Season finale in the Ducks

All good things must come to an end and the summer fishing season is no different. This year's finale took place in the Duck Mountains area with good friend Cal who wore many hats on this trip from chef's cap to guide toque. First up was a beautiful tiger hen that measured up at a respectful 23 3/4 inches. These fish, although a hybrid of two fall spawners, the brown and brookie, didn't seem to exhibit any spawning behavior and readily took my offerings. Cal took a video of the release with his GoPro and I grabbed a screen shot.

We fished for splake on Laurie Lake for 2 1/2
days but only managed 3 fairly nice fish; Cal caught a 20" and a 21" and I managed a 21" fish only minutes before the rods were to be stowed for the trip back to the launch on our last day on this water. Sometime luck does trump ability. It appears these fish go through a false spawn period for a week or two during which time they are shallow but not necessarily feeding.

Each day we fished, the numbers of splake in the shallows declined until the last day when we only saw a few fish. Fly pattern or colour didn't seem to make much difference as each fish was caught on a totally different fly.




Our last day was spent on West Blue lake, hoping to latch into a large brook trout. The fish are concentrated in small areas where they are going through a false spawn and are not actively feeding. I caught a few on a egg pattern and foul hooked a couple on streamer patterns. I suspect spawn bags would work well but shooting fish in a barrel doesn't really appeal. The largest fish I caught on the egg pattern was a nice 18" male.

Lake trout on a fly

 ...or the tale of two trout. One, my first lake trout on a fly and two, my first master angler lake trout, a 35 1/2" beauty posing in the image to the right. A huge thrill and the biggest lake trout of my life...to date.



Of course with every story of success are blended many that fail to meet expectations, some even emitting the acrid stink of skunk. Tuesday's trip started with me catching only one tiger trout out of Twin Lakes and that one was painfully small. I fished the lake from 9:30 to 1:00 and by then I had had enough. I packed up my gear and headed off to the head of the trail to Black Beaver Lake to meet up with buddy Cal. After a short walk into the lake we launched our float tubes and began casting to the shorelines; but all our presentations were to no avail. Cal announced he had several tugs but I suspect he was only day-dreaming of better days. The walk out was more sober than the trek in but as hard-core fishermen we had experienced this many times before. After libations and a good night's sleep we were off to Gull Lake to see if we could rouse any whitefish but after a couple of hours of inaction we were grateful for the attentions of a few perch. Perhaps "grateful" is too strong a word. Next up was Twin Lake again and the fishing there was sporadic until nightfall, when a number of nice tigers fell to Cal's top-water offering. Again, that magic 20" eluded us both. We had planned to head up to Clearwater Lake that day but the late hour, and lack of any real success on Twin Lake, coerced us back to the cabin to prepare for another onslaught on the tiger population the next day. The liberal libations with the soothing heat of a hot tub prepped us for a good sleep and an optimistic outlook for the next day.



Cal fished top-water while I fished  wet and results were less than stellar. Early on Cal opted to try for
brookies in Persse Lake while I stayed in the hunt for tigers. By 1:30 I had managed 17 tigers, biggest 19.5" and 4 over 18" but none that eclipsed the 20" mark.






Next it was off to Clearwater Lake and the real goal of the trip; a lake trout on the fly. The next
 morning found us in float tubes casting or trolling in the shallow waters off the boy scout camp. And
this time we weren't disappointed. Although the fishing was somewhat slow, the action was exciting and we caught about a dozen; the largest of which was a chunky 28 inches long.

The trout were all caught on 3" streamers that were aggressively attacked. Cal took a video of one of my trout with his GoPro, both above and sub surface. https://youtu.be/dcb--89I9Qo







 

The winds shifted to the north and Clearwater lake became too rough to fish for lake trout so we moved onto Barbe Lake with the hope of catching a nice brook trout or large rainbow. Our success was varied and although we caught a number of rainbows from 20 to 22.5 inches, our largest brook trout came in at 17". None-the-less it was a beautiful fish and the only one in full fall regalia. The dozen or so smaller brookies we caught were still in their somewhat drab summer colours.

Most of the rainbows we caught went into a full aerial fight with several jumping up to 5 times. And all of the larger ones had at least one sizzling run left when they spied the net.

We rounded off the adventure with a side-trip to a local stream that has a brook trout population but were unable to tempt any to take our flies. All in all, a wonderful trip; the kind that leave a lasting impression and provide ample fodder for future day dreams.

Just more of the same...

Went back to my favorite river today, hoping to catch some rock bass but there were none to be found. What I did find were walleye, sauger, pike, crappie, channel cats and many suckers. The channel cat in the picture measured in at an even 30 inches, a new PB on the 2 wt. I have a new understanding , and respect, for this light weight rod. In the past, I've often scoffed at the assertion that light weight rods can land fish usually targeted with 4, 5, or 6 wt rods. But no more.

Rockies and kitties on the 2 wt

 

Went searching for rock bass again today with the 2 wt and managed a few but a lot less than just a few years ago. The meat fishermen have found this location and what was once a phenomenal fishing resource for the catch and release crowd has become just another place to fill up the pail with whatever hits the pickerel rig. I caught a few other species too; some sauger, walleye, carp, pike, drum and channel cat. It was this last species that again caught me unaware. Fishing with a #12 soft hackle, I got a solid hit and about 15 to 20 minutes (more or less) later landed a 28" channel cat. That poor kittie was exhausted and it took a number of minutes to revive her but she eventually gave a strong kick of her tail and swam away. I don't like catching big fish on tiny rods due to the mortality potential but must admit I was grinning after I landed this fish.

Bluegill...a special fish for Manitoba

Went to my favorite river today for some much needed fly fishing time. The dog days usually have me elsewhere and my fishing ends up taking a hit. I loaded up the 2 wt., the theory being to look for some large rock bass but this was one theory that was totally rejected by the river. I had a good warm water day with 6 species caught, including that beautiful little bluegill. Species caught were goldeye, drum, walleye, sauger, crappie and of course bluegill.

Missing from the action were any rock bass...my targeted fish. Despite taking a long look at that walleye, all fish were released. For those not familiar with Manitoba fish, blue gills are at the far northern extent of their range here and only two bodies of water contain them.

Ultralight vs heavyweight

Ethan's first MA goldeye

This story has little to do with fly fishing and falls in the category of "an unexpected fish". I was spending a few hours on the La Salle River with my grand kids, daughter and son-in-law and as usual got there a bit early. And as is usual I pulled out a fly rod, this time a 2 wt and caught a nice drum before they arrived. On arrival, they blanketed the shoreline waters with bobbers and the fly rod was put away.  Several nice fish were caught including 2 MA goldeye caught by Ethan and his dad, Gord. After I untangled a few lines and baited a hook or two interest among the youngsters dwindled and this old guy was given another chance to fish.  With the kids running around, the fly rod would still require too much attention on the back cast so out came the ultralight spinning rod with 4 lb test line and a 1/16 oz tube jig. I had caught many rock bass in this area in previous years and my setup would a perfect way to probe the rocky shorelines for rock bass or crappie. A dozen or so casts produced nothing and I sailed the jig out across the current as far as it would go and slowly started hopping it back.  Suddenly it stopped, acting exactly like it had been snagged, except that after repeated jerks to recover the jig, "the snag" moved over about a foot.  This was not a snag and it was not small. Luckily, the fish didn't panic for the first 10 minutes or so and just swam around the pool while I applied constant, but not very heavy, pressure. A dash for the tail of the pool with its attendant brush and log piles would likely have ended in disaster. By the time the fish realized something bad was happening to it I was able to stop the runs short of the log jam . Also by now everyone else fishing the pool had left to fish elsewhere since this wasn't going to end soon and the fish's erratic runs made fishing in the pool by anyone else impossible. By now I thought I might actually have a chance at landing this fish; possibly a channel cat but also perhaps a carp or even big walleye, pike or drum. The runs became shorter, the load on the diminutive rod less and eventually the fish came to net. My grandson Ethan did a superb job of netting the fish, a 34 inch channel cat. As always, after agreeing to a few pictures, the cat slid back into the depths of the pool to await another lucky fisherman.

A run-in with Walleye Dermal Sarcoma

On weekends, or those lazy days with no fishing plans, I often walk out the back door with my 5 wt. and chest pack to see what the muddy currents will give up this day. Usually a few walleye, an equal number of sauger or the odd pike will respond to my fly. If a caddis hatch is on, the goldeye will be active on the surface and usually once each session I'll get a strike that the 5 wt is not equipped to handle and I'll break it off just before the backing knot leaves the reel. Most often it's a large channel cat, sometimes a carp and hopefully never a sturgeon. Learning I had one of those on would likely break my heart. 

On my last foray to the river I caught a walleye that had a number of unsightly growths that I have since learned is Walleye Dermal Sarcoma (WDS), an affliction limited to walleye populations. It is caused by a virus and is mainly propogated during the spawning season when many fish are in close contact. Apparently the tumours reverse their growth later in the  season and fish often look completely normal again. The fish I caught fought normally and didn't appear negatively affected.

Apparently, these growths do not
affect the edibility of the fish or even it's well-being unless directly impacting it's feeding or breathing by growing on the mouth or gills. Despite learning the growths didn't affect the edibility of the fish, I'm still happy I passed on saving this specimen for the table.

Bugchucker, new hybrid and a few nice trout

Six of us, some old friends and a few new ones, rented a house near Roblin, home of the annual trout competition called the Bugchucker. Twenty four entrants fished four lakes over two days and tallied the length of the best three fish caught in each lake. A bit of snow on the first day driven by uncharacteristic cool winds were buffered  by the warmth of friendly faces and a willingness by most to help others catch more fish. Highlights for me were a 24" rainbow and the event first place trophy for a couple of my housemates, Cal and Randy.
I also caught 3 tiger trout, a first for me and although not really a new species but rather a hybrid but it will be added to my list. Tiger trout are infertile hybrids resulting from a brown trout/ brook trout crossing; a striking and hard fighting combination.

24" rainbow

16" tiger trout...my first

On the way home we stopped at a hot Parklands trout lake and managed 4 MA trout in about 2 hours of fishing. Hard to beat a weekend like that!

2015 season start on McHugh Lake

Had what has become a typical day for me on McHugh Lake; two fish hooked and one landed. The LDR was hooked on a micro leech and the netted fish, a lively 17" brown, took a dragonfly nymph. Three of us, one old friend, a new friend and myself, walked in from the highway with our float tubes. A spin fisherman casting from shore likely matched what all three of us managed on the fly that day. Some days trout respond better to the flash and vibration of a spinner than to the inherent bugginess of the fly.

A nice surprise were the two fish caught by Loris, both over 20". Our guess was they were sparr, a hybrid brook trout x char. According to the stocking records this specie was last stocked in McHugh Lake in 2002, making them about 13 or 14 years old.

Winter confessions...

This blog has been inactive for some time and I'll have to evaluate whether I continue on the fly fishing species gig or move onto just plain fishing stuff. As I grow more mature (do they call that aging?) I find self imposed constraints on my fishing style slowly vanishing. I know of people who disdain the use of sub-surface flies, those who scorn the use of indicators and some who even spurn the curve of the hook, saying it hurts the fish and only the strike counts for pride or a sense of accomplishment. My judgement on the latter would suggest that retiring the fly rod to a basement retreat might be even less intrusive for our quarry. And to those that wish to impose their own personal restrictions onto all other fishers...please don't. Aided by whatever wisdom that sometimes accompanies old age I have decided that, ultimately, a bent rod triumphs over all else, at least in the world of piscatorial pleasures. Accompanying the dissolution of many of my previously held fishing truisms is a confession to enjoying the odd bout with a spinning rod and when conditions dictate...(gasp) bait. Although age has been a factor, another is the purchase of a nice fishing boat after a promise by my wife (and best friend) to fish with me more often in the future. But I still hold fly fishing at the pinnacle of fish fooling everywhere and will continue to spend a large part of my pension on fly tying materials and other assorted paraphernalia. To that end I must make another admission, I have succumbed to the lure of just-one-more-rod...again.

 A real sweetheart, it's a 2 wt Redington CT rod paired with a 2/3 Redington Drift reel and a Hook & Hackle weight forward 2 wt fly line. It has already conquered 4 Texas species, including several worthy members of the trout family. I'm looking forward to it helping add to my list of Manitoba fly caught species in 2015. In the meantime, this diminutive warrior will be offered the opportunity of taming as many fish as it wishes in the coming months, especially rainbows disdainful of its stature.