Uni-National Coaster Brook Trout Initiative

This past season brought the largest number of coaster brook trout into the tributary streams of Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior that we have seen for decades. Not only was the run plentiful, but the trout were large in size. Many brook trout in excess of twenty inches were caught and released, including fish in the twenty-four inch category (in excess of six pounds) that I have personal knowledge of. The run was triggered early in mid-August by heavy rains and went hard and heavy right into October, long after the brook trout season closed on Labour Day. I had one day in mid-August where my partner and I duped almost two-dozen fish; his were on deeply swung streamers, and mine on traditional dries and bombers. Incidentally, the secret to the dry fly action -- revealed accidentally -- was a twitch of the fly on the surface. A simple dead-drift brought nothing to the surface, but a twitch or jerk of the dry fly seemed to trigger something carnivorous in these big brookies.

But enough of the fish stories! The real story is the reclamation of the coasters along the shores of Nipigon Bay and the north shore of Lake Superior. The reasons for this -- always anecdotal -- are generally attributed to the lower harvest regulations imposed on the Nipigon River continuum, which is the lower Nipigon River (below Alexander’s Dam) and Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior. Here the new harvest limit of one brook trout per day of at least twenty-inches in length, has really made a marked difference in the population of area coasters. Especially considering that ten years previous the limit was five fish per day of any size. Coasters, being a large brook trout with a natural penchant towards baitfish, have a tendency to be fooled quite easily by anglers. And if harvest regulations allow, they can be harvested right into extinction. Ask anyone who has been around for the better part of the century, or read the fishing annals from previous centuries, and you will note that large catches of coasters were quite common all over Lake Superior and in many other Great Lakes. Subsequently, minimum harvest, not to mention extreme care in the handling of released fish, is of utmost importance if we want to hold onto these giant brookies.

This season I participated in tagging coaster brook trout for the Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario) to assist in their effort to study their migratory habits. It was a tough job: catch brookies on flies, carefully land them, cradle them in the water, and attach a white tag onto their bodies just beside the dorsal fin before release. In addition to this tagging effort the MNR has also implanted several coasters with electronic transmitters and monitored them all season with tracking devices -- again to learn more about their migratory habits. Preliminary findings show that the coasters, true to their name, migrate along the coast of Superior and up into tributaries in search of food. Sometimes fish have been caught thirty kilometres or more from their initial tagging sight. In addition to this information, we have seen, most vividly, the positive attributes of catch and release. Personally, I have caught about a dozen coasters now with two tags (from separate dates) attached to them. This means that these fish, sometimes in excess of twenty inches in length, have been caught at least three times. Good arguments to oppose the naysayers on the benefits of catch and release!

Presently, Trout Unlimited and Trout Unlimited Canada have identified the coaster brook trout as a fish worthy of their attention -- and what a welcoming thought that is for the lovers of the coaster brook trout. I might add that it is about time. Several years ago, myself and several other coaster fans attempted to start an interest group in Thunder Bay, Ontario to foster support for the coaster. This was met with little interest from many groups, and didn’t fly. But, hopefully, this new initiative will bring the issues to the forefront.

I might add as a personal reflection, that the Ontario government has been somewhat remiss in their funding and support for coaster research in previous years and one can only hope that this initiative will spur them to their senses (either out of responsibility or shame, or both), to get their check books out, and to don the work gloves.

Some initial hurdles to conquer will be a study to actually determine the population of coasters in Superior, or at the least in the Nipigon continuum -- which is the stronghold and root of this population. Secondly, the lower harvest regulation needs to be extended to include the tributaries (to the first barrier to migratories) of Nipigon Bay and the Nipigon River, which still host the archaic limit of five fish per day. Finally, angling methods in certain tributaries and during certain times of the year need to be considered. There is no sense in restricting harvest and yet allowing bait fishing and angling with artificials armed with doubles and triples of treble hooks. In my personal view, better angling regulations could lead to extended seasons and additional angling opportunities for coasters. At present the season ends on Labour Day, and this gives fly fishers little opportunity for the coaster experience in a stream setting. I have always maintained that without angling opportunity, support from anglers for any fish dwindles quickly. RWOL

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