Feb 2006
Everything you wanted to knowabout flyfishing, and then someLocal man writes a book about popular activity, including local lakes by Bob MillerCitizen staff |
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You're in your bellyboat flyfishing chironomids in a small nameless lake when you notice another angler strike, play and land a succession of trout. As you kick and drift along the shore, you eventually exchange positions, except he's still catching and releasing trout in the spot where you got skunked and you're still fishless on this fine spring morning. He's using a floating line, long leader and fine tippet and fishing with chironomids, same as you. All things being equal, your creel should be full. What gives? Chances are he's teamed his fly up with a strike indicator of some sort. When a trout mouths the imitation, the indicator moves, alerting the angler who sets the hook and the fight is on. Without an indicator, the angler has no idea his chironomid's been sampled and spit out. Stillwater strike indicator fishing is just one aspect of the sport that Prince George angler and part-time fishing guide Lewis Johnson explores in his book The Chronic Flyfisher. It's a pocket-sized, ring-bound book just perfect for a spot in the daypack. It will lie flat when you open it at any of its 141 pages, lavishly illustrated with colour photos, maps and contour drawings of many of the lakes within an hour or two's drive of Prince George. But don't think this book caters only to the purist flyfisher. A paragraph from the introduction says it best: "Newcomers to the sport of flyfishing, young or old, will be introduced to equiprnent, flies, strategies and a few productive styles of flyfishing. These are styles that my buddies and I continue to learn and practice every chance we get, from sinking lines to strike indicator fishing to the dry fly. When all the forms are combined as a whole, it will make for a rnore versatile stillwater angler, being able to respond to the feeding behaviours of the trout over a variety of situations. But most of all, it is being on the water, looking for that big, silver trout, trying to fool them into taking your fly," Johnson writes elsewhere in the introduction. He said he's had the book in the works for about three years, and was prompted to write it from his love of flyfishing. "You can totally get away from a busy, hectic schedule," he said. "I don't know of anything that concentrates the attention like catching a fish…..you can get rid of your responsibilities and get into something relaxing. There are literally hundreds of lakes in the immediate vicinity of Prince George where you can get out and enjoy yourself and you're not arm-to-arm with another angler," he say. The Chronic Flyfisher - Flyfishing the Central Interior of B.C., takes an in-depth look at about 25 to 30 of these lakes between Vanderhoof and Prince George, between Quesnel and Prince George and north of town to include Carp and Firth. No streams. The lakes were enough, Johnson said. "Fishing in the local lakes can be so good you don't need to fish in streams." |
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The book is strictly about stillwater flyfishing - casting and trolling, and of course the use of a strike indicator. Most people assume if you're using a strike indicator, then you're fishing chironomids, Johnson said, but the technique can be used with many other wet fly patterns and nymphs. He said he found out years ago from examining stomach samples that the largest trophy-sized trout eat a lot of microscopic organisms. "A lot of these fish live in the depths and are shy," he said, adding that an advantage of using a strike indicator is you can put your fly in the feeding zone for a long time, relative to casting a fly and retrieving it. Johnson's favourite lake and one included in the book might surprise you. Hart Lake, a stone's throw from the Hart Highway, just south of the community of Bear Lake and right across from the busy provincial campsite in the Crooked River Provincial Park. "It's truly a trophy fishery... there're usually only a few anglers," he said. And it's within a 45-minute drive of Johnson's home. The Chronic Flyfisher sells for $23.95 and is available at Northern Troutfitters, Northern Hardware, Spruceland News, Spruceland Overwaitea, Mosquito Books, Skin Sense Day Spa and Wellness Centre, and Hart Home Hardware. It's also available from Johnson himself. Details at: www.TheChronicFlyfisher.com The Prince George Citizen - Monday June 24,2002 |