2018-2019 Year In Review (Best Of)

Best of compilations are fun, right? With the 2018/19 general fishing season now closed I’ve sat down and reflected on the type of season it was and came up with quite a few highlights. While overall numbers of fish caught were down for me, the quality of fish was much better and some special fish were caught, well special to me at least. Here’s my personal top 5 fish from the past season.

5 – The Corstiphine Chunk.

April 20^th was an epic day on the ice for me. It’s not very often one catches 5 master angler qualifying trout in two hours. Corstiphine lake is one of the fastest emerging trophy rainbow trout fisheries in the province, one that’s a mere 15 minutes away from my house. I had a blast last winter and spring exploring this new fishery. While the fishing was generally consistent, trophy sized trout were still only being landed at one or two per session. That was until this day. Right from the get go I was on the fish and didn’t stop catching until it was time for me to leave around lunch. The highlight was this amazing gem. A fat 22.5 inch fish that fought harder then most. Quick grip and grins were done, then she was released. I caught bigger bows this past season, but none were even close to as impressive as this one. Lure used – White one inch tube jig dabbed with Mikes Lunker Lotion Anise flavor. (Hot tip – This lake showed signs of winterkill this past spring, but I can assure everyone that there’s still good numbers of large bows that made it)

4 – Solo Spinner Steelhead

I know, this fish doesn’t come from Manitoba. But I feel it’s worthy of this list. Exploring and learning about steelhead fishing was a huge part of my life. I was fortunate enough to catch quite a few in my first winter of serious fishing for these west coast beauts. My time in Oregon was coming to an end as I snuck one final session in. The Sandy River was blown out, muddy and way higher then I had ever seen it due to heavy rains the previous week and the beginning snow pack thaw on Mount Hood. Because of the less then perfect conditions the normally packed banks were void of fishermen. It seems many there believe high water means no fish. I knew better and began to attack the margins closest to shore where I knew fish would hold up out of the current. One back eddy showed promise, I kept seeing something chasing what I assume were salmon smolt up tight against the shore. Sneaking up there I pitched a #4 blue fox spinner 20 feet into the river, and cranked the reel handle twice. This is when I was met with a crushing strike that nearly ripped the rod out of my hand. The fight was spectacular, and the fish spent almost as much time in the air as in the water. I forced her to shore, where I saw she was an early summer hatchery steelhead. This meant she was destined for the smoker. Flying light and solo I only had my gopro for pictures, and feel a bit of disappointment that I get any quality images of my personal best steelhead.

3 - The Tale Of Bighead.

Strait up, I love fishing for carp. And I mean legit fishing for carp, not just snagging them for Instagram pictures and calling that good enough. My wife and her brother headed to the Assinboine river tail race below the Shellmouth dam to target these much maligned sport fish. The fishing was fast and furious, with Dawn and Jeffery achieving their specialist in one day. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t remember much about the fish I now call Bighead. Initially it was just another cool looking fish landed that weekend. But the story took a turn later that week when a friend noticed the pictures I had

shared of this fish, and mentioned he was sure had caught her the year before. Digging through images of his catches he soon found his capture of Bighead, and shared them with me. Recapture stories are one of the coolest things about CPR fishing, and I now have one of those stories of my own to share. On a side note, I once again hooked Bighead later that summer on a solo fly fishing trip, but she spit the hook just as I was going to land her. Oh well, maybe I’ll get another shot this summer.

2 - Small Jaws On The Fly

A huge part of open water fishing in 2018 was dedicated to mastering the basics of fly fishing. Over the summer caught enough trout, carp, pike and walleye (blah) to say I did just that. Good friend Melissa Lindsay and I made plans for a multi species day in late august, and I planned on fly fishing the majority of the time. We started the day at Lake Metigoshie having a blast catching sunfish. We then shifted over to Deloraine reservoir to target small mouth bass. I’m not a bass guy at all, simply because opportunity to target them is slim around these parts. But, I figured they’d take to a streamer and would give it a shot. Once on the water I quickly caught a small fish, and met the goal of catching one on the fly. Then Melissa hooked a fish she needed help with while I was false casting, so I let the sinking tip line take the streamer to the bottom as I gave her a hand landing the bass. I picked up my fly rod after helping Melissa, and stripped the fly twice. That’s where the rod just doubled over, and I had something large on. It didn’t fight like a bass, driving to the bottom and not giving an inch. I was wondering if it was a largerish walleye that this body of water had produced at times in the past. But after a tug of war we saw a barn door of a bass at the surface. She slipped into the net, and a new personal best was set. The lighting was perfect for some beautiful photos, and she swam away after the photo shoot. This fish was my personal highlight of the summer, and only surpassed by a special rare catch for our waters here in western Manitoba.

1 – I Can’t See Myself At Work Sturgeon.

Over the last 20 years fisheries here in the province have been stocking a small number of sturgeon fingerlings into the Assinboine river in and around Brandon. These stockings have taken and there’s a decent sturgeon fishery to be found for those inclined to give it a shot. I had explored this bite around 2007-2009 and had a good understanding on when and where. Early fall is one of the key windows to catch a large sturgeon here, but there’s a problem with that. I’m a guide, and I’m often busy right when this bite is taking off. This year I had a small two day break between groups of clients, and I decided to make the most of it to try and catch my first MA sturgeon. I informed my boss of this, and headed south. I arrived at my chosen spot around 3:00 pm and fired a bolt rig tipped with a salted minnow into a current seam that had always held fish back ten years ago. I didn’t have to wait long, a light but consistent ticking strike was met with a sweeping hook set, and a mid 30 inch sturgeon came to my net a few minutes later. I then re-baited and placed another accurate cast right into that seam. Five minutes was all it took for the next strike, and I was met with a dead log feeling at the hookset. This fish was large, I knew it. Anyone who’s caught sturgeon will tell you the fight isn’t explosive, but it’s constant and long. 20 minutes into the battle I had my first glimpse of the fish, and figured it would be a master angler. She tired out enough that I was able to stuff her into my much too small landing net, and a fish that I had wanted for a long time was mine. She taped at 44.5 inches, but I entered her at 43 inches due to my lack of a large bump board. I was buzzing after the photo session and release, and to this day that particular fish is one of my favourite memories.

Like I said, it was quite the season. These where the top five fish for me, but there was plenty more that almost made this list.  I'll share those stories down the road in other posts.