CLEAR LAKE WALLEYE AND PIKE

It had been more than 20 years since I had last fished Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park. That experience way back when had made me shy away from the park, thought as a child growing up and a young adult I had many memorable times in the park. If you asked people from around Manitoba, especially Brandon, they will tell you Clear Lake and Riding Mountain National Park is part of their heritage. In our family album we have a picture of the family enjoying a swim in the lake in the late 1950's. Since that time the park has changed and the deep thinkers that dictate policy with Parks Canada continue to ponder it's future. Two people that I have met over the last year, as well as other considerations, including the rumor of fabulous fishing on Clear Lake itself, made me want to set out on it's pristine waters once more. So I headed up to the park to meet up with Shaun Creasy and Doug Walker. Shaun lives in Brandon and he and his family are one of that generation that have been visiting Clear Lake for eons. Shaun's father Richard and the rest of his family love to fish and in order to get away they bought a cabin up at Sandy Lake just a short 20 kilometres from the park entrance. Shaun and his family had invited me up this past summer to test the waters of Clear Lake.

Earlier this year I had also meet a game warden of the park, Doug Walker, an avid angler and hunter, at the Intermountain Sport Fishing Banquet. Impressed by his passion for the outdoors I asked Doug to come fish with Shaun and myself for the evening after he had finished his day patrolling his Lake Audy territory for Parks Canada.

Clear Lake has excellent water clarity as you would expect from the name and some deep water with the main lake basin reaching 33 metres in places. It was a rainy, misty kind of day when we put the boat in the water at the main launch in the town of Wasagaming, but we figured a little overcast and chop would help us in our search for active fish. Across the lake we headed following Shaun's dad Richard and his friend, long time Clear Lake angler Bob Fraser, leading the way. Fraser has fished the lake for years and has had tremendous success for both pike and walleye. On our first stop along the north shore, we found the walleye up off the bottom and active, cruising shoreline mud flats in about four metres of water feeding on emerging mayfly larvae. We could mark the fish just off the bottom on our electronics and after putting down the back Vantage electric troll motor it was time to start catching walleye and catch fish we did. Every kind of presentation worked this day, but non-lead jigs rigged with a leech were the best, followed by a live bait rig, which consisted of a small # 8 hook and a bullet, bio weight sinker made of nickel from Berkley.(There is a lead ban in fishing tackle in all national parks)

We tried a number of different spots on the lake and there seemed to be active fish everywhere and the few other boats out were doing equally well a great sight to see. Later that same day with Doug Walker now joining us, we decided to head to the shallow northwest corner of the lake and try for some northern pike. As we boated across the lake, Doug mentioned that a 35 pound pike (16 kilograms) had been caught ice fishing on the lake this past winter. I had brought along my fly rod for the occasion and as soon as I mentioned that, Doug Walker really got excited. Doug's many jobs with Parks Canada over the years had taken him to some remote spots with excellent angling and fly fishing had become his passion. Sure enough, by slowing stripping a small streamer through some pencil weeds, Doug soon had a nice pike on. Meantime Bob Fraser, Shaun and Richard Creasy were using more conventional hardware and catching one fish after another, with Bob hooking into, landing and releasing a beautiful 41 inch or 104 centimetre trophy pike.

Here are some things you should know if you plan on visiting the Riding Mountain National Park to try your luck.

1) You will need a National Park fishing license. They are $4.25 for a one day permit, $8.50 for a week and $16.00 for the year. They can be obtained at the Visitors Centre.

2) You are allowed to keep two walleye and three pike with only one pike over 76 centimetres on Clear Lake.

3) As mentioned earlier, there is a lead ban in fishing tackle but you can use nightcrawlers, earthworms, crayfish and leeches for bait. Local gas stations do sell leeches and nightcrawlers but didn't see much non-toxic tackle. You are better off tracking that down before you come.

One final note, most people from Winnipeg also don't realize that Clear Lake is less than three hours away by vehicle. There is also a lot of different accommodation available in and around Clear Lake but book in advance because it is a popular destination.

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