steeliestalker – Fly Fish Ontario

Finding Your Way

September 8, 2011 steeliestalker

Story By Tim Smyth It was at a family gathering almost twenty years ago when a distant cousin of mine tipped me off on a nearby creek that was producing 16 inch brook Trout. This man was known to be a bit of a prankster and for all I knew he was sending me to a creek chub haven on a wild goose chase. Still, there was a glint of sincerity in his eyes. 16 inch brook Trout are no joking matter after all. Two evenings later I made the short trip to this stream with a friend of mine. A short distance from the road the current slowed and the small creek seemed to lack any real trout like

Mike Verhoef Maitland River Steelhead Guide

September 8, 2011 steeliestalker

Story by Tim Smyth Photos by Mike Verhoef Many of us who have taken to the sport of fly fishing in Ontario have probably also become well aware of some of the guides to our craft that service our waters. One of the first that came to my attention, partly because he specializes on one of my favourite rivers, is Mike Verhoef. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to meet with Mike on the Maitland itself, for a brief meet and greet with some fishing thrown in for fun. I planned to meet Mike on the river at a creek mouth we both knew. As I approached from downstream, I found Mike already engaged with a fly-fisherman clearly

Fly Fishing the Maitland River

September 30, 2010 steeliestalker

I can still remember the excitement rising up alongside the morning sun as I pedaled my homemade bicycle, affectionately nicknamed “the swampcycle”, over the loose gravel concession road to where it ended at the Maitland River for a morning fish. In the last couple of decades I’ve been blessed enough to have found many rivers throughout Ontario that have captured a piece of my heart, but the Maitland will always be weighted with significance. The Maitland River was my introduction to river fishing; a bi-weekly escape for a city boy longing to be a country boy. The Maitland River is a large & complex meandering river that changes faces a number of times throughout its entirety. From the almost stagnant

Fly fishing the Bayfield River

May 19, 2010 steeliestalker

This is one of southern Ontario’s finest steelhead streams. It is relatively small, and rather inviting to just about any angler who enjoys a wilderness getaway in the heart of southern Ontario. Located on Ontario’s “West Coast,” The Bayfield River is a small to medium sized river. It flows from just south of the town of Seaforth, then through Vanastra and Clinton before emptying into Lake Huron at the town of, you guessed it, Bayfield. Migratory and Resident Fish Populations The Bayfield River receives a healthy run of migratory Rainbow Trout in the spring and fall, with the majority of them being wild. In the fall, look for Chinook Salmon and Coho Salmon as well. Summer time can provide the