Well, it has been our mid-year maintenance week this week, up here at Miminiska Lodge, dolling this place up and giving the fish a bit of a rest from everyone seeking that trophy or two – well, almost a rest. In between painting and working we have been sneaking up to the Keehzik River mouth, just a short boat ride away, and boy-o-boy have we been hitting some fish! Rob, our dockhand hauled in a 23-inch walleye on his first cast, coming from the previous day, where all he was getting were “Rock” Bass (rocks) haha. I had my fly-rod, trying not to be out fished, and hauled in a 24 ½ inch walleye, just to show Rob who really is boss up here. I brought that walleye in on a 5-weight beginners flyrod with big pike flies and let me tell you, it was almost put into retirement. Even the Miminiska girls were scoring big and we had a great day of catch and release walleye fishing, we actually had to leave the river mouth to have some down-time, so we could relax. Every time you put the line in the water it was like you were hitting the fish on the head or something, they snapped it up straight away.
Last week a guest brought in this photo – and asked me what the heck it was. I did NOT know what it was, but the column below: It’s a what? introduces me – and perhaps you – to the Canadian Burbot.
This Aussie is starting to regret that the season only holds another 5 weeks up here at Mim, this place is just so beautiful and breath-taking, its hard to imagine how to spend the rest of the year, although we are heading to Thailand to sail around the remote islands with a nice rum in the hand for six months, but I will still miss this place and the great mates we have made since being here, every group has been special and all of you cobbers* are bloody good Blokes and Sheila’s.
Hoo-roo for this week and looking forward to our next lot of mates* coming to Miminiska Lodge.
…Tristan & Jasmine Yuswak
*Australian term for a pal
It’s a What?
The little fingerling you see in the photo is called the burbot. And they can get mighty big – although we have not seen a big one at any of our destinations. The burbot (Lota lota), is the only freshwater cod-like fish. It is also known as the lawyer, and (misleadingly) eelpout, and closely related to the common ling and the cusk. It’s the only member of the genusLota. The genus and species name “lota” comes from “la lotte,” the old French word for codfish. The Inuktitut / Inupiaq word burbot was used to name the recently discovered extinct transitional species.
In 1994, the World Record burbot was caught on Lake Athapapuskow, Manitoba, during the Flin Flon Fish Enhancement Society’s Burbot Derby, by Vaughan Kshywiecki. The fish weighed 22 pounds 8 ounces and measured 42 1/2 inches long! You may learn more about this record fish here.