Naoto Aoki Occupation: CFF Writer & Photographer Hometown: Peterborough, Ontario Fly fishing since: Age of 10! Bio: Naoto Aoki is a passionate fly fisher who's travels have taken him throughout over 20 countries in pursuit of his angling dreams.  Naoto's skill and experience must be seen to be believed. Naoto has an eye for photography and is a co-host on Fly Max Films.

Posted on December 11th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki

Every so often you hit a day on the river that is almost too good to believe... this fall has had a few of those! Not only has there been a ton of fish in the rivers, but there's been some true crankers in as well!



Last week I was walking along one of my favorite tribs when I came to a deep slow moving pool with half a dozen massive steelhead in it. The water was low and clear though and they were extremely picky! Drift after drift, fly after fly went by with refusal after refusal. Finally I decided to go to the extreme and bounce a large white streamer along the bottom to see what happens. The biggest steelhead I have seen came over and crushed it! 15 minutes later after running up and down the river, I had the fish within arms length of me when the hooked pulled out! There was nothing I could do but watch as it slowly swam back and barried itself amongst a log jam. It was heartbreaking!!



It's been a great fall to take out some first time steelheaders as well. Since there's been so many fish in and they've been so eager to hit, it's made for some very memorable days on the water. Even a couple friends who had never fly fished before were hooking into half a dozen fish in an afternoon.

The best day this fall though was a Saturday just after a big rain fall... my brother Yoshi and I hit the river around 9 am and by 4 that afternoon we had landed too many fish to even count! They were chasing flies right to our feet. It didn't even matter what we used, they were eating it! Most of the fish we caught were in the 5 to 8 pound class but we managed to land a few in the mid teens as well!
I can't wait for this weather to warm up a bit so I can get back on the water! Remember, long leaders, light tippets and small flies is the ticket for the upcoming winter steelheading season. See you on the river!
 

Posted on September 28th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki



Each fall the Lake Ontario tributaries come to life, filling up with chinook and coho salmon, steelhead and migratory brown trout. It’s an incredible fishery that I look forward to all year! Yea, the salmon are fun to catch, but it’s really not what I’m looking for.

Yoshi and I have also spent a bit of time together searching out browns this fall as well! The first afternoon after a light rainfall, we walked down to the river… I went to the top of the pool and he went to the bottom, then he looked up at me and grinned. A few minutes later there were huge head shakes on the surface, and the water was glowing with orange. He landed an 18 pound male brown! Next time, I’m sending him to the top of the pool haha!

Well once again it’s raining and all this talking about brown trout has me itching to get out there! Stay tuned for more… it’s going to be a great fall!
 

Bassin' the Saugeen
Posted on September 22nd, 2009 by Naoto Aoki



For years now, I've been hearing about the Saugeen River in Ontario, and the world class steelheading it offers! Finally I had a chance to fish it… but for bass?!
I was fishing with Mike Verhoef, owner and operator of Fly Fitters guiding service. We dropped the drift boat in and Mike handed me over a large white streamer. As I initially started loading up my rod, I heard a snap… before I even took one cast, my favourite rod had one extra piece to it; it was not the start I was looking for!
The day actually started off slow. Water temperatures had dropped with the cool nights, and the fish were unresponsive. Finally, a couple hours into the drift, I made a long cast in behind a giant bolder and got crushed! A huge bronzeback came flying out of the water. That’s what we were looking for! Mike told us the river isn’t known for huge quantities, but more for the quality! Almost every fish we hooked pushed 2 to 4 pounds! Now for sure, those of you who fish Erie or St Claire, etc are thinking “no big deal”, but this isn’t a huge lake, this is a river, a river with an incredible bass fishery!



The following day we decided to focus our attention more on musky. With my 10 weight loaded, I threw massive flies all day long, with little reward. I did raise a couple fish in the morning, but that was it… until… late in the afternoon on a strip and pause retrieve, I got socked! Possibly the biggest musky I had hooked on the fly hammered me. I got in two solid strip sets and put a huge amount of pressure on it! Apparently too much as it snapped my line with ease! There were no knots or knicks in my line. I just put too much pressure on it and I lost.

By the end of that day, my arm wanted to fall off! There really is nothing in fly fishing more exhausting than casting huge flies to musky all day! Don’t believe me? Try it! Hahaha

It’s raining! All I can think about is silver! Time to hit the river!
 

Iceland
Posted on September 1st, 2009 by Naoto Aoki
 


Everyone knows that Atlantic Salmon are one of the hardest fish to catch on a fly! People have gone a week or more without even raising a single fish!

This is NOT how it is on the Midfjardará River in Iceland!

Yoshi, April, Tim and I spent two weeks filming for Fly Nation - A Fly Max production which will air in 2010. None of us could have imagined the footage we would get! On my 3rd cast of the trip, I hooked up, and things never slowed down for a second. Our best night, Yoshi and I stayed in one pool, landing 30 Atlantics, and losing half a dozen each, almost all on dry flies! Something like that you have to see to believe! If someone told me that, I'd look at them like they were crazy! Yet in Iceland, nights like this, although don't occur on a regular basis, do happen!



I couldn't even begin to tell you how many fish we caught over the two week period! Not only did we catch Salmon, but we caught a few Arctic Char as well! The funny thing was, by the end of the two weeks, we were pulling our flies away from rising Salmon, in order to have a better shot of hooking into a Char! People thought we had lost it all together! haha

The Midfjardará is one of the most incredible rivers I have ever fished in my life! Not only that, but the lodge is beautiful and the owner, Rabbi, along with his staff truly know how to treat their guests! All I can do is hope that one day I'm able to visit them all again!



For now, its on to steelhead and browns! It's early, but the fish are running! See you on the river!


Ontario's Elusive Aurora Trout
Posted on August 4th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki



There are few countries in the world that offer the diversity in angling opportunities that Canada does, and although there are countless species of fish, few have had the same allure as the Aurora Trout.

I have been fortunate enough to have caught most of the trout/salmon/char in this country; however, the Auroras have always managed to elude me!

In collaboration with Fly Max Films, I decided there'd be no excuses... this was the year!

Yoshi and I set up camp the night before season opened, ensuring that we'd be the first on the lake. And, just like we had planned, with the crack of daylight we were on the water. Through all of our research, one fact kept on coming up... the fish would be deep and on the bottom! We rigged up with heavy sinking lines and weighted flies and started dredging the mud.



Six hours into the day we still had not seen a fish, until there was a small and subtle twitch in my line. I set hook and what was once a dream, suddenly became reality! I had swore that Tiger Trout were pound for pound the strongest trout... not any more! Auroras can rip line! With my heart pounding and an outstretched arm, I guided the char into my net! Finally, I had my Aurora!

Over the next two days we managed to fool three more fish, landing them all... two a piece. I could not imagine a better two days!

Arctic Char and Spar are all that are left on the elusive list, but for now I'm more than content with my two Auroras!


More Muskie Action!
Posted on June 18th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki

It felt like forever since I had last been on the water. Two weeks is far too long to go without fishing, so when the alarm went off early Friday morning, I couldn't get out of bed fast enough!

Unlike the last time I was out, things just got better! It seemed no mater what we did, we were hooking into fish! Most of the fish were in the 5 to 8 pound range, nothing huge, but respectable... until out of the deep weeds, a cranker came up and inhaled a white streamer pattern! I handed the rod over to Kim just as the fish flew out of the water! She handled it like a season pro, even bowing to it every time it jumped, and before long we had it along side the boat. That was the fish we were looking for! 7 muskie hooked and 5 landed in no time at all, not to mention all the largies we caught.



It was a perfect way to get back into the swing of things! I can't wait to get back on the water!


Muskie Action
Posted on June 18th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki

Hundreds of people head to the upper Grand each spring hoping to hook into one of the river's legendary monster browns!, and I was no different! The last time I was there, I had not one, but TWO low 20 inch browns rising in front of me. No matter what I tried, I just couldn't fool them! I was back for revenge!

The morning started out slowly! Nothing but this year's stockers were rising, and I had no interest in playing around with those. I sat and watched my favorite section of water, just waiting for that one fish I was looking for to show itself! Finally after a little over an hour, I saw what I was looking for... a big fish had started rising. He was taking crane flies, so that was my obviously fly of choice.

On two different casts, he inched his way towards the perfectly presented fly, and each time he refused. Apparently it was so perfect after all! If he wasn't willing to come up, I'd have to go down. I tied on a green caddis pupa, and on the first cast, he hammered it! Waiting all morning had paid off and a 21 inch brown was the reward! It was a perfect day on the water and I now cannot wait until my next trip to the Grand!


The Gar Have Started!
Posted on May 20th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki

All I've heard for the past few weeks is " I need to catch a gar". Ever since Kim saw a picture of one of these prehistoric fish, she's been obsessed, as most of us are who have caught one!

Saturday was cold, overcast and a little windy, but we headed out to the Moira anyways. My brother Yoshi was there a few minutes before us and called me on my cell: "there's gar everywhere!". He was right - there were definitely a ton of gar, but the cold weather had shut them down.
 
Cast after cast went by them without a response. Then a bit of luck, the sun broke through and the gar came to life! We hooked fish after fish on streamers! The key to hooking up is a strong strip set, but even still, their mouths are solid bone and without a perfectly placed hook, they are next to impossible to land once they're rolling on the surface! We lost a lot of fish. Even still, we landed close to 20, with the biggest pushing 46 inches, and yes, Kim got her gar! Now all I'm hearing is "I need to catch a muskie!" ... haha!
 
New Freshwater Drum Tippet Class Record?
Posted on May 7th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki



Bass fisherman all over this part of the world know "sheephead" as a pain in the @#$ while they're fishing tournaments. Maybe this is how they got their bad name, but for Yoshi and I, they have always been one of our favourite fish to target! This time of year, these huge fish stage along the river's edge presenting great opportunities for anglers. And although these fish are easy to spot, to take one on the fly is extremely challenging. They spook without reason and can be the most frustrating fish you'll ever pursue.

For two days we had countless opportunities at these freshwater drum, but were only able to hook up with six! With about an hour of daylight left on our second day, Yoshi hooked up with a giant! When he finally landed it, it was pretty obvious... he had just set a new tippet class world record! Although it crushed the old record, we couldn't justify keeping the fish, so we took records of all the exact measurements and its weight and released it. What a way to end the day!



Fortunately, all of the action was captured on video and will be featured on the upcoming "Fly Nation" TV series!
 

The Canadian Fly Fishing Forum!
Posted on April 24th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki

Once again, the Canadian Fly Fishing Forum was a huge success! As always, it was nice to see so many familiar faces who share the passion for our sport! With trout opener just around the corner, everyone was buzzing with excitement and anticipation!

I still have no idea what I'm going to do this weekend! Whether to battle the crowds for some silver, or head north for a some beautiful Ontario brookies!? Either way, it'll be nice to rip out line and get bent! Tight Lines!


March Break!
Posted on March 25th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki

March break means one thing... the Toronto Sportsman Show. Once again The Canadian Fly Fisher sponsored the fly fishing casting lanes, which gathered huge crowds of both young and old! Bill Spicer, John Valk and Mike Verhoef gave great seminars and the rest of us helped out where we could!



Getting the kids on stage and putting a fly rod in their hands for the first time is a blast! The look on their faces when they finally get it, is priceless! Actually, regardless of age, it's always a ton of fun to help out an enthusiast, whether they're completely new to the sport or just looking to fine tune their casting stroke.

On the Saturday night of the Show, Nick Pujic hosted the Drake Fly Fishing Film Tour! It was nice to see so many people who love our sport all gathered watching some very entertaining short films from all over the world! Afterwards, most of us gathered across the road for drinks... It was a great night for fly fishing in Ontario!

If you missed it this time, you still have one more chance. It's coming to Burlington on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at the Laurie Branch auditorium. See you there!
 

A Scientific Bone Fishing Experience in Eleuthra!
Posted on March 9th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki
 


The past 5 days have been an absolute blast! Tim Myers (Fly Max Films) and I headed for the beautiful island of Eleuthra, Bahamas in a quest for bonefish. We were fishing with Dave Petersen and Andy Danlychuk, founders of Core Angling, and leaders in bonefish research & conservation! This was unlike any other trip I've ever been on; the information Dave and Andy passed on to us about fish handling and air exposure to fish was fascinating!

Even with extremely windy conditions, we were able to spot huge tailing bones! I even had lemon sharks following flies, with one short strike! The highlight of the trip was definitely the last morning when I hooked up with a 6 pound bone. It screamed out over 200 yards of line! I had shots at a few fish that were much bigger, but just couldn't fool them!



Watch for the upcoming Core Angling Eleuthra Fly Max Films episode and keep your eyes open in upcoming CFF issues for more information on the cutting edge research from Core Angling.

Steelhead are on the radar this week if the rivers subside after this last big rain.
 

The Toronto Spring Fishing & Boat Show 2009!
Posted on February 20th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki
 
 
This past weekend Nick Pujic and I were at the Toronto Spring Fishing and Boat show in Missisauga. We had a great turn out. Puj rocked the Megatank with a great introduction to fly fishing seminar. Throwing a 14 inch streamer with very little room to cast and a huge audience... hahaha, he's much braver than I am! It went really well though!

It was also great to see the Fish City guys at their first show! Taro and Chonger have a great thing going, and I can't wait to see what happens this summer when Fly Max meets Fish City! Make sure you stay tuned for that!



I think for the first time in months, I'm going to head out steelheading around home tomorrow. The rivers are looking great and after all the rain last week, there has to be a few fresh chromers around! See ya on the river!


Winter Steelheading!
Posted on February 10th, 2009 by Naoto Aoki
 

 
The past few weeks have been frustrating! With all my local rivers being locked up with ice, I’ve been unable to fish! My brother Yoshi and I just couldn’t take it anymore so we decided to make the drive down to the Niagara to fish with Paul Castellano of Cast Adventures.

The sun was shining, the river was a beautiful steelhead green… it was nice to be back on the water! I set up a number 8 Sage XP with a 350 grain integrated sink tip, and a pink and white clouser for a fly, hoping for a good minnow bite! The morning started out slow, we tried dead drifting, swinging and slow retrieves without much luck. It was apparent the minnow bite was not happening!
Within a few minutes of switching over to an egg pattern, I was hooked up. I did end up losing that fish, but it didn’t matter, we were on to them. We ended up landing 10 fish that day and losing a few more as well! It was a great fix for the wintertime blues!

Until the rivers open up, I’ll be stuck at the tying bench! I suppose if you can’t fish, it’s the next best thing!