Whirlwind through Central Canada

[MuskieBait]

I set a goal a few years ago to catch at least a new species (lifer) in each Canadian provinces and territories. Prior to this trip, I had caught new species in 7 Canadian provinces (BC, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL).

George was going to Saskatoon for his annual geese hunt and offered me an opportunity I couldn't refuse - an opportunity to fish Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In the span of 96 hours, we drove 3200km and fished in 3 provinces (ON, MB and SK).

Fishing overall was excellent, but hunting new species was difficult. Luckily, I did catch a new species from each of MB and SK to check off 2 more provinces!

I don't have a blog post written up yet, but to be honest, we just did a lot of driving with a few hours of fishing here and there. There's not much to write about. So instead, I figure I would just share some pictures here with a bit of commentary.

Day 1, we drove from Sudbury to Thunder Bay. Lake Superior was gorgeous and the stretch between Sault Ste Marie and Kenora was my favourite of the entire drive.





Finally, we arrived at our first fishing location.



Eurasian Ruffe are invasive but they are not as numerous and wide spread as the Round Goby. Small areas of Lake Superior are the only places to consistently find them. Even so, we only caught 3 between the 2 of us.

Eurasian Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua) - Species #632



Day 2, we drove from Thunder Bay straight to Winnipeg and finally arrived at our fishing location.



We were fishing for Goldeye with 2" chunks of worm on 5lb leader about 3' under a float. But big Channel Catfish kept taking out bait. I hooked into a large one that finally wore through the 5lb leader after a 5min fight. Then George hooked into one that we eventually decided to break off because it was taking too long to land. George hooked into another one and I volunteered to bring it in. We had it to shore and the line snapped just as the fish rested in the shallows and it kicked away.

But we were not there for Channel Catfish...we wanted Goldeye. Finally, I caught one...then two more...before George caught one of his own too.

Goldeye (Hiodon alosoides) - Species #633 - Manitoba lifer!



After we caught our targets, we decided to seek some revenge on these Catfish. Plus, there was a good chance I could break my 28" Channel Catfish personal best. I upgraded the gear to 15lb leader and 20lb braid on a MH rod and it took very little time to hook up.

32" Channel Catfish



Long and very chunky. We didn't weight it...I honestly don't care how much it weights...but it was the thickest Channel Catfish I've ever seen!



Nothing was really biting except for Channel Catfish. We were secretly hoping for a Bigmouth Buffalo but they are rare and picky eater. The Channel Catfish kept it interesting.



We were chased off by an evening storm...so that was it.

Day 3, we drove across Manitoba fishing a couple of spots along the way. Our first spot had a population of Bigmouth Shiner but all we found were Creek Chub and Common Shiner. We continued to our second spot.



My friend told me there were River Darters, which would be a new species for me, but all we caught were Blackside Darter.

Blackside Darter



We decided to fish the same area for Quillback Carpsucker with a float rig, since the bottom was extremely rocky and the current was too chaotic. As soon as we switched to the "larger" gear, the fish came fast and furious for a while. We caught 4 Walleye on 4 casts...all of them were between 14-18" long.



George also caught a Shorthead Redhorse and a few White Sucker, but there was no Quillback Carpsucker. We caught a few more Walleye here and there.

Day 4, we fished a small spot in Saskatchewan for something more dependable. It was too easy to find these Northern Pearl Dace.

Northern Pearl Dace (Margariscus nachtriebi) - Species #634 - Saskatchewan lifer!



It was the right habitat for Central Mudminnow and I tried for a while but only caught more Northern Pearl Dace and some Brook Stickleback.

Finally, we headed straight to Saskatoon. The South Saskatchewan River was beautiful and access to the river withing Saskatoon was readily available...but the fishing sucked. We had zero hits, not even from micros, and the only life I saw were juvenile Sucker species that were too small to catch.



But overall, this trip was fantastic! I've now driven through all 10 Canadian provinces and caught fish in 9 of them. Next year, I hope to have a chance to catch a new species in Alberta.

[OldTimer]

Nice Cats!............. "thickest" I've seen too.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[ST_ShoreFisher]

I like the report, kept me interested!

You need to hit the Territories too! haha

[MuskieBait]

(09-12-2016 11:40 AM)ST_ShoreFisher Wrote:  I like the report, kept me interested!

You need to hit the Territories too! haha

Definitely. These are my target species to catch in Alberta and the territories.

Alberta - Flathead Chub, Mountain Sucker, Spoonhead Sculpin

Yukon - Lake Chub, Longnose Sucker, Slimy Sculpin, Least Cisco, Pygmy Whitefish, Round Whitefish

Northwest Territories - Inconnu, Ninespine Stickleback, Deepwater Sculpin, Broad Whitefish *

Nunavut - Arctic Char, Arctic Cisco, Greenland Cod, Saffron Cod, Fourspine Sculpin, Arctic Flounder, Starry Flounder, Broad Whitefish*

[ST_ShoreFisher]

I am in awe of your knowledge of fish species! Good luck!

[zippyFX]

I love the stretch of high way to Kenora really nice in the summer.

I have driven from here to the west many times and it's always a nice ride... I have taken almost every possible route. I love watching the Canadian landscape change before your eyes. Through the stretch to Kenora is a big a of a dog with the lumber trucks and curving roads.

I have been itching for the Winnipeg cats but can never seem to get out of the Saskatoon area when I am there.... If your going through Winnipeg I know a guy on line who may be able to but you on some buf's.

I have had some luck on the North Saskatchewan (UXOs not included) Goldeneye, Walleye, Pike, Seem a number of redhorse and suckers landed. Most of those are the public spots and pretty well known. It ried pinging some of the groups about micro fishing but no dice....

I have seen those juvi suckers as well.... Seems like the only thing they are willing to take is sand

Nice fish, congrats!

[MuskieBait]

Is his name The Bearded Angler by any chance?

You should hit Winnipeg on the way there or back for an afternoon. Nice break for the drive...let the family go shopping for a bit and give you some time to fish. Honestly, it was not difficult finding some respectable Channel Cats there. Actually, all the fish we hooked would be considered respectable by Ontario standard. George and I hooked 3 each in the span of 3 hours of fishing. We could probably catch more if we used other bait and other gear.

I wonder why S. Sask. River was so lifeless. Any idea? Looks to be a great river.

I actually had some of those juvi suckers tapping on the worm...but they were just too quick and their mouths too small to hook. I actually felt one on the "hookset" and lifted it off bottom, but it came off quickly. Probably the fish was just sucking on the bait and not actually hooked.

If you want to stop in Thunder Bay and try for Ruffe, I have a spot to recommend. They are best targeted dawn or dusk though. Study shows that they feed most after 6pm. Maybe you can make Thunder Bay an overnight stop...arrive around 5pm and then try for the Ruffe in the evening.

[zippyFX]

Yep that's the guy from rough fish. Another guy is SK Justin.

We have not driven the route in over 15 years now unfortunately. But next time....

The North Sask was weird this summer. Very, very, low... The weird thing is that with all the shifting sandbars there was still decent current as they filled in around the water increasing the flow rate. People getting stranded on shifting sandbanks is always a concern in Saskatoon. As I canoed one stretch there were still alot of locals fishing so the fish were likely still there. I managed an unexpected Pike in about 30 minutes.

From what I have seen most of the suckers are in the current and not in the slack water there. I think the areas with more current have a rockier bottom were as most of the banks have had sand wash up on them. The person I saw catching the most suckers was casting dead center of the river were the current was greatest and he picked up three in under an hour. My stowed gear in Saskatoon is a medium setup and I did not have a rod capable of throwing the required weight so I just had to sit and watch.

[MuskieBait]

I spoke with Bearded Angler and Justin before and they gave me most of the spots I fished on this trip, including the Bigmouth Buffalo and Quillback. I think the timing is just off since spring is better for Bigmouth Buffalo...and Quillback...they are just Quillback...

I'll keep in mind regarding the swift water suckers. The S. Sask. River was so rocky in that downtown section that it was difficult fishing in the current areas...which incidentally were also the rockiest areas.

In truth, we really only had 3-4 hours max at some of those spots. In other drive by locations, we might have fished 1-2 hours max. There really wasn't that much time to figure things out and experiment. We really just focused on the most promising targets and hoped for the best with the others. Driving 3200km in 96 hours...there's really not much time to fish at all.

[zippyFX]

This just came out:

http://www.sherwoodchev.com/saskatoon-fishing-guide.htm