Tooth Lake Fly Fishing Trip

I had almost forgotten how much fun fly fishing can be. Earlier this year, I went up to Selkirk with my Dad to try to get a catfish or well... anything. Dad got a freshwater drum, I got skunked. Still had good company though, and we had a couple of "Canada's best hotdog" at Half Moon in Lockport. So all things considered, it was still a good night.

Fast forward to the Friday before fathers day. Dad came at 6:00 am to pick me up and head out to Black Lake and Tooth Lake for a couple days of fishing. The weather wasn't exactly ideal (rainy and windy), but it did look more promising for later in the day, and for Saturday. After a stop in Beausejour for an ample breakfast, we were on our way to Nopiming Park.

After setting up the tent at Black Lake Campground, we headed off to check out Tooth, there was still a fair bit of wind, and some rain, but we decided to head into the lake anyway. It's a bit of a hike unless you have a big 4x4 truck (Dad's camry couldn't quite make it). So we brought in the canoe, engine, gear and food. It was about 10:00 am ish (I think) by the time we got onto the water.

The ammo for the day was poppers. Poppers are floating flys that make a splunk sound when given a little tug. Casting them right up to the shore is the goal most of the time, but landing just above some sort of underwater protection (large boulders/logs) often resulted in some sort of strike. Because we were flyfishing, we had to keep out of the wind as much as we could (makes casting much more complicated). We kept to certain shores, and fairly close to launch bay.

Video from day 2:

Lunch spot for day 1: right behind me is where I caught 3 bass in 4 casts (about 2 minutes), while lunch was cooking.

Bass thumb. A sign of a good day of fishing.

Popper suspended above the water on our way to the next hot spot.

End of day 1 and the weather was clearing up nicely. Very calm water (which made for some nice fishing after a day of rain, mist, drizzle and wind. Also, as we were pulling off the water I had my very first experience with a park ranger. They were there checking licences, and making sure people weren't staying on the lake overnight. Nice guys, I think I had a couple classes at the UofM with one of them.

Nice master angler Smallmouth Bass:

and another:

There were about 6 or 7 Master Angler bass (18" or longer) caught over the weekend. Along with many many others. Most common size was in the 15-16" range.

Right arms tired, and giving the fish a break, we decided to call it a day and cruise back to the launch spot after a great couple of days. Time to go see the family.

Not only did my Dad take care of pretty much the whole trip, but after getting back to my house, he stayed for a couple hours to help take down a large tree branch that had been damaged in a recent storm.

Best dad I've ever had.

Oh, and the mosquitoes in my front yard were worse than those in the middle of the bush. C'mon city of Winnipeg, lets get that malathion going!