I went fishing

I took a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and went fishing in the Red River in Lockport. Lockport is only about 3 km away from our place. We fish near the dam. The fish come up from Lake Winnipeg  and are stopped by the dam. They congregate in the turbulent water below the dam in great masses. Many anglers go there every day to try their luck. Sometimes people fish shoulder to shoulder, especially on the weekends and when the weather is nice. Sometimes whole families are there. Not really a place to go if you want to spend a quiet few hours of fishing.

I was lucky and caught 7 Goldeye and 2 Sauger. The Sauger were a bit on the small size. The limit for Goldeye is 10, so I'm still 3 short of my limit. Should I catch more they'll go on my wife's license. I scaled them with a scaler-board I got from my son years ago. I've never used it before. It works great. You just insert the tail of the fish into the clamp at the end of the board and start scaling them fish with a scaling-knife. The fish are slippery and it is hard to hold them.The scaler-board makes it so easy. Once they are scaled I gut them, wash them and put them into a freezer bag filled with water (4 fish in a bag), then I freeze them until it is time to smoke them. Probably in the fall when the weather is cooler.

I used a 6 pound test line on my rod, put a floater about 4 feet above the hook. The hook is small, tipped with a piece of night crawler (a large worm). Then I throw it into the river and let it drift in the current, hoping to catch a fish. Some guys there didn't use a floater. They fish the bottom. I tried it but gave it up. I got hung up between the rocks at the bottom of the river and lost a few hooks and the sinkers, not to mention a few feet of line.

I also caught a carp and a tiny catfish (about 3 inches long). I don't keep the carp. They are too greasy and taste muddy. Some people keep them. They must really spice them up for them to taste like anything I'd want to eat. Obviously, I didn't keep the catfish either.