Welcome to Week CCXII of ‘Fishing Parkland Shorelines’. Like most of us I am a novice fisherman, loving to fish, but far from an expert. In the following weeks I’ll attempt to give those anglers who love to fish but just don’t have access to a boat, a look at some of the options in the Yorkton area where you can fish from shore, and hopefully catch some fish.
Can somebody tell me exactly where June went?
I looked on the calendar and it’s almost July, and I haven’t even fished the Togo Bridge yet, which I suppose tells you I have been busy, or sleeping. Those that know me might think the latter, but this spring it is actually the busy option.
That sad thing about this particular situation is I am headed to July with a desire to fish more, knowing all too-well that in general terms fishing in July and August is a bit like sunbathing in January, you can do it, but you may not like the results.
I suppose that is the great thing about us fisherfolk, we do tend to be a persistent lot.
It rains, we throw on a poncho and cast.
It blows, we find a spot we can cast with the wind.
It freezes, we build a shack, cut a hole in the ice, and we fish.
So yes, I will trek out and fish in July.
It will actually be interesting to see how fishing develops this summer.
My son and I spent a recent evening fishing the Theodore Dam. The good news there were no ticks, at least none which bothered crawling on me at least.
Oh, and the bologna and lettuce sandwiches, with Miracle Whip, (not that icky mayonnaise), were darned tasty too.
The fishing … well it was a nice view.
The next evening my son went to Canora Dam with a bud. They caught two pike. He didn’t brag up either, so you know they weren’t huge by any stretch of the imagination.
But, as is usually the case, a fellow YTW staffer, let’s call him Jim, was doing the production morning brag the same week. Apparently the pike at Batka Lake were biting, as were the perch at Jackfish Lake.
Ever notice how fish are always biting at a nearby lake, one you were not fishing at?
It often seems that way to me at least. Of course that is often the case. Rare is the time when fish in every lake are in the mood to make we fisherfolk happy.
And with the heat of summer ahead good fishing days may well decline further. That may be less the issue for those with a boat. Fish in hot weather tend to go to deeper water where it is cooler, or at least it seems that way to me, as I am not a fish expert by any means.
They will still feed the shores, but it tends to be shorter visits and more confined to the cooler times of early morning, or later evening.
Over the years many are the fish I have caught at Whitestand Regional Park near the boat launch after the fluorescent yard light has flickered to life for the evening.
On another related topic I picked up the summer edition of Wild Guide recently.
You may recall I mentioned the new Western Canada-based publication earlier this year when the inaugural edition launched.
The magazine might also be recalled locally as they were one of the displayers at the Parkland Outdoor Show.
I very much liked the first edition, so it was an easy decision to grab the Summer one, and at $7.95 it’s a rather good value in the world of glossy mags these days.
While not exclusively fishing, taking on the broader appeals of the wilds which includes hunting, and not invasive activities such as canoeing, the people behind Wild Guide get ‘it’.
The ‘it’ I refer too is the allure of what we do. It’s not about subsistence fishing, although I can enjoy a fish fry, with such fare likely in my top-10 fav foods. It is about the experience. It’s not the 9-to-5 office. It’s not the backyard where the grass beckons to be cut.
It is ‘away’. It is about the warm sun. The wading shorebirds. The buzz of a bumblebee. It’s about share a peanut with a cheeky chipmunk. It’s about relaxing with the better half nearby, or a long time bud. A chance to talk sports and muscle cars, or say nothing at all and just fish whether they are biting, or not.
Wild Guide Publisher and CEO Brad McCann sees that is all interrelated.
“The call rings out loud and clear. Something is beckoning you to step put and explore the world around you, to get lost so you can find yourself. You’re overwhelmed by the feeling that you were created to explore and discover. You long for the warmth of sun on your face and the cool breeze through your hair. That’s sense of adventure calling. We all have it, but what we choose to do with it is what sets us apart,” he begins the issues ‘From the publisher’ piece.
“If you are receiving the call of adventure that beckons you beyond the concrete jungle, out to where city lights and the sound of sirens are replaced by star-lit nights and a symphony of nature – answer the call. Open yourself up to whatever adventure has in store for you and boldly go.”
In my case I might prefer a fishing rod in hand when I head to the ‘wilds’, but I get it that the opportunities are many.
I can get why bud Peter Baran likes a walk in the wild, camera in-hand. I took a walk with my camera along at Townsend Lake one morning and the photos were a highlight of the fishing trip.
While not into it in specific terms, I wonder at birds whenever I fish. The short trip that started this week’s article included several large birds hoovering in the stiff breeze above the dam. I thought they might have been turkey buzzards, but whatever they were the caught my son and I’s attention for a time. So I get why people like those involved with the Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail (www.yfbta.com) birdwatch.
And there are wildflower seekers, mushroom and wild berry pickers, and those who just hiker canoe.
In every case it’s just about the fresh air, the connection to our own wilder past, a chance to be away and to let nature back into our being.
So this summer just find your own way back to the ‘wild’ and enjoy.
