Fly fishing the Rideau River

[Jigs]

Last evening a fishing friend and I went down to try our luck at one of our favourite little runs of "sorta fast" water. This was the first time he had been out since being pretty sick for a couple of months, so the wading was slow and careful.

I was using my new 5wt. with #5/6DTF, with my trusty muddlers. Gotta lovem. He stuck to his light spinning outfit with 1/8oz. jigs and plastic minnows. Light puke green was the colour of choice.

Yours truly out smallmouthed him about 10 to 2 before the sun went down. Then the crappies came on off to the side of one of the plumes of "fast" water, and he could do no wrong. We got a total of 14 "eaters" which ended up in the basket, several small ones released. Out of these he caught about 10 or 11.

No dice on any fly change: crappies wanted jigs. They were hitting about a foot below the surface and the flies wouldn't present properly. Tried a weighted fly(black wooley bugger)..........nada. My lack of finesse most likely the reason. A bit on the ham fisted side.

All the smallmouth were released. Most of them were dinks, but put up a good fight. I lost a dandy in the last 4 feet. Short distance release

Fine evening. Good to have my fishin partner back.

Jigs.

[Todd B.]

Hmmm....I'd guess you were at the MILL as that's pretty much the only spot that I've had any crappie action on the flowing sections of the river.

Next time try a small clouser minnow. If they're only taking stuff just under the surface you might also try something like a Hopper - dropper rig.

[Jigs]

Hey Todd:

No, not the Mill.

None of the spots on the RR are secret, but some are frequented more than others. We found an "infrequent" one and only use it a bit, cause that's the way we would like to keep it.

Sort of like the way folks like to keep their Que. spots and Calabogie spots quiet. Same deal cept closer..........

Thanks for the clouser and dropper suggestion. Shall givem a try.

Best regards:

Jigs.

[Todd B.]

Jigs,

True enough, then again I don't fish much of the Rideau upstream of Manotick. You don't tend to find too many crappie below the Mill.

With regards to competing with other anglers, most of my favorite spots require getting wet up to at least your waist. This tends to disuade the majority of people. If they do fish it, it's usually from shore, with no access to the good pools (and big fish). Which in most cases is a good thing since the majority of "occasional" anglers that I see tend to keep everything they catch regardless of size (or consumption guidelines.)

[Jigs]

Todd:

Absolutley.

Glad you know what I mean. While not trying to exclude anyone from anywhere, I got tired of seeing pails full of undersized fish, OOS fish, many huge fish, being kept.: never by fly fishers BTW.

So, if folks want a fave spot, they can do some lookin......

If the only people that frequented this site were fly fishers, I'd give a description of the place and the rocks you step on to get there.....

Best o luck.

Jigs.

[Fishboy]

Good on you Jigs for getting out there with the flyrod. Aren't bass a blast on the fly? Muddlers work fantastically on bass - have you tried conehead marabou muddlers? They are killer for me in the Ottawa River.

I'm glad to hear you got your buddy out, too. Based on some of your recent posts, I understand he was down and out for a while. Wetting a line is an excellent balm for whatever ails you.