Heading up to the Tim river for a fly fishing trip next weekend. I have never been so I'm looking for some info about the conditions and possible popular patterns to use. Any help would be great

Whereabouts on the Tim? From what access point?




Barbara

Hi Dave,

I am not an avid fly fisherman by any stretch, nor I cannot speak for everyone who has taken a fly rod in the park in the spring. I can only tell you that of the numerous times I have tried to spring river fish with my fly rod it has been very difficult for a number of reasons. It has been awhile since I have been on the Tim but I recall the river being quite narrow making it difficult to "cast". The water is too cold to wade, unless you bring waders or neos (extra weight). Fly fishing from a canoe is a challenge, more so if you are dealing with any kind of current and/or wind.

That said, if you are just drifting dry flies down into pools and eddies, you may have success provided you can get to the spots you want. However, hatches will be limited until the water heats up a bit. There will be an abundance of insect lymphs and larvae, which will in turn attract minnows, patterns you might want to try to duplicate with wet flies. In an earlier thread, someone mentioned trolling with a streamer.

Bring an ultralight spinning rod with light line and small spinners just in case conditions (weather, water temp, wind) put a damper on fly fishing. It can be just as fun.

Either way, enjoy the Tim. It has been awhile but I remember my older brother catching the biggest brookie of his life at one of the portages and I also remember having a gas between Shippagew and Longer if you happen to be going that far east.

Coach