Welcome to Week XVIII 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.''
Sometimes fishing takes you to places which are truly magnificent in terms of the natural scenery. A spot on Schutte Lake comes to mind as I think back over this year's fishing.
And then there are those fishing spots where the man made world around the spot is what sticks in your mind, and no I am not talking the massive lakefront homes people perch on the edge of our lakes making it ever tougher to find a shore spot to fish.
We are back in the Qu'Appelle Valley and headed to Mission Lake.
On the shores of Mission Lake sits the small community of Lebret, a village first incorporated in 1912.
As we turn into Lebret and head toward the lake you come upon Sacred Heart Church, and you have to think Wow!
The Catholic church is a huge fieldstone-constructed church which was built in 1925, and it really is beautiful in its design and size, and with the lake nearby, the setting is something people should see.
At the same time if you look back you see the north wall of the valley, and a series of crosses leading up to a small chapel at the top. It was in 1929 the landmark stations of the cross and the small chapel shrine on the hill overlooking Lebret were erected.
The site will mean more to Catholics, but you do not need to be religious at all to appreciate the atmosphere the church and crosses create.
It is against this setting we hit the lake just in behind the church.
The weeds are thick so it's a place for Mepps Syclops as they tend to skirt over weeds better.
There are also some good weedless hooks out there with designs which protect the hook tips so they don't drag a bunch of weed with them as they pass through a bed.
In spite of using such hooks, the spot is completely inactive. Like many I'd guess in spring before weeds grow to thick the spot would be better.
So we move west through the village and find a long beach area.
I find a big rock as a perch in a spot where I couldn't see the hint of green in the water, which is a sure sign of weeds. It is a spot where I have an avenue between two weed patches. If I cast too far left, or right, I am fighting weeds.
Such a spot between weed beds should be good for fishing, especially pike which often patrol weed bed edges looking for smaller prey hiding in the weeds.
I do manage one small pike, and by small, I mean tiny. Still the little pike did give me reason to smile, as it meant I had caught a pike in five linked Qu'Appelle Valley lakes this summer. Only Pasqua Lake remains and I can't find anyone who can point me to a viable shore fishing spot on Pasqua.
So I go walking down the beach, trying different spots, fighting weeds mostly, but finally hitting on a keeper pike.
I make my way back to my original perch, try some more casts, then wander the other direction (north) and find the best spot of the day. I get a couple of keepers, toss another couple back.
It is slow, especially for late afternoon, evening fishing, even for August.
Again though the entire length of shoreline would no doubt be easier to fish before the growth of weeds which comes with summer.
Of the lakes along the bottom of the Qu'Appelle Mission does have a lot of shore fishing area, but the results were not as good as one would hope for. Maybe next spring?
