First Trout of 2010

Spent sometime fishing today with my buddy Brad. We started in Musquodoboit and worked our way around to the Ninemile River. Stopped and looked at the Shubenacadie to see if any Shad were moving yet.
Still too early for Shad it seems but we did find a few trout. There was a hatch of Black Stoneflies going on and off all day but very little sign of trout feeding on the surface.
I had some luck with a Hare's Ear nymph and a Dark Brown Stonefly Nymph. Brad did alright but wouldn't tell me what he was using.

Shad Fishing on the Nine Mile

Just when I figured I was going to have to travel back in time and fight some big fat Scottish guy to get my “fishing mojo” back, I finally got into some fish.

Today dawned with a grey and overcast sky, perfect for shad fishing. I knew they were there because Brad “Fish Hawk” McCaughan and I had been out earlier in the week. We saw lots of fish but didn’t connect.





Today I managed to get six Shad, all of them big. There were more there to be caught but I was content and headed for home.

For a change everyone hooked was brought to hand. Usually I loose one or two for everyone landed, especially these big six pounders. What a battle they put up. It really is as Brad says, “Arm aching action”. Maybe it was because I was fishing faster water than I normally fish but all of the takes were perfect and I was able to play the fish confidently.




Oh yeah, for those of you locally, green seems to be the preferred fly colour, today anyway.

The Shad are Running and Mayflies are Hatching

I finally made it fishing. On Saturday I headed out to check out the little lake my daughter and I found last week. It was pretty rough going walking the bank and extremely treacherous wading so I only managed about an hour of fishing and saw no sign of a fish. I’ll go back with the float tube when things warm up a bit and give it a thorough going over.

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It was a cold and blustery day with no fish to show for it but it was still a triumph for me. Only a few short months ago I was being admitted to the hospital for heart surgery and remember wondering if I’d ever be able to walk the woods or fish again.
Before getting too braggy, I have to admit I fished an hour and needed a two hour nap afterwards.
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Hey, I’m calling it a win.

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The next day was Sunday and feeling pretty good, I headed out to Elmsdale to see if the shad were in yet. The answer is; they definitely are starting to run. I was rigged for trout fishing and didn’t get close to them but just knowing they are there has me pumped. I’ll go back this weekend with a full sinking line and some shad flies.


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There were a few trout rising here and there to a sporadic hatch of Hendrickson Mayflies. These are a biggish fly; light, opaque, brown or grey with a bit of yellow on the underside of the abdomen. I have never seen them on this particular water before but the trout were not shy about smacking them. I’ll make sure to always have a few in my spring fly box from now on.

That is always the conflict on the Nine Mile or the Shubie; do you rig light for trout or heavy for shad. You can’t really fish them both at once. At least, I have not figured out how to yet.

I walked a good portion of the bank and saw a few shad being caught on darts by the spin fishermen. Didn’t see many fly fishers and no hook-ups on the fly.

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Yahoo, the lying season is upon us.