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.

Another one for the 4 wt. "giant killer"...

As a dyed-in-the-wool blue collar fisherman who tries to fish Monday to Friday, I generally leave the weekend waters to those who help to keep the economy running. Today I got that unbearable itch again and just had to throw the 4 wt in the trunk and head off to fish my home waters. This generally means fishing one of a half dozen drainages that flow into the Assiniboine between Headingley and St. Eustache, at least until dropping water levels allow me to fly fish the main channel.

16.25" goldeye

Today I was after goldeye and the fish did not disappoint me. I only fished a few hours but managed a number of them; biggest was a really nice goldeye just over 16 inches.

Of course with a 4 wt. larger carp were out of the question and although I saw the odd one I deliberately avoided them. That is until I saw THE GIANT. A carp I estimated to be around 34 to 36 inches long cruised to within reach of my fly and before I could mentally process this picture instinct prevailed and a short cast plopped the spider down a few inches from it's nose. The take was instantaneous, but a wild head shake coupled with a wilder hook set left the carp to swim away and ponder what was hanging from his nose. If only I had been fishing my 8 wt.

27 inch carp on a 4 wt. fly rod

The next carp that swam by got the same treatment except this time I was prepared. A lighter hook set and a patient fight that lasted the better part of 15 minutes resulted in a nice 27 inch carp coming to net. So now this diminutive but powerful 4 wt. has not only a 32" channel cat to it's credit but also a 27" carp. Not bad for a pipsqueak! Not what I would necessarily recommend as the proper rod to land carp but hey, might as well go with what works. I also landed a few small pike and a nicely coloured shorthead red horse sucker.