I have spent the last few weeks travelling. I have been able to fish in three provinces with most of my success coming form Ontario. My son Matthew and I spent a great day on Georgian Bay, Ont. in September chasing small and largemouth bass.
Fishing with my son has been one of the highlights of our trip and is always a great experience and also meeting my new granddaughter, which was the number one experience of the trip. Remember what I have said previously: fishing is not always about catching. Matthew and I have been fishing together since he was very little. Very quickly, a six-foot fly rod was built for him by a friend and we would head out to the LaHave River every chance we could get. By the age of 10, he could cast a fly as good as anyone and had caught his first Atlantic salmon.
As you can see by the pictures, catching was part of our great day. Check out www.randaller.fish to see what Matthew has been up to lately while fishing in his kayak in Ontario.
So, what’s left along the South Shore other than the stocked lakes? Trout fishing is done, but chain pickerel and smallmouth bass are putting on the feedbag and can be caught in large numbers. Remember that almost everything fishing-related shuts down after Oct. 31. Check out the Nova Scotia Anglers’ Handbook for the lakes that are opened until the end of the year. Your 2018 licence is good until March 31, 2019 and are obligated to send in the report card attached to your licence, so please do so after your last fishing trip of the year.
Salmon fishing is still open for a couple of weeks, and if the water rises and cools down, there should still be some good fishing to be had. I will be salmon fishing from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31. If you do not like fishing in October, now is the time when you should be working on your gear to winterize and organize everything. It is amazing how water can get into everything; It can ruin your hooks if left until spring.
If you are using a monofilament line, I would recommend taking it off your reels and throwing it away. Based on use and exposure, there is a good chance it needs replacing. I use this time of year to take inventory of my go-to baits. Many places put most of their fishing gear on sale this time of year because it is very expensive to carry over until next spring. I bought all of my plastics I used in 2018 last year in October at a 40 per cent off sale — this is also a great way to make up a Christmas list for you to give to family members. Evaluate your gear, clean it up, organize and make a list of needs and pact it away while you eagerly wait until March 2019, when you get it all out again, waiting for April 1 to come.
My weekly columns will soon become monthly columns until March 2019.