No new species but a few big fish...

A 24" drum caught two weeks ago

If I keep to my title and intro I suspect that future posts will diminish and slowly dwindle to nothing. I enjoy writing about my fishing so in future I think I'll be more expansive and perhaps include my more note worthy fly fishing adventures. Perhaps I'll even mention (gulp) fish not caught on a fly but I'll leave that decision to a later date.

Last year I was really bitten by the Master Angler bug and have now seriously started to try to advance up the MA list. For those not familiar with the program, The Manitoba Master Angler Program, apparently the oldest of its kind in existence, documents relevant information on all fish over a certain length for various designated species that are caught and registered in Manitoba. This makes it an ideal tool to compare how you're doing compared to other anglers who register fish. I know many people have no interest in registering fish but this is a great tool for those of us who want to engage in more "competitive" fishing. In my mind at least, this is a far better method of retaining those great memories than hanging a dead fish on a rec room wall. The vast majority of fish caught in the spirit of the MA hunt are returned unharmed to the water. If you want to explore the site a bit further you can head over to:

https://anglers.travelmanitoba.com/

So what is the purpose of all this "no new species to report" discussion? Well, I fished three days out of the last week and feel like I've been kissed by the fish fairy each and every one of those days.

Last Wednesday found me on the Whitemud River in my fishing Kayak looking for some freshwater drum to work towards my specialist award for that species. First fish landed that day was a 30" walleye and as it turned out it was my fifth MA in that specie so I now had my walleye specialist.

 Next fish was a drum just over 31" which made it the 17th biggest ever caught in the province. Another three drum the same day rounded out my requirements for specialist award for freshwater drum.

Thursday saw me standing on the banks of Willow Creek wondering why I kept coming here. Several folks fishing there had caught nothing and other options were being discussed when a couple of conservation officers came along to check licenses.  These folks are usually quite friendly and understandably know where the fish are. So off we went to Boundary Creek where I managed to catch six MA white bass; the biggest of which was a chunky 16 1/2" long. Another species specialist award.

Friday (yesterday) wasn't quite as spectacular but I still managed a MA carp; a muscular 30 3/4" long.

These last 7 MA fish were all caught on a fly rod...I can't remember how the first five were caught. Oh yeah, I caught them all right in the corner of the  mouth. :)

First fish on a tenkara rod

My first pike on a tenkara rod

Opening day of the 2014 fishing season found me trying to unravel the intricasies of tenkara fishing on one of my local, temporary flows into the Assiniboine River. I had opted to carry only two types of flies, as recommended by TenkaraBum; killer bugs in various sizes and an elk hair caddis. After about 2 hours of flogging the water using various techniques I came up empty. Despite seeing many pike and a few perch in the water not one could be coaxed into sampling my offerings. I had hoped to perhaps add to my fly caught life list but it was not to be. An unhappy walk back to the car, I returned with my 5 wt and a healthy supply of streamers and commenced to catch 42 pike (yeah, I actually did count them) up to about 14". Some folks would call fish this size "bait" but opening day and this close to home allows me to use the appelation "pike".

A facsimile of the fly used...the actual fly fell victim to a tree

Next day, suitably armed with properly sized streamers for the tenkara rod found me back at the same spot. The first cast brought only a swirl, and the second allowed me to land my first tenkara caught fish... a 14" pike. I fished for an hour or so longer and managed 9 more; the biggest an 18" fish that lent credence to the term "snake". A pencil has a more robust figure than this fish but it was an honest 18" and was caught on my tenkara rod and it did manage to put quite a bend into the rod. I must say that this fish increased my confidence in the rod by a significant amount. It settled into a nice bow as the base of the rod provided the beef to stop the fishes several runs.

All in all, the jury is still out on this tenkara rod. On suitable water it would be a great tool but unfortunately those types of flow are generally to the east or west of this province. On the other hand, it's a lot of fun and doesn't take up much room so can easily come along on any trip where it might just be the key.