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282
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The Olds Gazette and Mountain View News 1972-01-06 - 1972-12-21
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Date
1972-04-27
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282
Transcript
By George Mitchell Scattered across’ the length and breadth of Al- berta, is a vast array of small lakes, and potholes. All were barren of Rain- bow trout prior to 1949. They are now stocked in these ponds by the millions each year. The waters of these lakes and potholes teem with aquatic insects, so profuse that Rainbows grow to. 5 pounds in two years. When. first planted they caused no end of problems for the fishermen who wanted to catch them. A Rainbow trout in a high foothill stream is a dif- ferent fish, than one on the Prairies with his belly stuffed with back-swim- mers, shrimp or minnows. They can be caught and quite easily. It is called, “*Trolling a Nymph’’. When one. considers that trout take 90. percent of their food underneath the. sur- face of the water. The sys- tem then is to get into the environment where the trout are. This is near the bottom. Here is the proper way to get at them. Use a fly rod -- any fly rod. The whole key is a sinking fly line, an 8-foot leader, a piece of 6-pound test monofilament will do. Tie one of the following nymphs on your leader: Backswim- mer, Mitchell Special, Carey Special, Dr. Sprat- ley, or a Blue B°~ Shrimp. All of these ; mphs are tied to represent some type of underwater bug. You need a boat. Now strip out all your fly line so that the backing is up to your first guide on the fly rod. Now run your boat very slowly in a slow figure S up the lake. The slower you run it, and the more slow bends you put in your route, the more trout you will catch. A spinning rod with 6- pound test willdo the same, only when spinning let out 90 yards of line. The spin- ning line does not have the weight of a sinking fly line. You do not need a motor. When you row your boat, the results can be better. You can go slower. This system works as well in the hich counEry lakes, as the pothole trout outside of Edmonton. In fact, I will stick my neck out and say it is the best and most successful way to catch Rainbow trout in a lake. If one nymph does:not work, try another. It is so simple that it surprises me when people say, ‘‘Oh, I don’t know anything about flying fishing.’’ TO_CATCH EATING FISH One of the most sought after fish in Alberta is the succulent. Pickerel or (Walleyed Pike). I have to call them Pickerel for the majority of Alberta’s fish- ermen know them by no other name. At one time, the best bait for a Pickerel was a live spot-tail shiner min- now. This bait was out- lawed some years ago. So that was that. Another sys- tem had to be found. This was when the jig came into Alberta. While the jig is a very old lure, it is new in Alberta. All jigs have lead heads. They range in If it’s fishing youre size from the inch long Whitefish jig; to some that are five inches long. The best time to fish Pickerel is the minute the ice leaves the lakes until the end of June. Then again from the first of September to freeze up. The system is quite simple. Tie your jig. direct to your spinning line. I suggest 10 pound test. I use no wire leadér or snap on swivel. Cast your jig out, and let settle to near the bottom. With a slight flex of your rod tip, snap up the jig. Reel a couple of turns. Snap up and reel The slower you snap up and reel without the jig fouling the bottom, the more fish you catch, Fish the jig from the shore to the boat. This way the gently shelving bot- tom of most of our lakes drops off just fast enough to stop fouling the bottom. Another system to find them is cast the jig out behind the boat and troll it slowly. Sweep your jig ahead in 3 feet sweeps and then let it flutter back. When you strike a Walleye, anchor and cast. This system is deadly on the pike (Jackfish). I have also had great success on the Splake, Lake trout, and big Rainbows in the park lakes, You have to be ready to change colors. I find the Yellow Marabou, a very good one. However onother days they will only take a Black, Brown, or a White one. Be prepared to change. The most important thing is the slow reel and snap. When you feel them tap it, put the steel to them hard. Walleye have a mouth full of big teeth. At times, a strip of flesh from a Smelt on the end of your jig makes the difference in a mess oO. fillets, or none. Try it a see. THE GREAT BREAK THROUGH At one time, not so far back, it was thought that it was not possible.to catch lake Whitefish with a lure. As a result, no one bother- ed to try. No one that is, except. Jim Nelson of Devon. He made the first Whitefish. jigs and finally convinced others that it worked. Fishing for lake Whitetisn now takes more hours of fishermen’s time ‘in Alberta from September to March than any other fish. The best way to catch them from the first of September to freeze up, is with a Whitefish jig, a plastic bubble, and a spin- ning outfit. There is a knack in the system. Do it fast and you are lost. Tie a small brass snap and swivel on the end of your line. Use a 5 or 6-foot piece of monofilament 6- pound test will do. Keep it light. Tie on your jig with an improved clinch knot I use this on all my flies and lures. I find it hard to beat Through triai and error, my wife and I use only three kinds of White- fish jigs. The Blue jig with Yellow Marabou feather. The hot Red Chenille with grey mallard feather, and the Brown Chenille with brown feather trim. It matters little how the jig is tied for casting, for it rides like all jigs, with the point on top. For jig- ging however, the jig shout stand out from the line at a 90-degree angle. This is best accomplished by tying the jig with the improved clinch knot. Simply grasp the jig with the thumb and finger of the left hand and pull the line straight up from the jig with the right hand. This way the jig will be at a 90-degree angle and in. a better position for the fish to grab and to get hooked through the tip of the nose. I like the Alberta. after... small clear plastic floats. Put this on the snap ofyour swivel. Cast out, and reel in, very, very slowly. There is no need to set the hook. When they grab it, they are hooked. Occasionally they are travelling. deep. So you cannot reach them with the bubble and jig. So you have then to take off the bubble and simply drop your jig to the bottom of the lake. Lift up about a foot, and OUTDOOR SUPPLEMENT —— WEEK OF MAY 1, 1972 11 of your rod up and down about 6 inches. You. will feel them grab the jig. Then just give them a sharp snap of the rod tip. I find Whitefish good fighters. While they do not jump like a Rainbow, they certainly are strong. Everyone knows their excellence on the table. The discovery that we could catch these fish on lures has added several months to our fishing sea- son. simply just twitch the end THIS ARDENT fisherman.is trying his luck in the shadow of Crowsnest Mountain, Alberta Govt. photo. DON'T SHOOT. Insulators are sitting ducks! Costly insulator destruction can mean power failure — perhaps hospital at a critical moment. Enjoy Alberta’s natural heritage, but please preserve the insulator species. Twenty thousand _to pieces every year. Sight in at a range or gun club. It’s the sporting thing tc do. And good hunting! in the operating CALGARY POWER room of a ollars worth are shot
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Attribution
Image 282 (1972-04-27), from microfilm reel 282, (CU12509879). Courtesy of Early Alberta Newspapers Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.