Hot weather in the nations capital have given us a week of great fishing. The great walleye bite has continued and fly fishing for long nose gar produced a few nice fish this week. Stay hydrated and get out on the water!
It has been a long winter and we are so happy to be out chasing musky on the Rideau and Madawaska River. The Ottawa opens up this Saturday. Looking to cross off musky on your bucket list? Early season is a great time to do that. Fish have not seen baits in months and there is less boat traffic on the water with the kids still in school. Small bucktails, erratic jerkbaits and top water baits are the ticket!
We have limited spots in June left… text or call for more information. 613-606-4075
The belt is here! Special promotion for this season- top 10 catches will be up for the Rising Sun Charters Championship belt. Voting will start in the late fall on our Instagram page… looking forward to fishing with you. All species qualify and the belt will be getting many boat rides and camp visits this year.
It is almost time for gar on the Ottawa River. Now taking pre-bookings! Flyfishing or spinning gear.
Looking to get out and catch some fish with your family? We will be running 2 afternoon / evening trips during July and August at a discounted rate of $250 for 3.5 hours. This is for 3 anglers on the Ottawa river. 1 additional angler can be added for $30. Fish for walleye, sauger, freshwater drum and catfish. All gear provided!
email us for more details!
Super excited to announce that we will be speaking at the 2023 Musky Odyssey in Oshawa, Ontario March, 2023 ! The Odyssey is always a great time to learn about the mighty musky, stock up on new lures and book a trip for the upcoming season. Rising Sun Charters will be donating $50 for each full day musky trip booked in the month of March. Help support musky conservation and have a great time.
Many of us in the north enjoy traveling south at some time during the winter months. Us anglers always think of what’s biting and what to bring. If you head to Florida or the Caribbean islands you can enjoy some great angling from shore if you don’t have time to book a charter. Those traveling with families may want to get up early and enjoy a few hours of their favorite passtime or wait for the kids to go to bed to see what they may catch. These are the two best times to fish!
Walk the beaches with a long rod and reel combo ( you can purchase travel rods that fit right in your suitcase.). Salt water fish are more aggressive and you should use a quick retrieve when covering water. If you pack a small tackle box make sure you include the following:
White and natural color shallow and deep running crank baits.
A few sizes of circle hooks and a small pack of hooks for catching bait.
A few sinkers of different sizes
topwater walk-the-dog style bait
White hair jigs ( 1/4 oz)
plastic fluke style plastics and 3/0 worm hooks
These baits should be able to get you action from a variety of fish from shore. Fish around bridges and at night look for docks with lights. They will hold bait fish and the predators won’t be far behind!
Pack your sunscreen, long sleeve sunshirts and cast away!
Well, winter is at the mid-way point and show season is here. We had a great few days at the Ottawa Boat and Sportsman show. Saturday and Sunday were busy and presentations were packed and retailers were happy. Thanks to all the came to check out my Urban Fishing in Ottawa seminar. It was great to see some familiar faces and talk fishing. Had a great time working at the Zale Outdoors booth representing Livingston Lures. Lots of hype about the new line of baits and we are excited to have them chewed up!
We will be taking bookings for the 2023 season starting March first!
Well, still trying to digest a fantastic fishing trip. My cooking needs some work and I am craving some good old south American cuisine. The treadmill is overheating but its great to be home.
Part 2 will be about the angling we did on the Tecka river.
The Tecka is a smaller river compared to the Corcovado. It is almost a large stream. Even though the river is not wide it does hold many fish. Wading the banks you notice so many great spots to cast… and they all hold fish. This river is a great place for the fly enthusiast to get more technical. Water is smaller, fish are smarter and very spooky. During a morning with low wind, we had to cast 20-30 feet from shore to prevent the trout from spooking. Walking slow and low was key, too much movement sent fish flying to a different pool. We had better success with lighter tippet and smaller flies during the low wind periods.
One incredible phenomenon was the giant grasshopper hatch that was going on during our trip. These high protein snacks were blown into the river and annihilated seconds after hitting the water. This made the fly selection easy- a giant hopper style dry. On each cast a few twitches was all it took for a brown to blown up and inhale the offering.
While brown trout were the most common species, a few rainbow hit the net and I also landed a brookie… three trout species in half an hour was amazing!
Our guides had us changing colors, tippet and fly sizes depending on the wind and cloud cover. What a great team of guides. Thank you so much for showing us the mighty Tecka river which will always hold a big place in my heart.
Corcovado river-
Floating down the Corcovado is one truly unique angling experience. The pristine and often fast moving water will fill your soul, as you try and decide which side of the drift boat give you the best opportunity to get a strike. Dry fly anglers are in seventh heaven, while those willing to toss heavier presentations can be rewarded with large rainbow and brown trout. The river does hold some beautiful brook trout as well, especially in the northern stretch of the river. Large hopper drys such as the always popular Fat Albert or a large flashy weighted streamer ( even a wolly bugger tied with some crystal flash) is all you need for constant action. If the bite gets slow you can add a San Juan worm or small nymph as a dropper.
No matter which way to prefer to cast a fly, the Corcovado river is one truly magical place filled with trout of all sizes and the country side is magical.
What a great season 2022 was and we are already setting up our schedule for next year. We will be speaking at a few Canadian Fishing shows in February and March ( stay tuned for dates and details). Upcoming blogs will include Tips for DIY vacation angling, winter reports and updates from the shows.
Don’t know what to get the angler on your list? We are here to help!
Top 5 gifts for the holidays
5. Maui Jim Sunglasses ( new models available but heck out the Cruzem Polarised Sunglasses | Maui Jim® )
4. Musky Factory Baits Sonix Spinnerbaits Bait Menu | Musky Factory Bait Company (square.site) ( Our favorite pattersn are Rising Sun, Johnny A and Heavy Metal)
3. Simms Fishing products - Look the part while on the water . New Musky trucker looks sweet! Musky Icon Fishing Trucker Hat | Simms Fishing
2. Livingston Lures Titan- Awesome new bait we had the previledge of testing this year. https://www.livingstonlures.com/
1. Give the gift of Fishing! Want to give someone a gift they will never forget… We have half day, Full Day and 3 day vacation packages available with https://www.brookstreethotel.com/
Thank you to everyone that we had the pleasure of fishing with. Anglers from 5 Provinces, 5 states and 3 countries shared a boat, laughs while catching over 14 species of fish from around the region. Can’t wait for the soft water to return. Ice fishing trips will be available in limited numbers for walleye, perch and pike this winter.
Our bookings for next season will begin in March!
Our crazy weather continues! The river was frozen solid last week, but warming trends helped meltaway the ice. Looks like we will be able to fish this weekend! Are you looking at getting out one more time and having a chance at a life of a lifetime? Comfortable conditions and fish that have been gorging all fall… hit us up in you would like a chance to catch one bigger than last weekend’s giant!
www.risingsuncharters.ca
Dr. Landsman has working on fishery studies for more than 15 years, when he asked if I could help him catch and add a radio transmitter to study musky movements, how could I turn that down?
Late fall fishing has picked up, the bite has been great, but the severe cold late fall weather can test any angler’s patience and will. We dropped his car-topper boat and supplies into the Rideau River and began casting to attempt to land a specimen to track. The ideal size was 36” to 40” as our surgery trough was only capable of holding fish up to about 43”. Also Dr. Landsman needs to tag a fish that aren’t too old (big) because the transmitters have a 6-8 year battery life and he wants to ensure that the fish are alive for as long as the batteries are.
Fishing was tough as the NCC were raising water levels to get some extra water in the Canal to make sure the winter skating levels were up to par. We tried a variety of techniques and were able to hook 2 muskies landing a beautiful fat 37.5” specimen.
Sean went to work cutting a small hole and inserting the transmitter and then had to stitch up the small wound. I held the fish in place with special gloves that direct a small amount of electricity into the fish to help keep it calm.
The fish was successfully released back into the Rideau where Carleton University students will learn all about the seasonal behaviors and movements of the mighty muskellunge.
This has got to be one of the craziest falls to date. Record high temperatures had bait fish scrambling and presented some tough fishing for angler across the region. While many were out grabbing some extra vitamin D, the bite was tough and feeding windows were small.
Sunday brought the cold and days of casting in 50 degree water are now gone with temps dropping daily. Some even have snow in the forecast. We will enjoy the last two or so weeks of the season with a large mug of hot coffee and see if we boat a few giants that late November is known for. Have limited spots available but now is the time dreams are made of!
For new anglers to musky angling, the figure 8 is a much talked about topic. Muskies often follow baits and flies and will often hit boatside. Doing a figure 8 ( or an O) is a crucial part to being successful).
Some tips on closing the deal boatside
Consistency is key- Always keep your bait in the water boatside.
0 or 8? Does not matter, which ever one is easier for you.
Don’t stop reeling when you have a follow. I cannot tell you how many times guests have stopped reeling and pointed yelling “Fish!”
Keep your rod low- There are no rules to musky fishing. It is good practice to put your rod tip in the water as your bait approaches and keep the same speed with the lure flowing naturally into your turn.
Slow down on the turn- give the fish some time to be able to turn around and have time to find the bait.
Do not slow down when the lure gets close to the boat. No baitfish will slow down when a fish is chasing them. Sometimes an erratic retrieve will help trigger a strike.
Go Wide! Make a large turn or 8 boatside. Many anglers move the rod back and forth while the lure stays in the same spot. Have a short line and keep your bait moving.
Get good polarized glasses and make sure you are looking behind your bait. Have more then one pair of glasses. Different colored lenses to match the conditions and water color ( New blog coming in the next few weeks about glasses).
Don’t pull up! When you get a fish hitting boatside, keep your rod low when setting the hook to avoid pulling the bait away from the fish.
Always, always figure 8!
Catching muskies require everything to go right. When water temperatures drop, even more attention to details are required to land a lunker. Here are 10 tips to help put more muskies in your boat this fall.
Sharpen your hooks! ( there will be a whole blog post on this in the coming weeks)
Do not keep casting in the same place. Look where you are and cast in different places and hit prime areas from different angles
Always figure 8 or 0… one of the biggest mistakes angles make.
Try different locations at different times. We are creatures of habit but do not fish the same way each time you get out.
Slow down! Slow down your presentations and give fish time to eat.
Mix it up. Have a few anglers casting or trolling? Use different baits to see what they are interested in. What works today may be yesterdays news.
Cover new water and do not fish the same spots daily. Do not create extra pressure in your favorite spots. Learn new water and spread the wealth.
Leave a slow following fish. Sometimes it is hard to leave a fish that follows a bait. Instead of flogging the water to a pulp, hit new areas and return to the spot before dark or when there is a change in weather or wind.
Go Big. Time to break out the biggest baits in your box
PFA! Positive Fishing Attitude! Make sure you stay positive and pay attention. You may only get one bite and you have to be ready
Good fishing to everyone! Still have some prime trophy hunt days available in November
Many new anglers targeting muskie wonder why the lures are so big. The truth is the females put on some pounds to get ready for the spring spawn. Water temperatures are colder and fish won’t chase as much as they do in the warmer months. Easier to eat one big meal than to try and find 3 meals.
This musky was grabbed by a larger musky after it ate a suick half way to the boat. No bait is too big!!!
To all my friends, family and wonderful clients.. Rising Sun Charters would like to wish you and your families all the best this Thanksgiving. Enjoy each other and appreciate each cast.
We give thanks for fish in the net, no birds nests, retrieved snags, great weather, amazing company and successful releases!