10 Favorite Moments of 2012 - #10

Our 2012 season is slightly adjusted from most folks'. We look at the end of the Canadian season as the end of our calendar year as we head to New Zealand in late November - December through late February each year.

There were a lot of great moments this past season - both at home and in NZ.

Let's kick this off at #10

If you haven't been, you ought to go. The Manitoba Parklands. If you've been following this blog, you'll have seen our spring trip to Manitoba. Spring is pretty much as idiot proof fishing as there can be, and from ice out through the end of June, if you know how to hang bugs below bobbers, you are going to catch fish. There's a ton of other ways to catch the big trout of the lakes out that way, and pretty much anyone who spends a few days out that way is going to hook into a big trout.

But for me, the neatest moment - specific moment in time - of that trip was... a tie. I have to say that Amelia's first truly massive rainbow and Andrew's second fish were moments that I'm not going to forget. Neither was sexy or special unto themselves. Honest. We parked beside the highway. We launched - pushing 15 yards off shore and cast back to the shoulder of the highway errrrr... edge of the lake. There it was. Floating line, bobber. 3 or 4 feet to a leech. Wait. Twitch retrieve every minute or two. Wait. Keep it close to the reeds. Wait. DOWN BETTY goes the bobber.  The fights were awesome.

The joy on all our faces was amazing.

Yes, the fish were big. The lakes were empty. Every fish was big, stupid, and fought hard.
The main reason this makes the list of top 10 simply has to do with the fact that this kind of fishery exists anywhere. The fact that the FLIPPR program has worked so well, that folks like Bob Sheedy, Bob Morenski and the Dakota Fly Fishers have been able to get it to where it is - is amazing work for a sheer lack of resources at the outset.

The moment of taking a photo of Andrew literally fighting a 7 pound rainbow beside my van, and AJ holding some 14 or 16 pound beast caught 15 yards from our van parked beside the highway tells you all you need to know. It's special in so much it exists. By no means would I compare the fishing experience to a back country mountain river or stream, and the setting is certainly no Fortress Lake, but for what it is, where it is, is simply stunning. And the best part is that you don't need to hire a guide, know any special method to catch these fish... the local guys camped at Patterson Lake will help you with everything you need to get going. It's meant as a fisherman's fishing destination. Add in a little Googling of how to fish chironomids for the month of June and you're off to the races.

Home Again

Our trip to MB was a great one. Wed eve through Fri eve the weather and fishing was fantastic. However, a front rolled through Friday about 9pm and as the winds picked up and barometer dropped, the fishing tapered off. Saturday, the winds were steady at 35kmh - gusting 55kmh. The fishing was slow around the lake. We managed to land 12 or 14 fish on Tokaryk L, on a day the fish were taking ever so lightly. The short line below the indicators helped in strike detection, but the wave action certainly didn't help. All our takes were within 2 feet of the reeds. Those trolling caught very little, and those fishing sinking lines casting the shoreline caught few. As the evening wore on and winds abated, fish began moving but certainly not with the fervor of days previous. The best part was the drunken 3 in the huge outboard whom had been trolling all day and caught nothing - their luck changed abruptly. We heard them explicitly remark how bad the fishing was as they were about to take out, when one hooked up. Then another, and another. They landed 5 or 6 in 1/2 hr. It was good to see and funny to witness. And they made sure everyone on the lake knew their fortunes had changed.  :)

Back at the hotel, we looked at the weather forecast and knew it was time to head home. From the white lines of wind on the lake all day Saturday, and another front rolling in on Sunday, we packed up and headed home first light Sunday morning. Good thing too. The weather did a nasty turn all the way through Saskatchewan. After the great fishing we'd had, no point in bobbing on a slow lake in that kind of incoming weather!