I always prefer to be out on the water rather than stuck in the house or at home for that matter, don’t tell my wife. However when I am stuck at home for what ever reason I still have my satellite and WFN. I also have a PVR so I can record all the fishing shows I love to watch, without the need to be home.

I used to have to surf all the channels to find what fishing shows are on but now I can just go through the guide and record any future events while I am sleeping or better yet, while I am out enjoying a day on the water fishing with friends.

A couple of the programs I like most are the fly fishing related programs, as I love to fly fish and really enjoy tying some of my own flies.

I can cast a fly pretty well but I am always ready and willing to learn new things to get a better cast.

I also like watching fly tying sections on these shows. I am a show me kinda guy. I do so much better when I see someone tie something. I end up tying flies I would have just been left scratching my head trying to figure out.

It’s also nice to be able to jump online and see what’s going on at www.wfn.tv both in the past and what’s upcoming.

Brother-in-law Joe, taught me how to fly fish and gave me a few pointers when I was purchasing my first fly rod, reel and fly line. I think the most important thing he told me at that time was to match my rod and fly line weight.

I didn’t really understand why he wanted me to match the weights, I just did what he told me and soon understood why.

The fly rod I purchased was a 7 1/2 foot – 8 weight rod, which was 30 years ago and I am still using that same fly rod. As a matter of fact I was still using the same fly reel that I purchased at that time, even though I just bought a brand new fly reel.

Investing in a good, well matched fly fishing rod, reel and fly line will make for more enjoyable fly fishing.

I have always been able to out cast my fly fishing buddies and always thought it was because I was better at casting a fly when in reality it was due to matching my fly rod and fly line.

It wasn’t until I switched fly rods with one of my fishing buddies. Both of us noticed right away that my buddy made the best casts of his life using my old and worn fly rod and I was having trouble matching my normal cast.

That was when I started asking him about the fly line he used and what weight it was.

The next time we went fly fishing for Atlantic salmon I had already forgotten about switching rod, but he didn’t and had gone out to buy new fly line that matched the weight of his fly rod and my days of out casting him were pretty much over.

I am sure he went for at least 10 years without ever matching his fly line to his rod and I never thought about it either, I just did it because Joe told I needed to. I’ll guarantee that he will never made that mistake again.

Balance is where it’s at when it comes to fly fishing. I even have my fly reel matched to my fly rod so that when I hold it in my hand to cast and open my fingers that rod stays there, balanced perfectly on my fingers.

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You don’t hear that too often these days. Some one staying married to the same person for almost 30 years. We got a lot of congrats from friend, family and neighbours and ever single one of them said the same thing about not seeing people last in marriage, so we feel pretty blessed.

Fishing Tip: Now here is a how you stay married and happy tip and to keep on fishing in the future. Don’t go fishing on your anniversary.

If I have learned anything in those years it’s that I am much happier when Jenny is happy. So I try to do things that make her happy. She is not a fisher by any stretch so I don’t ask her if she wants to go fishing on those special days.

Well our anniversary was April 17th, yesterday and today is Sunday. I wonder if I dare ask her to come with me while I get some pictures of early season trout fishing spots I like to fish in April? We will see after church.

If you never see another post here you know it wasn’t such a bright idea.

I am really looking forward to fishing season this year, like I don’t every year, just 4 more sleeps. That’s if I sleep of course. We have had a really early spring with above average temperatures.

The last couple of years we have fished the same spots for chain pickerel. I took fishing buddy Jamie once and he was hooked just like the first time I fished pickerel. The fishing was so good most of the time that we kept returning to the same area. We practice CPR, catch, photograph and release, so there are always lots of them and they just keep getting bigger each year.

About mid July, last year I took Jamie to a couple of spots we had not fished pickerel. A couple of little hot spots that I have had so much fun fishing over the years. I kind of expected the water to be pretty much gone, as in years before, but there was still plenty of water.

The day I took him in to my secret pickerel spots I was really hot and very windy, so the pickerel were hard to catch on top water, which of course is our favorite method of fishing pickerel.

I half expected to catch nothing and be back out of there quickly. I just wanted to show him these spots until the wind died down a bit.

My first hot spot is very open but on the very first cast they were active and we spend a few hours there having a blast. The hardest part was keeping the canoe still in that wind. One anchor just didn’t cut it and we kept blowing off course. Still had a great time though, one would control the canoe while the other fished and then we switched.

After we fished that hot spot for a few hours I wanted to show him my second hot spot. The first spot we could paddle through channels to get there but this spot was faster to get to if we carried the canoe through the bush, but it was just too hot and I wasn’t sure there was even any water left there. So we hiked in on foot.

We did bring our rods but it was so dry in the bush that we didn’t even bring our waders with us. That was a mistake on my part, I knew better.

I was surprised just how much water was still holding in there.

Jamie and I stood there for a few minutes. The wind was almost non-existent in there and the water was like glass, except for a gust that would put a little ripple on the water, but nothing like it was out in the open.

Even though there was still water there I wasn’t so sure about the pickerel. So I walked to a spot where I cast to the water, over a lot of grass, but it looked like the perfect spot. The plastic worm hit the water at the same time a good sized pickerel smashed it.

Well I was in my sneakers, sneakers that were about 10 years old and had never been in smelly sticky mud but I wasn’t about to let that pickerel get away, so I started walking towards that water, quickly sinking up to my knees in mud and weeds, but I got that toothy critter landed.

I have this terrible habit of picking fishing up with the wrong hand

Next time I will at least carry my waders in or maybe we will go to the other end and find our way back out the river so we can get in that way the next time.

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I don’t care how great a fly fisher you are I am sure there are times you don’t feel like getting wet.I live in New Brunswick and we have a lot of water that stays cold all year long. We also have April and May that aren’t exactly known for warm water here.

Then there is the water I would never walk in without waders, like the water we fish for chain pickerel.It’s dark water, full of leeches and the bottom is soft so every step is going down a foot or so into the soft muddy bottom.

Because our season starts mid April I have neoprene chest waders but once the water temperature rises they get too hot so I have a second pair of waders that are much thinner, helping to cool me down on those scorcher days.

Which Waders Are For You?

Chest Waders or Hip Waders

Back 30 years ago when I learned to fly fish I started out with hip waders as most of the places I fished were brooks that were fairly shallow. It wasn’t until I started fly fishing for Atlantic salmon that I need to get myself a pair of chest waders. These days I never wear hip waders.

With or Without Built in Boots

My personal preference for my waders is to have them without boots attached. I find that my boots fit me better when I buy them separately. Plus I have gone through multiple pairs of waders over the years while my boots remained in good shape. No need to replace the boots.

I also find the waders that come with the boots as part of the waders just never seem to fit me properly. The waders are either to big and loose or the boots are. I have never had the problem with waders I buy without the boots.

I have also found that waders with built in boots tend to rub against my legs too much which irritates my calf long before the day of fishing is done.

I never leave home, when I am going fishing, without my chest waders, even if we are going to be in the canoe all day.

Simm’s makes great waders, give them a look before you purchase your next pair of fly fishing waders.

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