We often get hung up on the fact that most fish hug the bottom of the water column. Although this is true in several instances, there are several occasions when predator fish move away from the bottom to peruse forage fish.
If ever there's a time to get on the ice for some great fishing, this has to be it. The burbot event, as I like to call it, is starting. I was at South Buck, a newly discovered favorite lake catching all kinds of pike by day and walleye by night. The fish were biting strong right into the night and then . I had hooked a heavy, heavy fish that didn't run, but pulled real hard. Burbot have a habit of doing that.
I have had to go elsewhere to look for whitefish. This has led me to Gull Lake where I now routinely make trips to get in on the whitefish action.
It was a cool, late August morning and first light brought shape and definition to the surrounding landscape. My rod did the tell tale yo' yo' bob. My heart skipped a beat. I grabbed the rod and felt the fish rolling the bait on the other end. The rod bobbed in my hand, but experience told me it was not the time. It took everything in me, but I waited for what seemed like an eternity.
Where I live in Alberta there is limited fishing for lakers. Simply said, there's a lot of prairie parkland and not a lot of quality lake trout habitat. But then I got to thinking and realized that for those willing to set aside a weekend, there's a lake trout experience nearby.
The Bobber and Nymph Rig - A size 12 bead head prince nymph is my first choice when it comes to some hard core finesse fishing. The great thing about the nymph/bobber rig is that it matches the mood of the fish to a "T". Cold-blooded trout in the cold, early season water demand slow, deliberate presentations, which is where this rig excels.
