Patterson versus Tokaruk,,what a battle!

It was around one o’clock in the afternoon when we packed up our gear and made the short walk across Tokaruk Lake to our vehicle. It had been a successful morning of angling but with a slowdown in action we figured it was time to change lakes. The weather was starting to clear up, the low hanging clouds and ice fog finally dissipating. Heading west we jogged one kilometer west and half kilometer south to Patterson Lake on Provincial Road # 577. As we pulled into the parking lot which doubles as a picnic area/campground, one other vehicle was already parked at the far end. Friend Steven Wintemute recognized the SUV of hardcore angler Clive Owen, a transplanted Brit who has discovered all the bounty that this province has to offer. He and two other friends had been on the frozen surface of Patterson since eight a.m. As we walked down to visit, one of the anglers had a fish on. After quick introductions we were back to the truck to collect our gear, an invitation extended. Spreading out over a narrowed down section of the lake, we had are set lines in four feet of water and our jigging ones in about seven. As the day wore on the action increased with a number of beautiful brown and rainbow trout landed and released. The largest, a brilliant dark red male rainbow was caught by a Trent Leys. Leys guides at Kasba Lake Lodge in the summer, but spends a lot of time during the winter ice fishing in all sections of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Earlier that same day Leys caught and released a female brown trout that was perfectly proportioned another sign that this lake continues to produce tremendous fishing.
While the fishing was a little faster than we had experienced on Tokaruk Lake in the morning, I would have to say the fight of the fish on Tokaruk was far and away more spectacular than on any stocked trout water I have ever fished.
When talking to fisheries biologist and friend Ken Kansas this week about the two lakes, he mentioned that all stocked rainbow in Manitoba the last three years come from a steelhead strain they get from British Columbia. Kansas says the rainbows of Tokaruk are legendary among both fly fishers and regular anglers alike as to the incredible strength and never say quit attitude when hooked. Kansas believes it has to do with the forage base of the different lakes. “Tokaruk rainbows seem to focus on minnows in the crystal clear water, making them constantly on the move. In Patterson with a varied forage base including backswimmers, scuds, leeches and minnows, while the fish fight hard, they can’t match the Tokaruk battlers.”
Kansas was also quick to let me know that I made a mistake in my last column when I mentioned that Tokaruk had to deal with winterkill and perch infestations.
In fact says Kansas, white suckers populated the lake after a series of Olha Lake blowouts into Tokaruk (Olha is just upstream) so the sucker numbers got quite high and likely impacted lake food supplies by way of extensive benthic foraging
Kansas knows there were some questionable winters oxygen wise...although no one saw any dead fish that he was aware of . The good news as far as he is concerned is that the lake has regained its' balance in the last couple of years.

Another season of ice fishing is upon us!

Want to try your hand at ice fishing this year but need some answers?
Many people I talk to over the course of year ask me what I do in the winter time. Ice fish of course, I tell them. Some give a look of amazement like that could possibly be fun!
Not only is it fun but it is a recreational pursuit that anyone can afford. That would explain why over the last ten years this segment of the sport fishing industry has seen the largest growth. In fact, there is so much new equipment out there for the hard water enthusiast it’s hard to keep up.
Lets start out though by talking about the basics, what does a person need to start catching fish through the ice. That is a pretty simple answer, enough good ice to make it safe to venture on. The standard guidelines are 4 inches to walk and when you do go, bring someone along.
Also early in the season you will want to travel light. Don’t haul a heavy auger around if you don’t have to. A simple hand auger will usually suffice early in the year or even a spud bar (heavy metal bar with sharp nose) can easily make holes. Carry all your equipment on a toboggan or sled and bungy cord them down if you are going over some rough terrain. You should also have along a five-gallon pail to sit on, along with an ice skimmer to clean the holes that you make in the ice. Into this bucket you can fit a small lure kit, along with skimmer ice rods, bait and some snacks.

On your feet wear boots that are waterproof if possible. I have had the same pair of rubberized, insulated boots for ten years and my feet have never been damp once. I do recommend ice cleats, especially early in the year with little snow cover. It can be darn slippery and bones have been broken, These cleats will fit over your existing footwear and give you the stability you will need.
While its hard to cover as much area ice fishing as from a boat, there are certain things you can do to increase your chances of contacting fish. It sure pays to bring along a portable GPS with the waypoints locked in to the areas you were catching fish in open water. After establishing location, check depths through the ice with your portable fish finder. Look for the edge of the drop-off combined with both points into deeper water as well as inside turns, then start drilling holes in a grid pattern and spread out. That’s why it’s so much better to make ice fishing a social event, the more anglers the better in many cases as it shortens the time it takes to find fish and figure out what they might bite on that particular day.
On your first trip to the lake, start out at daylight so you can figure out just how much ice you do have. That’s why you bring along basic survival gear such as rope, ax, waterproof matches, whistle, first aid kit, ice picks, cell phone just in case the unexpected happens and you get stranded.
As you start exploring the lake to find active fish, you might have to try a number of different areas and depths but once you do make contact, drill a number of holes near the productive spot and get ready to catch some fish. Weather also plays a factor and if the daytime bite is slow, there might be an opportunity for a pretty impressive night bite on the same body of water. More and more ice anglers that I now are bringing along portable shacks and lights to wait out a slow daytime bite. Walleye in natural lakes will move off the edges of the drop-offs during the day right up to a metre of water during the night. When night fishing and even during the day use two rods when you can, one with a set line and the other with a lure that is jigged.
On lakes outside provincial and federal parks in Manitoba you can use live minnows.(check individual lake regulations in your Manitoba Anglers Guide) This is a good option on a body of water like Lake of the Prairies. Get a tail or dorsal hooked minnow down just off the bottom on a set line, then work a hole just a couple metres away with a jigging spoon. Sometimes the fish will take the set bait, but more times than not, they will smack the aggressive presentation at first ice.
Using an underwater camera in conjunction with portable electronics can really help in understanding what is happening down below your ice hole. These are just a few of the aids now available on the market.

First Ice Rainbows

It is five o’clock in the morning on Grey Cup day in Canada and I am celebrating by going on the first ice fishing adventure of the winter. As we pack friend Steven Wintemute’s truck, we are excited about the prospects despite the early hour. Our first stop was to be Tokaruk Lake, one of the most famous of all stocked trout waters in Manitoba. Over the years this shallow prairie lake has had its share of problems, from perch infestation to winterkill. This winter, though, plans are to provide aeration so the plentiful population of brown and rainbow trout can survive and thrive once more. Tokaruk is located just north of Oakburn, and a stone’s throw away from another of Manitoba’s most famous trout waters, Patterson Lake. As we pull down to the small boat launch and dock at just before eight a.m. we see another couple of anglers set up in the western corner of the lake fishing a shallow weedy bay. As we pull our small sleighs out on the lake schools of minnows dart back and forth under our feet in the clear ice. While for some it might seem disconcerting, to us it meant the lake was alive and healthy. Quickly drilling a series of holes in the five inches of good ice, we tried a variety of spots from shallow to about nine feet of water off the edge of the weed line. Here we set up our portable tent and heater, a place to get out of a cool west wind that was making ice. Steven took this occasion to be the rover, the guy that checks out all the different depths while I hunkered down in the tent with two lines set up. For twenty minutes all was quiet then my flasher lit up as something large caused the Humminbird to show a bright orange. Quietly getting off my pail, I peered down the series of four holes we had drilled side by side. Sure enough, there he was, an extremely large rainbow cruising the bottom, checking out my baits. On the end of one line I had the new Northlands Bro Bug jig rigged with a dead salted shiner minnow in the middle and on the other, a Northland Mud Bug tipped with a yellow power honey worm on to which I had added a Berkley orange sparkle power egg. Lo and behold after a bump, the big rainbow engulfed the honey worm and the battle was on. After about a dozen smoking runs, I could see this massive rainbow swim around under my feet, Steven ready to help get the fish on the ice. After getting the fish to hole ten different times only to have it make another heart pounding run, I thought the fish was finally worn out as I tried to force the head up the hole. Bad idea, the jig popping up the hole past Steven’s head, the hook straightened out. I could only shake my head in amazement at the power of this Tokaruk rainbow. Re rigging I only had ten minutes to wait this time before my flasher lit up once again, one rod dipping to the hole. Setting the hook, I could feel the jig slipping out of the fish’s mouth. Sure enough as I reeled in and looked down the hole I could see another massive rainbow swimming near the bottom in the crystal clear water. Re hooking a salted shiner, I fluttered it back to the bottom. As the bait got two thirds of the way down, the rainbow slammed it, picking the minnow right off the hook. Reeling back in again, I put another on and dropped it back down. This time the rainbow came straight on at the jig engulfing the bait. There was no doubt I had the rainbow hooked well this time as my four pound fireline disappeared off my spool at an alarming rate. This fish was in the same size category as the one I had just lost so I was determined not to put too much pressure on. After another incredible battle I managed to land this Tokaruk trophy. After a couple of quick pictures, this Manitoba Master Angler was released to fight another day. In next week’s column we head over to Patterson Lake.