Broken Rod Tip While Trout Fishing

I was fishing last weekend in the backwoods of the Tobiatic and Medway country on land owned by the Bowater Mersey Paper Company. The weather was lousy but the howling wind did keep the black flies away. There were lots of trout around and they were fussy enough to make the fishing quite challenging.

I was using a five weight rod and somewhere between stopping for a sandwich and starting fishing again I managed to break the tip. Not quite sure how it happened but now I have to fix it.

The good news is that the repair won't effect the action of the rod.  I base that judgement on the fact that I fished the rest of the day with the broken rod and had only slight problems with the line wrapping around the stub of the blank between the last guide and the missing tip-top.

It still cast well and could handle a feisty Speckled Trout.


Usually you can fix a broken tip right in the woods. The glue that rod builders use to secure the tip-top is a heat set glue so you just need a Bic lighter to heat the tip, pull out the old piece of the blank and slide the tip onto the remaining unbroken section. That will get you through the day until you can do a more permanent job.

This one broke flush with the base of the tip-top so I couldn't get the piece out to slide it on in a new position. I've ordered a new tip-top from Cabela's which puts my favourite rod out of commission until the new part comes.

Shad fishing has continued to be great. This is the best year in a long time for me with loads of fish each time out. Because my good rod is busted I've borrowed a rod from my daughter.

It's a 5 weight I built for her this spring.

The other day I found myself landing a whack of fish using a fly I designed and tied and a rod I built. Have to admit to feeling a bit of self satisfaction. There really is a lot more to fishing than the fish.

Fishing With Friends, a great local fishing show is now On Demand!

Here is some good news for fans of EastLink TV and its great local fishing show, "Fishing With Friends".

If you are a customer of EastLink's cable television services you may have noticed a significant upgrade to EastLink TV recently. You can now watch EastLink TV's local television shows, including "Fishing With Friends",  On Demand. Better yet, it is free.

Here is the cool thing, all of the programming that appears On Demand will be available nation wide. In Atlantic Canada and Ontario the On Demand menu will read, "EastLink TV". In the West it will say, "Community TV".

When you click on that you will have the choice of Alberta, Atlantic, British Columbia and Ontario. Click on Atlantic and then select "Fishing With Friends".

I promise you will enjoy the sights and local colour of my slice of paradise. The show is mostly about fishing here in Nova Scotia with side trips to nearby provinces for a lodge visit or two.

The producer/host is a fellow named Steve Clapperton, a real character with an obvious passion for fishing and the natural wonders of Nova Scotia's outdoors.

With co-producer and videographer, Danny Harvie, these two guys have created a truly enjoyable program for everyone who loves to fish from the novice to the grizzled old veteran.

While you are looking, also check out "Welcome to my Kitchen", the most appetizing cooking show I've ever seen. Makes my stomach growl just thinking about it.

The service is just being launched so it may take a month or two until it is fully populated with programming content so keep your eye on it and enjoy "Fishing With Friends".

An Interesting Tactic for Fussy Shad

Well I hit the jackpot the other day while Shad fishing. I lost count of the fish landed and any guess would sound too much like BS so I won't even try. The secret to success was a new technique I have been trying.

The river is loaded with fish but hook-ups are sporadic right now as the fish are preoccupied with the whole finding a partner and showing off thing. I was getting the odd one by changing flies frequently and fishing the standard down stream cast and strip method. That wasn't too bad but I was fishing over dozens of fish with such small success. There had to be something wrong with this particular presentation.

So, knowing that shad will often take a fly rising from the bottom I lengthened my leader to about 8 feet and started fishing a short cast in the high stick, nymphing style I would use if I was fishing for trout in this pocket water and concentrating on letting the fly bob up in a Leisenring Lift at the end of a short drift.

Bingo, a fish on the first cast. The rest of the evening went like that. Fish were hitting like crazy with some colour preference for orange just as the sun started to set. It is a great way to fish through the dense schools with out worrying about foul hooking.

We all know that what worked once won't always work again when it comes to fooling fish. To see if it was a fluke or not I took my daughter with me to the same pool yesterday after work and taught her the technique. She was into a fish on her second cast. We had a ball for the next couple of hours with several double headers and one or the other of us almost constantly into a fish.

If you are ever in a situation where the fish are bouncing off your boots but not taking your fly try this old trout fishing trick. It may just change your luck.

Shad on the Fly 2010

Wow, check out this picture. Sure glad I took a minute to tie up some pink and gold flies.

My friend Aaron and I hit the Nine Mile after work the other day and had the whole place to ourselves.

We looked over a few of the higher pools but decided to walk the mile or so to the spot where I had been fishing with some success the last few times I'd been out.

It turned out to be a good decision.

The technique in these long deep pools without too much current is to cast across and down stream about 45 degrees. Let the fly sink and the line straighten out. Then, let the fly dangle on the straight line for a few seconds before starting a medium fast stripping retrieve.

Sometimes the fish will take on the swing, sometimes on the dangle but most often they will take on the first strip or two. They will of course surprise you often enough to make the above not really very good advice.

Here is the good advice: Be ready for a take any time your fly is in the water.

You gotta' love shad fishing on the fly!