On my bike ride home from work I couldn't help but be taken by the beautiful color of the North Saskatchewan River. It had cleared up and was flowing with a striking hue of aquamarine. The river seemed to have taken on the same laid-back summer attitude that we all enjoy. It was moving along in no particular hurry and everything was happening at a relaxed, peaceful pace. Stopping on the banks for a moment, I peered into the depths. I was now able to see down several feet and with such good visibility I was certain the goldeye would be rising come evening.
Taking a slight detour I went to one of my favorite pools just below the McKinnon Ravine and sure enough, there were dozens of goldeye working the river. These fish love to rise and sip the bugs off the surface. Today they were doing it in mass and there was no doubt that they would still be at it later in the day.
Goldeye are a fun fish to catch. They swim in schools which means where you find one you will find a bunch. Once they find a home pool in the river they will likely be there for the summer until the cool days of fall send them on their downstream migration. The fishing during these warm summer months is as good as it gets, particularly with flies.
There are a number of ways to catch goldeye. They are very aggressive fish that will eat a minnow, a spoon, a worm, a plug, a spinner and, of course, a fly. The real trick to goldeye fishing is determining the right depth to present your lure. I've caught goldeye down deep but the most fun will be had with a presentation on or near the surface. A spinner is a good choice, but my preferred method is to chuck a small bobber and a fly. I attach the bobber a few feet up the line with a bead head fly tied at the end. I prefer using a size 10 or 12 bead head pheasant tail nymph, bead head prince nymph or bead head zug bug.
Now for the fun part. You can throw out all the books on flyfishing because goldeye are different. Skip the drag free drift, the perfect presentation and whatnot. Goldeye are suckers for a moving target. I cast the bobber far out into the river and let the current drag it back to shore. There should be a 'V' wake from the bobber as it's pulled across the surface. The bead head fly will be trailing behind just inches under the surface and trust me, there will plenty of goldeye rising up to meet it. Just a word of caution, hook sets should be gentle, as the drag of the current on the line will help set the hook and goldeye have a tendency to hammer the bobber. A hard hook set at those times turns the bobber and fly into a missile coming straight for you.
Now back to the river and catching those fish. I made plans to bring Angela, my baby daughter down for the following evening. We hiked down the bike path to the trail that led us to the pool. Right on cue fish were rising everywhere. I only brought one rig and on the second cast a goldeye took the fly. I held the rod as Angela reeled and soon a goldeye was splashing on the surface much to her delight. We brought the fish close and she held it for a photo. We sent it back and promptly caught another. We lost a couple more and then caught a third. It had only been about half an hour but it was time to call it a night. The fish were still rising but Angela was fading fast. It was time to get her home.
As I said, goldeye are great fun to catch and are found in many of our prairie rivers. If you haven't tried it yet I strongly recommend you do so. You won't regret it. Much like summer days, goldeye fishing is all about having fun and relaxing.
Good Luck!