Signs and Signals for the Fly-fisherman

One of the pleasures of the journey to becoming a fly angler is gradually growing awareness and curiosity about the natural world that accompanies it.

It makes sense that this happens. In the search for trout, you are often actually searching for what the trout might be feeding on. Connections between seemingly unconnected things start to become obvious - just not always easily understood.

Here is an example.

One of my favorite places to dry fly fish is in Kejimkujik Park. It is a stretch of the Mersey River called the Eel Weir after a Mi’kmaw artifact – a line of stones placed to form a “v” shaped fence with an opening at the centre. Alders were cut and placed along this fence to force the eels or other fish to swim through the opening and into a trap.
It is a lovely stretch of water dumping out of George Lake, flowing deep and cold.

The time to go is when the Indian Pears also known as Serviceberry first start to bloom. Local fly-fishermen wait for that signal. It tells them that the trout have started to drop down from the deep waters of the lake and into the river.

A signal I wait for is the sound of the first Spring Peeper. It tells me that the smelt have started to run. When the smelt are running is the time when a fly angler has a fair chance to connect with a land-locked salmon at the mouths of brooks along the Shubenacadie system.

Sometimes you know or can figure out why these signs and signals work, other times not so much. I like it better when I do not know why. It just seems more mystical that way.