Welcome to Week CXCV 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.
There are not many game fish, at least in these parts more distinctive in the way they look; most would just stay downright ugly, than the burbot.
When I was a youngster I recall catching them at Tobin Lake or the spillway area at least, and then they were seen by almost all as a waste fish, tossed up shore for the bears to dine on after dark.
Today, the burbot has gained broader acceptance.
It is a game fish, deservedly so from the amount of fight they offer when hooked.
And as game fish, they are now covered by limits, which are again good, since no fish really deserves to be bear food.
It helps too that people have learned than the scale-less hide can be peeled away and there is some rather tasty fish there. The burbot has earned a reputation of being ‘Prairie Lobster’ in some circles.
So it was with some added interest I delved into an article by Jared Blohm in the Ice Fishing magazine.
“Matt Breuer can’t hide his excitement for burbot. The owner and operator of Northcountry Guide Service in Bemidji, Minnesota, has a passion for the serpent-like fish known as eelpout in his neck of the woods,” notes the story.
“Despite being within a short drive of some of the best walleye, perch, crappie, bluegill and northern pike fisheries in the country, when not guiding clients, Breuer often heads to the deepest crevices of nearby lakes to target the whiskered ‘pout.
“I think at first it was the fact that nobody was doing it,” Breuer said. “I’ve always liked stuff that was kind of different.”
“But before he knew it, eelpout fishing became much more than a change of face.
“I just fell in love with it,” he admitted.”
So a bit more about the eelpout or burbot.
“The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance, with elongated bodies and the dorsal and anal fins continuous with the caudal fin. All of the roughly 300 species are marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths,” describes Wikipedia.
“The burbot (Lota lota) or bubbot is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. Also known as mariah, freshwater ling, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod and (misleadingly) eelpout, the burbot is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk. It is the only member of the genus Lota. The Burbot is the only individual from the cod family that lives in freshwater. For some time of the year the burbot lives under ice. They require frigid temperatures to breed.
“The name burbot comes from the Latin word barba, meaning beard, referring to its single chin whisker, or barbel. The genus and species name “lota” comes from the old French lotte fish named also “barbot” in Old French. The Inuktitut–Iñupiaq word for burbot was also used to name the recently discovered extinct presumed transitional species Tiktaalik.
“With an appearance like a cross between a catfish and an eel, the burbot has a serpent-like body, but it is easily distinguished by a single barbel on the chin. The body is elongated and laterally compressed, with a flattened head and single tube-like projection for each nostril. The mouth is wide, with both upper and lower jaws consisting of many small teeth. Burbot have two soft dorsal fins; the first being low and short, the second being much longer. The anal finis low and almost as long as the dorsal fin. The caudal fin is rounded, the pectoral fins are fan-shaped, and pelvic finsare narrow with an elongated second fin ray. Having such small fins relative to body size indicates a benthic lifestyle with low swimming endurance, unable to withstand strong currents. The circular or cycloid scales are very small, making it difficult to accurately age, and thus even more challenging to manage.
“Burbot have circumpolar distribution above 40°N. Populations are continuous from the British Isles across Europe and Asia to the Bering Strait. In North America, burbot range from the Seward Peninsula in Alaska to New Brunswick along the Atlantic coast. Burbot are most common in streams and lakes of North America and Europe. They are fairly common in Lake Erie, but are also found in the other Great Lakes. Recent genetic analysis suggests the geographic pattern of burbot may indicate multiple species or subspecies, making this single taxon somewhat misleading.”
Back to the magazine article.
“When searching for eelpout, Breuer starts in deep water.
“Typically, all winter and even in the summer, they’re a really deep-water fish,” he said. “They only live in lakes that get really deep because they need that cold water to survive through the summer. They thrive in cold water, which is why they bite during the winter months so well.”
“Eelpout are aggressive biters, so most ice fishermen target them using big spoons or jigs that can be seen from a distance. The heavier the lure, the better, Breuer said.
“You want to stir up the bottom to peak their curiosity and bring them in,” he said.
“Don’t skimp on the bait either. Breuer hooks a live minnow through the tail on one of the treble hooks, a minnow head on another and a tail on the third.
“You want a really big profile,” he said. “I think a big part of that is the bigger the profile of everything, the more disturbances there will be in the water.”
To get more of a feel for eelpout check out www.eelpoutfestival.com
Yes there is actually a festival to the fish.
For the past 37 years, and for three days every February, crowds that are more than 10 times the population of tiny Walker, Minn. (pop. 1,069) gather on Minnesota’s third largest lake (112,000-acres), Leech Lake, for a festival named for one of the ugliest bottom-dwelling fish, the eelpout.
“In a state where it is common to embrace the quirky and find great fun in the most unlikely circumstances and weather conditions, this festival is pure Minnesota fun,” details the website.
