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. :)