Welcome to Week XVI 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 a boat a look at some of the options in the Yorkton area where you can fish from shore, and hopefully catch some fish for a good summer fry.''
Locally there probably isn't a better known lake than Good Spirit.
It is home to the closest provincial park to the city, and is known for its sandy bottom which goes well out into the lake, making it a wonderful spot for swimmers.
The same shallow water which attracts swimmers is bad news for shore fishermen. Fish tend to like deeper water, and while predatory fish such as the pike will eagerly swim into shallower water to chase down prey, it's hard to cast out to where the fish lurk over the extended shallow shorelines.
Still Good Spirit is home to the usual cast of sport fish for the region, perch, pike and walleye, so it's compelling to want to toss a hook or two into its waters.
Interestingly the provincial park doesn't offer much shore opportunity.
The boat launch is an option, but it's a busy launch, especially on weekends, so that has limited appeal.
A walk, a somewhat long one, will take you to the dam area, and reports have had good fishing there this summer, in particular for pike. However, if you are carrying tackle box, a couple of rods (remember the take an extra in case one malfunctions rule), and an extended walk in inconvenient.
Catch your limit and the walk back out is even more so.
There are however a few other options in terms of shore finishing Good Spirit.
On the invitation for a pulled-pork supper with friends Rex and Randy Goulden we headed up Highway #9 turning left at the signage for Burgis Beach.
This is a private development with a boat lagoon built to facilitate housing boats and giving them a deeper access point to the lake.
After the tasty supper we gave the launch area a try. You can walk right along the outlet to the lake edge, with fishing spots along the way.
It wasn't our night, but after pulled-pork who really cares.
Still other fishermen giving the same locale a try that night did report success there in the past. A hot July night was not exactly prime time for fishing, and the empty stringer proved that.
But one try in a lake is never enough, so on a sunny holiday Monday we head to the lake's north end, finding, not easily, the signage is a bit tricky to follow, Trapper's Cove Resort.
This is another private development, one where they charge access to basically cross their property and park in order to fish in provincially held water. The fee is not huge, $6 bucks a vehicle, but is a tad annoying since it isn't even a regional park.
The payment does give you access to Spirit Creek where it flows into Good Spirit Lake. By our August 6, visit the weeds limited fishing spots, but there were a few areas clear enough to cast to.
The spot was slow, but it did give up a couple of nice pike, but that was it.
That's not all that bad, since we headed into nearby Canora where Raymond's Family Restaurant has some of the tastiest Chinese hot plates in the region. Any excuse to have a meal there is a bonus.
As for Trapper's spot, I would expect the fishing there to be much better in the early spring. River fishing generally is with fish migrating, and weeds would not be a big issue early in the year either.
There are undoubtedly other spots conducive to shore fishing around Good Spirit Lake, it is after all a big body of water, with several developments along its shores.
But even with that, Good Spirit Lake is not a high priority in terms of shore fishing given better options in the region.
