Fishing in USA and Canada

Hi

I live in the UK, but I have been watching some great fishing
programmes featuring some of your good spots.

The TV wetted my appettite so much that next year I plan to visit North
America for 4 - 6 weeks in 2006 to test some of your waters! I have a
lot of research to do to plan my trip but I thought that posting in
here could take some of that research pain away :-) I guessed that some
keen fishermen / fisherwomen in here would like to help plan my trip?

I do both feshwater and sea fishing but prefer specimen fish (yep, I
have been know to sit all weekend under a bivvy hunting large carp - my
best to date is just short of 30 pounds). I don't do fly fishing - yet
- I plan to take some lessons this summer.

I could do with info about recommended spots, tackle, tactics, bait and
lures and quite importantly the best months to visit.

Hope you can help me?

Thanks

Kevin

Alot of you visit depends on where your visiting. My only experience is
the mid-Atlantic seaboard and the Great Lakes around Michigan. On the
eastern seaboard, there are more varities of fish. Any medium sized
rod/reel combination would do unless fishing for heavier fish
(billfish, marlin from boat). Popular baits: Squid, bloodworms, cut
bait (cut pieces of baitfish like mullet, menhaden, shad). Shrimp works
well with some species. I've also used soft shell "peeler" crabs for
sea trout or fiddler crab as well.
For lures, try Gator or Hopkins spoons for bluefish, trout. A favorite
of mine is a double bucktail...two lead head jigs on twin leaders
around 12" and 24".

If you fish inland lakes, try shiner minnows, nightcrawler worms, shad,
grubs (waxworms), or smaller panfish worms, often sold as "wigglers".
There are TOO many lures to mention...much of the time, it depends on
where you fish. On the Great Lakes, a Hot and Tot made by the Storm
Lure Company is very popular for Walleye and Pike.

Hope this helps and hopefully you can post some more particulars of
where you may be visiting so others can post what works where they are.

Cheers,
Pup

Hi Pup

This is a good start thanks.

I am really open to suggestions about where I should visit - I can then
work out a plan of where to visit.

I use peeler crabs which is a killer bait for flatfish and Bass (I'm
not sure if our bass is the same as yours - I don't think thery are).

What are your favourite species and what tackle / bait do you use to go
after them?

Thanks again

Kevin

Flatfish? Is that in the flounder/halibut family? If you pier-fish the
Eastern seaboard, a good bait for them is just plain old minnows and
jigs for lures (White Jigs my personal preference). Not sure for the
halibut on the west coast though. Hopefully some others will chime in
with their styles.
If you have any picture links to the UK Bass you speak of, please post
a link so we can compare bass from across the continents.

Cheers,
Pup

Hi Kevin,

You should check out northern Canada for great fresh water fishing.
Especially northern Saskatchewan. There is an endless amount of remote
lakes all with little to no fishing pressure. I have fished at places
out of Stony Rapids and had excellent fishing. You could check out
www.campgrayling.ca which is close to Stony Rapids and has a dozen or
more flyout lakes. The site has a lot of detail but has not yet
updated there pictures from last year. They have some fishing shows
that have aired on American TV. I believe Joey Mines goes fishing
there every year. Sometime around the end of July. You could also
check out www.joeymines.com. Maybe you could get a DVD from him with
the shows he makes on North American fishing.

In Norhtern Saskatchewan fishing is good anytime between June and
September (depending on the species you want, ie lake trout are better
in September). Lots of large northern pike. They are like fresh water
sharks. I also really enjoy fishing for Arctic Grayling (which are
only found in rivers flowing to the arctic ocean).
Perhaps if you want to do a couple weeks you could even get a
floatplane to fly you to a different lodge each week (based at Stony
Rapids). There is plenty of them up there. Most are all inclusive (ie.
Food, accomodations, guides, etc). Hope this helps you out.

Best of luck and have fun fishing.

Hi - Saskatchewan sounds great.

Presumably you flyfish for the trout? Have you find any pattern of fly
that outfishes the rest? As I said, I aim to be taking some fly fishing
lessons this summer in readyness for next year but shhhhh don't tell my
wife :-)

The Grayling also sound good - I haven't heard of these before - I will
have to research them.

What tackle / tactics do you favour to catch them? Do they run to any
good size?

Thanks for listening!

Kevin