Lake fly fishing in Canada during the winter of 2013-14 must be some kind of a hoax. With all of this extreme cold weather that is shutting down Canada to the east of the Rocky Mountains and much of the United States from the west all the way to the Atlantic seaboard, the continent is paralyzed. Bitter cold, record blizzards and snow fall is the worst it has been for decades. It stretches credibility that you can actually go fly fishing on a small lake on the east coast of Vancouver Island.
Dean Hodgson and I had planned to spend a day on Spider Lake. We originally planned to go on Friday, Jan. 3 but postponed due to strong winds. We went down on Saturday and while it was calm if was also considerably cooler. When we arrived we were surprised to see much of the lake covered with skim ice. Dean tossed a rock and it promptly broke the ice and sank.
There were open leads and several flocks of geese, ducks and swans using the open water. We decided I would be the ice breaker as Dean followed me in his tube boat to open water in front of the big house. It is one of my favourite places to fish when traffic on the lake is light. We were anchored in about 25 feet of water along the receding edge of the ice.
Over the years I have fished Spider Lake during the months of January and February and while the fishing is challenging I have usually been able to catch at least one nice trout for a fresh fish dinner. Fly patterns for this time of the year should be large nymphs or leeches fished with high-density sinking lines – it seems there is always a few of these creature moving about in the deep waters.
For nymphs I use several versions of dragonflies and some medium-sized sedge pupae patterns varying in colour from dark green to a cinnamon coloured brown nymph. The leech patterns I use are usually #8 and #10 sizes and a full range of colours from dark maroon, black and variations of red and orange. Dean was using his versions of the same patterns.
There are people who would question our sanity; but hey! I see crazy people chasing golf balls these days. So why not something pleasant like a quiet day of fly fishing? The two old fishers on the lake this day are pretty competent anglers and when they can spend several hours casting the most seductive patterns they have and not getting a single bite, you can assume the fish were simply not feeding.
As always after a day of fishing we come off the lake on a high. We had been entertained by flocks of ducks, geese and swans. When you can enjoy the subdued music of a half a dozen swans as they fly over you in a cool outdoor theatre surrounded by silent woods and marshes you are in a privileged place. Yes it was an excellent day and we plan to do a repeat after the weather warms up.
Notice – The annual Antler Measuring Day takes place Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Courtenay and District Fish and Game clubhouse, starting at 10 a.m. Lunch and non-alcoholic drinks are served throughout the day. Boone and Crockett, and BC Big Game Record books are available during the day. There is a $5 measuring fee for-non members of the club.
It is an excellent family oriented event with many interesting antlers and mounted heads on display. It would also be a great time for folks new to the Valley to come out to the clubhouse for a look around.
Notice – Tickets to the annual Fish and Game Club Banquet Fundraiser on Feb. 22 at the Florence Filberg Centre will also be on sale during the day. They are $40 each and now is the time to think about any donations you may have for this event.
Notice – The regular meeting of the Comox Valley Fly Fishing Club takes place Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the lower room in the Florence Filberg Centre. Anyone afflicted with a serious or growing condition of fly fishing syndrome would enjoy attending this unique group of dedicated anglers.
Ralph Shaw is a master fly fisherman who was awarded the Order of Canada in 1984 for his conservation efforts. In 20 years of writing a column in the Comox Valley Record it has won several awards.