2009 is not going to go down as a bumper year. In fact it was a weird year all over Canada, and at times people were calling me from all over the country asking what was going on. In many areas good Canadian carp fisherman had their worst ever year. Thankfully it was not that bad at Long Sault and in fact I picked up a lot of extra business from Canadians driving up to me for a few days to catch some fish. As always the following report ONLY counts the guys spending a week or more with me so excludes short stays and local anglers catches.

SO TO THE TALE OF THE TAPE;

• 160 Anglers fished with us for a week or more( down from 180 last year)
• Only 12.5% got 100 or more carp in a week
• 68% got over 50 carp which is up slightly on last year and is our measure of a reasonable week
• 51% got one or more 30`s in their week. What is interesting though is many of these had 5 or more. When the fishing was good it was fantastic.
• Pretty much every angler got big 20`s and of course yet again no one has blanked.
• The biggest carp by a holiday maker was Darren’s 40.04. In total we had 4 over 40 this year the biggest was 44 but that was a guy on a short trip.

My memory of the year was that it was tough, but then going through the fish reports I got all excited as I turned page after page of staggering results. Bill and Darren with over 200 fish between them in a week and 12x 30`s, Geezers 133 fish with 5x 30`s. Marks 200 plus fish in a fortnight etc, etc. During this period almost every Angler was having it off. In one week alone we had 1242 fish AND the week before that was much better but my records are not exact for that week (too many people writing “loads” under number of fish caught etc)

Like last year the July / August period was slow in terms of customers and the fishing was great…..Bloody typical.

We had one awful period in late May and a terrible end to the season, from mid September onwards we struggled. The September problem was a one off; they dropped the water level by 4 feet because two ships went aground below the Dam. Late September is usually fantastic and sods law now in November it is fishing well again.
The May week was just a blip due to weather which can happen any time. But the rest of the time fishing was great and at times better than I have ever known it.

We fish 26 weeks per year. Normally we get 2 possibly 3 slow weeks over that period. This year we had 6 bad weeks, and statistically this screws up the figures. If I redid the percentages without these weeks it would be incredible.

Of course I am ever the optimist !!! Actually not because I want to sell holidays, but because after 10 years of fishing out here I am amazed when things do not go well. I expect my guys to catch well every time they put a bait out. The optimist in me can see only one reason why the fishing has been a bit off. We are right at the end of the Canadian weed cycle. I think regulars and locals would have noticed the very low weed growth this year. This means next year will be a bumper crop again. Weed is vital out here, for oxygen and more importantly holding areas for nomadic fish. Weed does cause some problems but very few. I can clear a swim in three days simply by feeding it and letting the carp do their thing. Watch the catch rate zoom up next year. We will then have three years of fantastic sport. (YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST)

I would also like to say one more thing. Everything is relative. A bad week out here is 30 fish. Everyone is in mint condition, fights like you will never believe and you will catch them during the day in beautiful surroundings. If you did that in France you would think it was Christmas!!!
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