Southern Ontario, Niagara outdoors and the 2010 Spring Shows

It has been feeling more like winter in Southern Ontario this year, since the start of the month. The slightly lower avg temps of -4 to -8C have kept snow down though. Niagara had a week long dump of snow due to some continued N - NW winds bringing heavy flurries in off Lake Ontario. The cold coupled with poor water vis has kept me away from steelheading the Niagara River for 2-3weeks! There's a mild spell of +3/4C coming by the end of next week. Provided the water stays at its 3ft vis and green, there should be some good action! The Browns are still around in the river, possibly dropping back now.

The Toronto Boat Show started this week and continues til next weekend.  We'll be in Toronto with Fogh Marine, presenting at the Spring Fishing and Boat Show Feb 12-15.  The unveiling of our 2010 Ontario Kayak Fishing Series, the new Nomad Adventures Brochure and Hobie's '10 fishing kayak line-up plus Fogh Marine's great sailing display.
We'll also be presenting at the Niagara Outdoor Show on April 3/4. 
Hope to see some of you out!

Lake Erie has started to freeze on the N-W end, so it won't be long til the river stays clean for at least a month!  Now just have to contend with cold weather and freezing rod guides.

Good fishing and see you on the river!!

Happy 2010!!

We've been experiencing slightly cooler temps here in Southern Ontario over the past couple weeks.  Hopefully that means Jan/Feb will be warmer, but not very likely.  The Niagara was blown by severe southwest winds again early last week and vis has been around a foot or less and cloudy, ever since.  Here's to hoping Lake Erie starts to freeze soon!

The website is starting to come into form after having a substantial make-over in the past several weeks and Nomad Adventures is finally looking like it has a definite focus or niche in the world of adventure fishing and eco-adventures.  In 2010 we plan to heavily market our Southern Ontario kayak fishing tours, and with a successful inaugural season of steelhead guiding the Niagara River, I intend to build on that business in this new year.  My personal guiding time may be reduced with a new addition to the family this spring, but Ben Vernik, a fishing partner and skilled steelheader will pitch in to ensure all our clients are well taken care of.  Ben also brings with him some Georgian Bay tributary experince for those looking to explore some rural Great Lakes steelheading.

We are planning an ice trip with some folks from the http://www.yakfisher.net/ kayak fishing forum in late Jan/early Feb for some Lake Simcoe, Lake Trout and Whitefish.  It'll be great to get out with some of the crew while we anticipate the spring ice-out to get back in our yaks.

Good fishing and keep those guides ice-free!!

Niagara River Steelheading with Nomad Adventures

I got back at it with my friend Ben this past Sunday, and unlike the previous week, things started out very slowly.  Never saw the float go down until about 4hrs into the trip.  Hooked a decent laker just around the corner from the Glen near the Whirlpool and promptly lost it at shore while trying to remove the hook.  Three drifts later, I hooked into what would have been my PB Brown Trout but got broke off.  Both fish came on pink steelhead jigs.
I moved futher down the Glen to find my partner and switched over to using roe.  Lost two steelies shortly after the hookset and then decided to take a closer look at my hook....  Now 0-5 on my past two Niagara trips and getting very frustrated!  Turns out that the last two fish were lost due a bent tip on my hook!
This isn't the first time losing fish due to weak tips on Raven hooks.  Raven Specialist # 10 was the culprit on this day.

Happy Holidays from Nomad Adventures!

Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy New Year and may all your FWishes come true in 2010!!!

We were at the Niagara Whirpool on Dec 20 for our first crack at steelhead in almost 3 weeks.  The crazy winds and waves from Lake Erie had held us at bay for some time, but now it's full speed ahead.  The day started out fast with a fish in the first half hour, followed by another 2 mins later.  Then that was it, the fish shut down and a cold front came in.

Winter steelhead is now upon us and the Southern Ontario Great Lakes rivers and tributaries are in excellent condition!

We're off for the next couple days, but have plans for the Niagara this weekend and next week.

Take care All!

Been a while, lots to catch up on!

To start things off, I must say it was a very lacklustre Fall Smallmouth season on our favourite rivers.  There was no substantial rain to allow us to run the rivers in kayaks until early December and now we've had large doses of combined snow and rain over the past two weeks.  I was a bit of a nightmare for steelheading to on the river systems that are dependant on Fall rains.  Not to say we didn't still have good Fall fishing.  Quite the opposite actually because we focused our time on the big girl, that being the mighty Niagara River, and she never let us down!  OK, maybe once, at a critical time in October.  That's one trip out of 20 where we never landed fish!
It has now been two full weeks since we were able to get back to the Niagara due to huge gale-forced winds coming across Lake Erie from the S-W and churning up mud at the river mouth.  Environment Canada forecasted 4-6M, yes I said metre waves around the Buffalo area last week, and they did arrive.
The weather is bit chilly right no but things are looking up towards Friday and into the weekend.

The 2010 Nomad Adventures event planning is in full swing and we have several events on tap for this coming year.  These events include a 3 tournament series, a season long bass tourney and several demo days throughout the summer.  These events will be posted at www.nomadac.com , Yakfisher.net and on our Facebook page.  The 3 tourney series will end with an Grand Champion who will walk away with some serious prizes.  There will be an early registration incentive for those wishing to compete in each event and save some cash on entry fee.
Lots more details to follow.

Nomad Adventures will be hosting a Kayak Fishing Clinic at Fogh Marine in February just before the spring shows.  We will also be in the Spring Fishing Show, Niagara Outdoor Show and Toronto Sportsman Show.

Hope to see you out!