1.
Miramichi River (NEW BRUNSWICK)
The legendary Miramichi River is known more for migrating Atlantic
salmon than its resident brook trout. But for three days each
year, the river’s scrappy brookies take the spotlight during
the Red Bank Trout Derby, a family-oriented event hosted by
the Micmac Red Bank First Nation. Competing for cash and prizes,
participants fish from boats and the shoreline along a 10-kilometre
stretch of the Miramichi near Red Bank, New Brunswick. Anglers
can use flies, spinners, spoons and bait, including worms and
live smelts. All trout, and any salmon caught incidentally,
must be released, thus ensuring a healthy supply of good-sized
fish.
A consistent derby winner is Patrick
“Paddy Joe” Ward, who has fished the Miramichi for
most of his 40 years (his personal best is a 28-inch, 7.5-pound
buster). Many anglers, he says, make the mistake of hitting
the river around midday when the trout aren’t actively
feeding and they’ve been riled by heavy boat traffic. Instead,
Ward prefers early morning and late evening. He says fly fishers
must also be prepared to change their flies often to determine
what the trout want; his favourite is the Ron Ward Special,
a weighted streamer named after his father. A final bit of local
advice: Ward says some anglers fail to land big brookies here
because they try to horse them in rather than patiently fight
them.
2.
Lake Simcoe (ONTARIO)
Key to the success of the Canadian Ice Fishing Championships
is Lake Simcoe’s healthy population of hefty lake trout.
Although the contest also includes the likes of yellow perch,
whitefish and walleye, many of the 200 or so participants each
year zero in on the big lakers, which can grow to 30 pounds.
Last year, 33 lakers were measured during the catch-and-release
tourney, with a 34-incher topping the trout category.
Due to Lake Simcoe’s immensity—roughly
720 square kilometres—tournament organizers restrict lake
trout fishing to one square mile off Jackson’s Point, where
most trout are caught in about 50 to 70 feet of water. Tournament
chairman Mike Burrows says that although some anglers use live
minnows, jigging a spoon is a highly effective method. He notes
that the favourite lure for many competitors is a Williams Whitefish,
a 3-1/4-inch silver lure best fished with 10- to 12-pound-test
line.
3.
Athapapuskow Lake (MANITOBA)
Randy Boychuk has his priorities right. Every June, he books
off for the entire month from his welding job in Flin Flon,
Manitoba, and heads for nearby Lake Athapapuskow. A 277-square
kilometre, 62-metre-deep lake straddling the Manitoba-Saskatchewan
border, Athapapuskow is renowned for its monster lake trout.
For 33 years, in fact, it held the world record, a 63.5-pound
lunker caught by a woman using a string and hook. Boychuk himself
has landed lakers up to 46 pounds and he consistently catches
20-pound-plus fish.
The highlight of his month off,
though, is the two-day Leo Lavoie Trout Tournament, which celebrates
its twelfth year this June. Held in conjunction with the month-long
Flin Flon Trout Festival, the tournament draws anglers from
as far away as South Dakota. Here, most successful anglers use
electronic depth sounders and heavy tackle, and boats must be
sturdy enough to withstand three-metre waves. While many anglers
troll with downriggers, Boychuk maintains that jigging will
consistently take bigger fish. And he should know: last year
Boychuk and his wife, Suzi, placed second. As for tackle, he
prefers 5/8-ounce jigs with strips of sucker belly in about
100 feet of water, and his favourite jig-head colours are white,
green and yellow.
4.
Bow River (ALBERTA)
Some of Alberta’s best fly fishers pay big bucks to take
part in the So You Think You Can Flyfish Bow River Classic,
held each July on this world-famous trout river just east of
Calgary. But nobody wins cash in this competition. Instead,
the angler who catches the most trout gets a fleece vest and
his or her name on a trophy. And everyone goes away with a warm
feeling, knowing a charity will benefit from some friendly competition
in oar-powered boats (last year, $42,500 went to the Alberta-Northwest
Territories chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation of
Canada). There’s no question, though, that the Bow’s
legendary trout are a big part of the event’s success.
Rainbows and browns consistently run to 20 inches long, with
some pushing 30.
Participants must use just one
fly all day, with each team declaring a choice of dry fly, nymph
or streamer, all barbless. Each team also gets one bonus fly,
to be used if an angler loses his or her first one. Favourite
dries include Turks Tarantula, Parachute Adams and Elk Hair
Caddis. Popular streamer patterns include the Bow River Bugger
and Clouser Minnow, while the San Juan Worm is the top nymph.
The Bow’s size and power can intimidate novice anglers,
but veterans know the most productive water is tight to the
banks—undercuts, grass-lined ledges, submerged logs, deep
holes and runs and natural shoreline indentations.
5.
Yamaska River (QUEBEC)
| TOURNEY
CONTACTS |
1.
Red Bank Trout Derby (Miramichi River, New Brunswick)
Micmac Red Bank First Nation band office, 59 Mountain
Road, P.O. Box 293, Red Bank, New Brunswick E9E
2P2; (506) 836-6111
2. Canadian Ice Fishing
Championships (Lake Simcoe, Ontario)
Canadian Ice Fishing Championships, P.O. Box 361,
Jackson’s Point, Ontario L0E 1L0; Mike Burrows,
(905) 722-7272
3.
Leo Lavoie Trout Tournament (Athapapuskow Lake,
Manitoba)
Dallas Mymko, (204) 687-7757
4. So You Think You Can
Flyfish Bow River Classic (Bow River, Alberta)
Ray Rowland, (403) 257-2080
5.
Tournoi de pêche en ville des chasseurs et
pêcheurs de l’Estrie (Yamaska River,
Quebec)
Tourism Granby, 650 rue Principale, Granby, Quebec
J2G 8L4; (450) 372-7273 |
|
The annual
trout derby on the north branch of the Yamaska River at Granby,
Quebec, is as much an ecological celebration as it is an angling
competition. A decade ago, many would have doubted the polluted
river could ever support trout, much less an annual tournament.
But several years of habitat rehabilitation and restocking efforts
have clearly paid off—it’s estimated that 10,000 brook
and brown trout now inhabit the river throughout the year. And
they’re getting bigger, as evidenced by a 4.5-pound brown
caught two years ago.
Known as the “Tournoi de
pêche en ville des chasseurs et pêcheurs de l’Estrie,”
the derby is held along a 12-kilometre stretch of river extending
downstream from Granby to Highway 139. Approximately 40 per
cent of anglers voluntarily practise catch-and-release during
the tournament, and that number has continued to grow each year.
The most popular angling method during the tournament is fly
fishing. Choice flies include Woolly Buggers, Doc Spratleys,
Philo Thorax, Centre-Ville and small midge imitations. Worms
are the most popular bait, while successful spin fishers use
tiny Veltic spinners and Mustang lures. 
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