APRIL 22, 2001
The main river opens this Saturday. Water
temp. is currently 50F and should be up to 52 by the weekend. Midges
are hatching in their millions. Lots of early caddis and early blue
winged olives, (size 16). Visibility is 4ft.+, (quite clear) and the
level is approximately 2 feet above summer norms. The river is well
within fishable range.
If you are planning on getting in some early steelheading, I'd strongly
suggest a week day for the next little while. Weekends are going
to be busy on the river. They usually are early in the season.
By the 2nd or third week of the season traffic drops off dramatically.
The river is flowing very strongly, and it has
made major changes to bottom and bank structure. If you are wading
this weekend, please be careful. A dunking this early in the season
can be fatal.
Tight lines.......JIM
APRIL 21, 2001
One week till Trout opens! Yeah!!! I sure hope you are prepared for
the opener. It looks like a fine one. The water level is still a bit high
but its clear and if we dont get too much rain we should have excellent
conditions to fish. Tributeries have lots of flow also so even the small
streams should provide action if the main river is too crowded for you.
A great nymph to try first is the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear in sizes from 10
- 16. Browns just don't seem to get enough of them in their bellies, and
Rainbows love them as well. WARNING
!! If the water is high watch your wading. It may look calm but the
water of the Saugeen has a lot of power behind it and can tire you very
fast, creating a potentially dangerous situation if you are out in the middle
of the river. A wading staff is a good thing to have on the Saugeen. Don't
take chances with Mother Nature. Don't forget to register for the 2001 Saugeen
River Fly Fishing Classic on June 30 and July 1 this year. Lots of fun for
all experience levels of fly fishers. Hope to see you on the river............Jim
Perry
MARCH 11, 2001
For those of you who
do not wish to wait until the Saugeen's upper reaches open, I have good
news. The Penetangore, in Kincardine, seems to have a nice run of
steelhead and browns. To make matters even better, there's a good
"hatch" of black stoneflies (around size 14) and isopods in a pinkish/grey/white
colouration in size 12. Reports from today are four fish, two steelies
and two browns, both on stoneflies. The water is very clear.
Thanks to Scott for the update.
The lower Saugeen is clear,
with some slush ice, and a light run of fish. The Sauble is very,
very clear with limited runs of fish.
I'll pass on local reports
as I receive them!.............JIM
P.S. For those of you who haven't tied isopods, think of a sow bug. Use a curved caddis hook, tie a body of light grey or pink using wool, tie in a strand of copper, wrap a pinkish hacle to the eye, tie in a back of clear sandwich bag and wrap the copper forward. You now have one isopod. Fishing the Grand river has a grey isopod pattern that may work.
RIVER UPDATES 2000
NOVEMBER 18, 2000 Winter is here. Temp is 0C, water is 44F and it's snowing hard. We have 5 inches on the ground and more falling. Looks like the start of a "normal" winter. River is blown, and still rising. Forecast is for snow all week. If we get a couple of sunny, clear days the water should start to clear and the fishing should be very, very good. I'm looking forward to it, as long as it's warm enough to keep the ice from the guides. I'll keep you all posted. .......... JIM
It's been raining, off and on, for several days and the river is up 16-18" and discoloured. This should be excellent news for the steelhead, but not terrific, (at this time) for the angler. Presently, it's snowing. I'll monitor the river, and when it starts to drop/clear, send out an update. .........JIM
NOVEMBER 4, 2000 The river has risen approx. 3 inches, but is still very clear. Temperature is 48F. No hatching activity. Some reports of the very odd rainbow being taken. Bass and muskie still active in the lower river. Forecast is for some rain this weekend, but nothing significant. We can only hope.......JIM
OCTOBER 29, 2000 Water temp. is 49F, level is below summer norms, and it's very clear. Sun loading is not bringing the temp. up. Lake Huron Fishing Club stocked a further 15,000 browns on the weekend, and they all seem to be doing well and spreading out rapidly. No steelhead; the water is too low and clear. We are still catching large browns, but unless the weather warms a little or we get some fog and overcast, the BWO's are done for now. Salmon are finished. If you fish the river in the next little while, consider using larger offerings to discourage the new stockers. Most of them were in the 6 inch category, and we don't want to stress them by catching them so soon after stocking. ..........JIM
OCTOBER 24, 2000 The water level is actually below summer norms, very, very clear and the temp. is 50F. Blue Winged Olives in 24-26 are definitely the ticket with the fish stacking up in the flatter tail-outs picking off the bugs. Some caddis still fluttering around. If you are thinking of steelheading, wait a while. We've had virtually no rain to bring in new fish. The salmon are finished, and the browns seem to be rejoicing. If you are planning to come up for browns, bring a spool of 8X tippet...it helps. If you don't like the tiny dries, try a hare's ear soft hackle in 18-20 or the same fly tied with Blue Winged Olive Synthetic Living Fibre fished just below the surface on a dead drift. On the other end of the spectrum, a white wooly bugger in 12-14 bounced through the fast water has produced some nice fish in the last couple of days. The browns are stocking up for the winter and spawning, so they will often wack a larger offering that they'd normally ignore. A streamer in 10-12 can produce some interesting results, especially when fished on a sink tip in deeper water. ..........JIM
OCTOBER 15, 2000 River is at summer norms, and still very clear. Temp. is 51. Today was cloudy, cool and damp...perfect Blue Winged Olive weather. They started coming off around noon and lasted most of the day. Lots of little blue sailboats. We found the best tie to be a 26 tied with a slightly lopsided grin and a mischievous look in the eye. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Actually, they were running 18-20. The fish were laying in the tailouts, picking up flies in an infuriating irregular manner....very little consistent rising, but enough to make you reach for the dry box. We did take one at the end of the day on a 14 Adams, proving that an Adams serves every purpose, but the BWO emerger was the best producer. Still lots of salmon and very few steelhead. We need a good rain to bring in fresh fish. ..........JIM
OCTOBER 12, 2000 Water temp. in the early morning is 48F rising to 51F by mid-afternoon. (Today was clear and sunny, which contributed to the temp. rise during the day.) Weather here, for tomorrow is cloudy with possibility of showers, high of 16. Saturday, essentially the same. Water is approx. 3 inches above summer norms and very, very clear. Fine and far off is the requirement. Caddis and BWO's still coming of along with several million canesis. Browns have moved to the slower water, salmon are still spawning and steelhead are as deep as they can get during the day. Very little spawning activity noted by steelhead. It's still early...I expect a nice run later in the month after we get a good rain and the river rises. ........JIM.
OCTOBER 9, 2000 Water temperature is 48F. Level is approx. 6" above summer norms and the water is very clear. Tan caddis and blue winged olives still coming off in the afternoons with limited rising. We went 2 for 15 today....frustrating, but instructive. Most productive were wooly buggers in white or black. If the temperature goes to 15C later this week with bright sun, we should see some good hatches of caddis with the corresponding rising...........JIM
OCTOBER 6, 2000
It's been raining, off and on, for two
days, with an accumulation of 1". It's continuing to fall intermittently,
along with thunder, and the odd snow flake! River is rising slowly,
and the "new water" should be showing up at the mouth right about now.
That should bring a new run of rainbows into the river. If you are
planning on fishing next week, (the upper stretch to Walkerton), Wednesday
onward should give the "new" fish time to reach that area and produce good
fishing. If you like the lower river, (Denny's Dam area) I'd select
Tuesday as the crowds should be back home and the water will be clearing
nicely. Have a good weekend, and remember, neoprene waders only stretch
so far....too much turkey may mean a trip to either the gym or the outfitters!
P.S......here's my Thanksgiving present....the
Saugeen is open for both browns and steelhead until the last Saturday in
December....for those who didn't know it! ...JIM
OCTOBER, 1, 2000 A truly fantastic day on the Saugeen. Water temp. was 55, water is approx. 5 inches above summer norms and crystal clear. Caddis, BWO's and canesis coming off. Browns rising beautifully after noon. Even the smallmouth decided to get in some last minute feeding before the end of summer. One steelhead, approx. 6 lbs. taken on a black wooly bugger. Lots of browns taken on 14-16 light Cahills. The browns didn't seem to care that the Cahill wasn't a caddis or anything else that was emerging. It was close enough for them to jump on it. Tomorrow is supposed to be very nice, so if you get a chance, take the day and catch some fish!.............JIM
SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 Water temp. is 50F early in the morning, rising to 55 F by midday, (depending on sunload). The river is approx. 12-16 inches above summer norms and very, very clear. Tan caddis, (size 14-16) are quite abundant, as are Blue Winged Olives, (size 22-24). The caddis are most prevalent in the early morning as soon as the sun hits the foliage. The BWO's show up late in the afternoon. There are also several billion Canesis, (or Fisherman's curse, or the Smut) in the late afternoon and evening. For those of you who've never encountered the Smut, it's a white fly, size, oh, around 36, maybe 38. Maybe a 40. It doesn't really matter as no one I know even attempts to tie an imitation, let alone fish one. There are lots of salmon upriver, and a few steelhead. Browns are still feeding and were taken today on a white streamer, (size 4), caddis nymphs, (brown and green in size 14) and a Hare's ear soft hackle, (size 14). Some rising to caddis early in the day. I expect the temp. to drop a few more degrees in the next two days and then warm up over the weekend. If we don't get a lot of rain this week fishing on the weekend should be very good. you are planning to fish this weekend, don't forget the gloves....early in the morning you'll be glad you have them..............JIM
SEPTEMBER 16, 2000 We've had over two inches of rain here today, with more forecast. Fishing this weekend will be problematical, at best. My recommendation would be to curl up in front of the fireplace and tie flies. Too bad, fishing has been excellent with lots of browns and small rainbows being caught. The up side, is that this rain will bring in salmon, (you know how I feel about them) and steelhead, (Yeah!). I'll keep you posted................JIM
SEPTEMBER 6, 2000 Water temp. is between 65 and 68 depending on sunload and time of day. Levels are at summer norms. The bass are spending the day in 1-3 feet of water in the sun and will still hit surface poppers. The top water stuff works best in the slower water next to the runs. Careful wading can pay off in some very large bass looking for fall feed while catching some rays. The trout are very active and the browns are taking on fall spawning colours. This evening we had every bug known to man flitting about. Midges, caddis, light cahills, Hex's and even some green drakes. Very weird. Fortunately, the fish weren't terribly selective and responded to generic nymphs. Muskie are being muskie....they hit when they feel like lunch. Bow's and salmon are showing up below Denny's dam. I tangled with a large bow on my 3 weight up near Walkerton. The fish was very silver and I suspect he/she may have been a migratory moving up river early. If we get a heavy rain I think we may see an early run. I'd just as soon have a long, warm fall and a late, short winter. Tight lines.......JIM
SEPTEMBER 2, 2000. Ladies and Gentlemen: The river has warmed to the low seventies and the level is excellent. The Hex's are still coming off and providing some truly exciting fishing; unfortunately, you can never tell how the fish are going to respond each evening. Some evenings it's unbelievable, others, nothing happens. It's frustrating, but all part of fishing. Some small salmon and rainbows are showing up below Denny's Dam and being caught by the bait fishing/lure tossing crowd. We had enough rain earlier in the week to draw a few into the river, but nothing of significance. Assuming the next two weeks have reasonable weather, it should be a great time to fish for either bass or trout. Both will be surface oriented due to the hatches. With a little cloud to mask the sun we should have some great fall fishing. (Tip of the week: If the Hex spinner fall is happening and you don't have a Hex in your box, any bushy dry will do. No dries? Grease up a bushy woolly bugger and float it on the surface. It actually works.....) JIM
AUGUST 19, 2000. Fishing is good The Hex's are coming off between Paisley and Walkerton. Hatching is localized and sporadic, but has been occuring for the last three days. Water temp. is 71, but the trout are still responding. Air temps. are supposed to drop tonight and tomorrow, so this weekend should provide really good fishing. Bass and muskie are very active. Downstream fishing for bass and muskie has been good. Natural deer hair poppers have been the most productive. Wooly buggers in white and purple seem to be the favorites, but olive and black will also produce. Hex emergence around Hanover and upstream should start next week IF THE TEMPS. COME BACK UP. The cold front may slow them down a bit. .........JIM
AUGUST 15, 2000. Fishing
is good Ladies and Gentlemen:
Water temps. are dropping. Upper river is approx. 65 while the lower
river, (Burgoynne area) is 68. Last week temps. were from 3-5 degrees
F. warmer. Evening temps. are in the single digits. Whether
the weather man wants to admit it or not, it's fall!!. Bass are already
slowing down, with surface flies being less productive than they would
normally be this time of year. Slow down your presentations.
Start on the sunny side in the morning and unless the air and water warms
considerably, stay there. Muskie should be starting to feed with more
enthusiasm as the water cools. Big is better, even if it's not much
fun to cast. Remember the shock tippet or a piece of "fireline", (T.M.)
Yesterday we had a muskie bite off a bug 6 INCHES up the tippet from the
bug. The trout have had a dynamite summer, with higher water
levels and cooler temps. Growth rates have been very, very good.
The browns should be getting ready to spawn soon, (assuming the water temp.
stays low.) I'm expecting an early run of salmon and steelhead, again
due to the low temps. I'll keep you posted.
( Tip of the
week .....try a wet hackle hare's ear through
the runs in the evening...a nice dead drift. It's a very old technique
and
it still works very, very well.)
June 3, 2000. Fishing is good Our outing on June 3 was a success, fish were caught, fun was had by all.
May 20, 2000.
WARNING! Dangerous Water Conditions
Due to more rainfall again this week the water levels are still
roaring high. The rivers look great but fishing would be considered unsafe.
Do not try fishing in strong currents unless you have a partner who can rescue
you. The Saugeen is a powerful river and I know first hand that it can surprise
you very quickly.
The river should be in great shape for the Saugeen River Fly Fishing
Classic. Register Now. See you there!
May 13, 2000.
WARNING! Dangerous Water Conditions
As you well know the weather has been rather nasty lately. I haven't
seen this much rain in so long I can't remember. Everything is absolutely
flooded. The good news is that the ground water
systems well be filling up and this will be a huge help to the fishery for
the rest of the season. My advise is to stay off the river system, if you
must fish, pond fishing may be your only hope.
Since opening day there have been reports of good sized Rainbows
and Browns, but nothing over twenty inches, YET! More reports will be coming.
Don't forget the Saugeen River Fly Fishing Classic on June 24 and 25.
Fly fishers, clean that
rod and load up your vest with terrestrials and hatch matching flies.
Spring is here! It won't be long.
First River Report of
2000.
March 23, 2000:
The river is clear with excellent visibility and approximately 1 foot over
summer norms. There are lots of fish in the legally open sections
below the abutments at the mouth of the river. Small roe bags in light
colours have been producing well. Dark nymphs (Saugeen wigglers),
Hex's and streamer patterns have all been producing. Lot's of company
on the weekends.....fish mid week if possible. Pray for snow or rain......we
don't need another dry year.....Jim Ward
Tip: A dark stonefly nymph in size 12-14
drifted under
a strike indicator
is an excellent
"start" fly right now....
........Jim Ward
RIVER UPDATES 1999
P.S. Don't forget your bungee butts....these brutes are amazingly powerful..
As
of September 26: Water temp. is 60 F., and
very clear and about 6" below summer norms. The rain we had this week didn't
bring the river up more than 1". The salmon have arrived and moved
up as far as Walkerton in limited numbers. How they are getting up
stream is a mystery with the low water levels. Maybe they are taking
buses. I didn't see any bows today but they will probably be moving
upstream within the week. If we get a good rain we could get a surge
of fish. The bass have moved into the deep pools and have stopped
feeding on the surface. They will still take a deep offering presented
slowly along the bottom. Wooly buggers or leeches work well on a sink
tip or weighted with shot. Surprisingly, they are more spooky now then
they were during the summer. The browns have moved into the runs and
below the salmon redds. Glo-bugs are a good bet as are Michigan wigglers,
egg-sucking leeches or stoneflies depending on what type of water you are
fishing. (Drifting a glo-bug below salmon redds is always a good tactic).
For the muskie maniacs, this is prime time
for them. The word for muskie this time of year is BIG. THERE
IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO BIG A STREAMER FOR MUSKIE IN OCTOBER. I lost
a 14" brown to a muskie this evening and he wouldn't let go of the brown
until I dragged him almost onto the bank. A BIG stinger hook dressed
full and fished deep will produce. Rather than using 20lb. mono or
wire ahead of the fly consider using 20lb. Fireline. It has the same
diameter as 6lb. test mono and casts much better than wire. It seems
to stand up as well as anything I've tried and the muskie have a very hard
time biting through it.
Tight lines.....Jim Ward
As of September 1: It's HEXAMANIA time. The hex's are still coming off and the spinner falls are quite something to see. They usually occur between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. and then stop as it becomes too cool for them....or they are finished...whatever. The bass and trout are really banging them some nights and ignoring them on others...no rhyme or reason. Nymphs are paying off nicely in the slower stretches during the day. Weather reports for the next few days indicate that they should continue until at least Friday. If you are looking for a stretch to fish try upstream from maple hill dam. It's a good hex stretch....Jim Ward
As of August 18: For those of you who are salmon river maniacs, you'll be pleased to know that the salmon have actually started to migrate up the Saugeen. I was at Denny's Dam tonight to see what was happening and saw salmon moving upstream. No steelhead visible, but they won't be far behind. the rainfalls we've had must have triggered some of them. Seems darn early. Hope it doesn't mean an early winter.....Jim Ward
As of August 17: Rumour has it that a few early run steelhead have been caught at Denny's Dam in Southampton.....I'll be up there in the next few days and see if I can confirm...... I do know that schools are staging off the river mouth and that we have had a lot of rain. This may have triggered an early run. Water temperature is still in the seventies but it's quite high,.with a little colour. Nothing that would prevent fishing....Jim Ward
As
of August 13: In the last two days we have
had 4 inches of rain. Fortunately, it didn't all come down at once so a
lot of it went into the ground rather than pouring into the river.
Water temperatures. are in the mid seventies, with flow rates at ideal summer
norms. (About 6" above the normal summer level.) The bass have
been feeding actively and we've taken several over 22" in the last week.
Top water bass bugs have accounted for the vast majority of fish, with crayfish
running a distant second and other minnow imitations getting the rest.
To be more specific, out of 10 bass, 7 would fall to bass bugs, 2 to crayfish,
and one to "others". Muskie are their usual erratic selves, with the
most effective fly being anything dark over 4" showing a good outline.
No salmon are in the river yet, and the Skamanias never did show in any numbers.
If we continue to get rain we should have a dynamite fall run of steelies.
Look for them to start showing at the beginning of September along with
the Salmon.
Tip of the week.....try a bass bug that you would normally use for
largemouth for the river smallies......
bugs tied on size 2 hooks are not too large. -- J.W.
As of July 19: Water levels are at summer norms with temperatures in the mid to high seventies. Hoppers are everywhere, much heavier than normal. Everything from fluorescent green to the usual greyish tan with pale yellow bellies. Hex's are starting to appear. The bass are being most co-operative, with just about any deer hair concoction working nicely. A hopper pattern with a pale yellow abdomen tossed to the bank in the early morning or evening works well, but a muddler in natural deer hair is almost as productive.
As
of July 17: The water temps in the Saugeen
river from Hanover to Lake Huron have increased to the low 70's which has
driven the Trout into seclusion but dramatically increased the warm water
species action. Many Bass, Pike and even a huge 47" Muskie have been caught
recently on flies. Big patterns like Matukas, Zonkers, Mickey Finns and
the like will produce in present conditions. Remember that a fish caught in
low, warm water is extremely stressed and should be released with minimal
handling and positioned facing upstream until it is revived. This may take
5 to 10 minutes for a larger fish.
Good luck fishing the Saugeen Watershed.
As
of June 21: On the Beatty Saugeen and main
Saugeen, prevalent hatches would be Stoneflies and Isonychia. Club members
were out on the river in Walkerton in the evening, some #14 & #16 Spotted
Sedges (Caddis flies) are hatching. A 15" Bass was taken on a white Mayfly
imitation and a 10" Brown succumbed to a #12 Hares Ear Nymph. Rumour had
it, a few days ago a 5 lb Bass was caught in Walkerton.
P.S. As of June 21: The river is returning to normal levels,
and fishing is getting better. With the warmer weather river temperatures
are expected to rise accordingly.
As of June 15: The river is almost 1½
feet above summer norms, with a very small amount of colour. Visibility
is 4 feet plus. Temperature is 60F. Brown drakes, tan caddis, and
sulphurs are all emerging, but surface feeding activity is confined to
the VERY LATE EVENING. If you want to fish dries, the last half hour of
daylight is the time. During the day, go DEEP, with nymphs. Bass opens
next weekend, and they have been off the redds for quite a while so catching
them on the opening weekend should not impact on spawning. The browns are
doing nicely, with some big fish being caught.
