Welcome to Week CXCIII of ‘Fishing Parkland Shorelines’. Like most of us I am a novice fisherman, loving to fish, but far from an expert. In the following weeks I’ll attempt to give those anglers who love to fish but just don’t have access to a boat, a look at some of the options in the Yorkton area where you can fish from shore, and hopefully catch some fish.
New species of fish, well at least new to me, are always of interest, especially if it’s a species accessible in North America.
Sure North America is a huge place, but at least it seems a more likely dream to pursue should one want to toss a few hooks one day in hopes of catching some of the fish not native to our specific part of the world.
So it was of particular interest that I purchased the 2015-2016 edition of ‘Ice Fishing’.
I was flipping the pages and hit #16 and the headline grabbed me in a hurry ‘The Tarpon of the North’. The associated photo shows a balaclava-wearing fellow holding a huge fish that was not one I can recall seeing before.
“Alaska offers many ice fishing adventures, but few pare with targeting whitefish species found in the 49th state, the sheefish (also called inconnu),” writes article author Dennis Musgraves. “Ice anglers fishing near Kotzebue have favourable odds hooking up with an enormous size fish. Sometimes these fish are so big that they can’t breach the icy surface as they are simply too large and unable to fit through a ten-inch hole.
“Sheefish found in the Selawik-Kobuk area grow big, capable of reaching sizes up to and over 60 pounds. Their bodies are characterized with a sleek profile and a pronounced extended lower jaw. Very large shiny silver scales decorate their sides, giving an appearance of armour plating. The fish closely resembles a saltwater tarpon and sport fisherman often refer to sheefish as the ‘Tarpon of the North’.”
Sheefish were certainly unknown, so I did what any modern fisherman would do, I Googled the species.
“The Sheefish (inconnu) is the largest member of the whitefish subfamily (family Salmonidae; subfamily Coregoninae). Sheefish are white or silvery in color without spots or other markings and have very large scales. The lower jaw extends beyond the upper jaw and the mouth is full of small densely-packed teeth. They can grow to a large size. In the Selawik-Kobuk area of Alaska, sheefish may weigh up to 27 kilograms (60 lbs) and be over one meter (42 inches) in length. In other areas of Alaska, particularly in interior rivers, they tend to be much smaller,” detailedwww.adfg.alaska.gov
“Sheefish are a valuable subsistence resource to rural Alaskans. In the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, sheefish are usually the first fish seen in the spring after the river ice breaks up. Sheefish are valued as a source of fresh fish prior to the onset of Pacific salmon runs. In other rivers like the Selawik River in western Alaska that do not have salmon runs, sheefish are of even greater importance to the subsistence lifestyle.
Sheefish are a popular sport fish. Sheefish primarily eat other fish, therefore a brightly colored or shiny lure that looks like a small fish in distress will be very enticing to a hungry sheefish. Sport fishing is an important component of the economy in Alaska.”
Apparently interest in the species is quite high, and given their size that includes from anglers.
“Numerous research projects have been conducted on sheefish throughout the state of Alaska,” detailed the website. “The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and University of Alaska have all studied sheefish in recent years. This research has improved understanding of sheefish life history. Many of these projects use radio telemetry (biologists place radio transmitter tags into fish and then follow the signal in order to track the fish‘s movements). The information gathered is used to better manage and protect sheefish stocks and habitat.”
Now I’m not going to jump on a plane anytime soon to go chasing sheefish, but it’s pretty interesting to know the big fish are up in Alaska waiting.
The same edition of Ice Fishing magazine has an article by Vic Attardo on a rather toothy, and startling gold coloured predator fish found to the south across the 49th parallel.
“The chain pickerel certainly has an impressive set of dentures,” details the article. “Squeezed tightly, they resemble the rough outline of a hacksaw blade and they’re sharp as needles.
“But the teeth of a chain pickerel is just one thing you have to respect with a fish lie that, unwisely, gets little sporting reverence – except from smart ice anglers.
“When you consider it, the chain pickerel acquired such a bad reputation mostly because of those teeth. Its sharp choppers allow a pickerel to cut through fishing line like a weed whacker, thus absconding with many an expensive lure and bait. Anglers don’t like having their wallets depleted in this manner so the pickerel is placed low on the species totem pole.
“But for those members of the Frozen Chosen who appreciate an aggressive fish, one that will fight on a winter’s day when many other are in a funk’ one that pulls hard with long flights and burning bursts of speed, the chain pickerel is fully valued.”
Again it was time to hot the laptop and Google to find out a bit more about chain pickerel, which have the body of a pike, but more the gold colouring of a walleye.
“The chain pickerel or Southern Pike (Esox niger) is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel belong to the Esox genus of pike,” detailed Wikipedia.
“French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur described the chain pickerel in 1818. Its species name is the Latin wordniger “black”. It is also known as the “gunfish”, “federation pike” or “federation pickerel”. Pickerel is often a name given to walleye, although the true name belongs to the chain pickerel. Common nicknames in the southeastern United States are the “southern pike”, “grass pike”, “jack”, “jack fish”, and “eastern pickerel”.
“The chain pickerel has a distinctive, dark, chain-like pattern on its greenish sides. Its body outline resembles that of the northern pike. It may reach up to 30 in long only on rare occasions. The opercles and cheeks of the fish are entirely scaled. The average size for chain pickerel, however, is 24 inches and three pounds. (The average chain pickerel caught by fishermen is under two lb). It lives around eight years.”
As you might imagine chain pickerel have much in common with the northern pike we fish locally.
“The chain pickerel feeds primarily on smaller fish, like the northern pike, until it grows large enough to ambush large fish from cover with a rapid lunge and to secure it with its sharp teeth. Chain pickerel are also known to eat frogs, worms, mice, crayfish, and a wide variety of other foods,” notes Wikipedia. “It is not unusual for pickerel to leap out of the water at flying insects, or even at dangling fishing lures.”
As for lures, our tackle boxes would be well-suited to a day on the water in search of chain pickerel.
“Anglers have success with live minnows, spinnerbaits, spoons, plugs, and flies, usually tied with some kind of feather or bucktail material,” states Wikipedia. “If the angler intends to release a fish, it is advisable use pliers to flatten the barbs on the lure’s hooks. Chain pickerel can swallow an entire lure, so it will be much easier to free a deeply hooked fish and get it back into the water as soon as possible.
“Practically any bass lure can be effective for pickerel, although like most pike, they seem to be particularly susceptible to flashy lures which imitate small forage fish. Dragging a plastic worm, lizard, frog, or other soft imitation can also be extremely effective. A Texas rig method is recommended with these soft baits for productive fishing in the weeds.
“A steel leader is necessary for sharp-toothed and active fish at two to three pounds. The angler would also do well to use 12- to 17-lb-test line on an open-faced spinning reel. Methods are similar to those for bass, such as dragging a lure through weeds in shallow water and jerking it side-to-side to give it the look of injured prey. Chain pickerel are voracious and opportunistic feeders, and will attack most any fodder that moves into their range of vision.”
Again not an immediate ‘want to make trip’ but the striking chain pickerel would be a catch to remember if the opportunity ever arises.
