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.