Check out the summary of Norvise Ambassador Mike Corrigan's recent trip to western Manitoba to chase this great species, the Tiger Trout. 

Where I live in the central part of Canada, we are blessed with a seemingly endless number of species that can be caught on a fly. Two years ago I landed 20 different freshwater species locally (to go with an additional 10 saltwater varieties).
Spring 2019 is late in Canada this year, most spawners are still "busy" as I write. The Pike are a few weeks late and the Smallies are still on their nests.  
So, for an early season fix we headed off to the western part of Manitoba for one of my favorite species to target; the beautiful Tiger Trout. Tigers are a sterile hybrid, a cross between a Brook Trout and a Brown Trout. The province of Manitoba introduced Tigers to a lake 10-15 years ago and they have been a favorite for anglers from all over Canada and the USA. As seen in the pictures below. they have a vermiculited camo back and the white tipped fins of the Brookie. In the Fall they go through a mock spawn and get the orange bellies. Tigers grow quickly and reach an incredible 28"; my largest is 24". Tigers are incredible fighters and the best part......they take top water flies!

I fished with a relative newbie on this particular trip, who had never landed a Trout on a fly before. We also entered something called the Bug Chucker Cup; an annual 4 lake tournament based out of the town of Roblin, MB. Back in January 2019 we hatched a plan, during a -40C cold spell, in Winnipeg to enter the fun event. As I mentioned the season was late and we were hoping for the best.......
​
I still use my river boat for the lakes, powered by a 55 Minn Kota. The flat bottom and spacious interior make for a comfortable day. 

We fished 4 different lakes on the trip, with the Tigers being our main focus. On day one my partner got into his first fish and literally had his new Orvis rod almost ripped from his hands. These are very strong and very aggressive fish. We both missed fish that day, and the Tigers won round #1.
We fished a lake nearby to our hotel the next morning before setting out to try round #2 with the Tigers. (Below are a few shots of the Rainbow and Brown Trout typical of the other lakes).

​Arriving at the Tiger Trout launch at 6 pm we saw a still water fishing school just finishing up. After comparing notes, we targeted a portion of the lake the group had not tried. This time of year the sun is up until 10 or 11 pm, so we had lots of daylight ahead of us. Tigers, with their Brown trout genes, become less wary as the sun gets lower in the sky. They will hit most anything that is thrown within the ring of their rise; so that was to be the game. Find a rise, find a feeding fish! We both had my Foam Mouse on (Topo Gigio, for those old enough to remember the Ed Sullivan show). You can see the evidence in the corner of the Tigers mouth. We landed several fish to 19".

So, the day came for the tournament.  Our first venue would be an afternoon session, on a Brown Trout lake which we had pre fished the day before and had caught 6 fish to 20". This day, however, we would be shut out! The second venue saw us back at the Tiger lake for the evening session, which was perfect. Without hesitation we tied on Topo Gigio! My partner landed an 18" Tiger and I a 22" beauty. After day #1 we were near, or at the top, of the leader board!
​
Day #2 was spent on two Rainbow/Brown Trout lakes and we ended up doing a lot of casting but no catching. The fish were deep because of the cooler waters. As a note, earlier in our pre fishing time period we woke up to ice in my boat, after an evening rain storm, to start one of the days.......ice in late May!
The post tournament banquet and social was first class. A total of 13 teams were entered in the tournament and we finished out of the top 3, but my partner did get his casting tuned up and he did land fish, so all in all a very successful outing. Thanks to Roger for his camera work!
So all in all we came, we saw, and we tamed the Tigers. Now we need some heat to get the Muskies to get their spawning done. It will be season opener in a week. On to the next species......


Mike Corrigan

What a great story and even better pictures! Thank you Mike for sharing this with us. Till next time...

                                                                                                                                      Tight Lines - Tim 

This week I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to one of our Norvise ambassadors and all around great guy Jacob Nixon. Jacob is becoming a staple in the fly fishing community in and around the Richmond Virginia area. Aside from earning a PHD in Otology (the study of the anatomy and diseases of the ear)  Jacob was instrumental in starting RVA Bugs and Brews, a monthly gathering of local fly tiers and gear heads at Legends Brewing Company located in down town Richmond. These gatherings are really starting to attract a crowd each month, I am hopeful to attend one of these meetings very soon. Another cool thing he has done is started the "Geek on the Water" You Tube Channel. I have spent some time here recently and the content he is putting up is fantastic. Many Fly Fishers, especially salt water fishers, will appreciate the $20.00 dollar stripping basket video. Below are 3 short videos (full length versions are available on the channel) of three things that very much interest me. Check em out.  

I LOVE chasing wild Brook Trout on the fly. There is just something simple and elegant about a small stream set up, hip waders and a small box of dry flies. What wild Brookies lack in size (a typical fish is less than 7" long) they more than make up for in beauty. If you have never spent a day on a Brookie stream make sure you put it in your plans soon, you will be glad you did! 

As many of you already know chasing Shad on the fly is one of my favorite things to do. We are fortunate to receive 2 prolific Shad runs in my area of Northern Delaware each spring. You may have seen my presentation "Shad Fishing 101" at one of the local clubs or at the "Fly Fishing Show" in Lancaster or Somerset. You may have even purchased some of my Shad patterns at one of the fly shops in your area. As good as the Shad fishing in Delaware is the Richmond, VA area may be the Shad Capitol of the USA! Below is a short of fly fishing for Shad on the James River.  

The Northern Snakehead is probably one of the most mis-understood fish on the planet in my opinion. Years ago you would hear horror stories of these fish decimating ponds and drainage areas and moving on to the next. "They are an invasive species kill everyone you catch" etc. etc. While I am no biologist and while there may be some truth to some of the statements of the past I do know a few things. 1) Largemouth Bass and Brown trout were once consider "invasive species". That seemed to work out pretty well...2) Snakeheads are one of the coolest looking fish that swim, and 3) any fish with teeth that will readily take a fly has my attention. While I have yet to catch one (Jacob, maybe you can help with this) I really want to! Check the video below to see one of the coolest fish you can chase on the fly!   

As you can see Jacob is the real deal and we are proud to have him on our ambassador staff. Jacob has a goal to reach 1000 subscribers on his You Tube channel by the end of the year. Lets help him out and subscribe to his channel, the information is sound, the videos are great and you will definitely learn a thing or two. Check out Geek on the Water. Till next time...

                                                                                                                                       Tight Lines - Tim 

One of our Norvise ambassadors recently got some ink in a well publicized magazine. Read on to learn about what the author touts as the brightest young fly tier to hail from the "Old Dominion" state. 

Many of you have heard us talk about Braden Miller. Braden is one of our Norvise ambassadors, a fantastic fly tier, great fly fisherman and all around just a quality human being. These things probably won't surprise you as anyone that has ascended to ambassador level of three major manufactures with in the industry (Braden is a TFO and Fair Flies ambassador as well)  would naturally possess these talents. What you may find surprising is his age, Braden has accomplished this at the ripe old age of 13! That's correct, Braden just became a teenager less than a year ago. We here at Norvise are proud of Braden. Proud of what he has accomplished, proud to have him as an ambassador, and most importantly, proud to call he (and all of his family) friend. Check out the article and give him a follow on Instagram and Facebook. He is a great follow.  

​They didn't make it into the article, but below are the pictures of Braden's Musky taken by photographer extraordinaire Casey Miller. Now, here is where I must mention Braden's parents Casey and Will. Now, I personally don't know too many parents, especially mom's, that would sit on the back of a drift boat in December so their son could catch a Musky with his idol. That is exactly what Casey did. Whether they are driving (or flying him) a few hundred to a few thousand miles to do a show, or freezing in the back of a drift boat in December, Casey and Will are totally on board and supporting Braden every step of the way. You really have to admire strong willed, southern parents that have raised their kids (ALL 4 BOYS!) to be respectful young men and support the kids dreams. Casey and Will, your boys are lucky to have you! 

Braden will be at many of the fly fishing and fly tying expo's this season. We will be posting up a schedule as soon as the dates are available. If you are at one of these shows stop out and meet Braden. Spend just a few minutes with this young man and you will quickly realize the authors comments are 100% accurate. The Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Future is in fact very bright in Virginia and Braden is carrying the torch at the head of the line! Till next time...

                                                                                                                  Tight lines - Tim