning painting of Dan by well known artist Joseph
Crilley. It
shows Dan in a familiar pose, poling a St.Mary's River Boat. In the booklet Bill does a great job of detailing the development of the Macintosh fly as related by several
authors
such as Dr. Edwards Park and Jack Anderson.
The booklet includes
some treasured
photographs of Dan and his family as well as early scenes of salmon fishing on the St. Mary's River. Bill includes the dressing for ten major variations of the Macintosh which make up the family of Macintosh flies.
-
Don
MacLean
Don MacLean is an outdoor writer, fishing guide
and biologist who lives in Nova Scotia.
The St. Mary’s and Other Waters
Fishing
Tales Told out of School
by Charles Widgery
Glenelg
Publishing, Dartmouth NS, 2002
New, Softcover, 8.5 X 5.5”, 123 pages
Price $13.95 + $10 shipping
From his home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
Charles Widgery pursued salmon and trout in Quebec
and Atlantic waters for over sixty years.
In The St. Mary's and Other Waters he shares his store of lore on human
conduct on the river pools and lakes. Each chapter is a different mixture of the poignant, funny and sometimes bizarre interactions or anglers, current,
weather
and fish.
Widgery's true tales are mostly set on the fabled St. Mary's or Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore
with side trips to the Liscomb, the LaHave on the South Shore and the Miramichi in New Brunswick.
Charles passed away early in 2011, a month after his 80th birthday. He was a very special friend
and fishing buddy – Bill Carpan
Charles takes the magic of nature and weaves a tapestry of adventure,
humour, and tranquility. If you fish, you’ll love this book. If you don’t, you’ll wish you did! - John Cameron
Sr.
Any day spent on the St. Mary’s is a joy – landing a fish is just a bonus. - Charles Widgery
The focus may be a lifetime of
angling, but Charles Widgery's reflections upon the peculiarities or human nature and mysteries or fish behaviour make this book
insightful, entertaining and fun. - Bob Bancroft, field editor, Eastern Woods and Waters
An enchanting look at an era of fishing in Nova Scotia that has all but vanished. - Ed
Stoddard, journalist, Reuters News Agency, and outdoor writer
Please send comments and suggestions to slim@rivermagic.ca
Please stay on the line …
