This is what you can expect on this trail: The caches are approximately placed 2 to 4 miles apart and are usually no more than 500 feet from the highway. Cache containers are micros and larger. There will be a mix of container types and some will be winter friendly and some won't. For this reason there won't be a winter attribute at all because of snow levels on the sides of the roads in the winter will vary. Some of the caches will require you to walk thru ditches so depending on time of year and water levels rubber boots might be a good idea.
Fishing is a big part of Manitoba so we will be naming the caches on this leg of the trail after fish species that can be found here.
Kokanee:
Kokanee feed on plankton, but mainly on Zooplankton (very small aquatic animals). They filter Zooplankton from the water by using numerous fine combs on their gills, called gill rakers. The word Kokanee comes from the Kootenay First Nation word meaning “red fish”. The Kokanee’s red flesh is caused by the carotenes found in the skeletal structures of the Zooplankton that they eat. Zooplankton is light sensitive and will only move up in the water coloumn during low light periods. As the day gets brighter they will go deeper and the Kokanee will follow. Kokanee at times will also feed on other forage such as small insects, larvae, plants and sometimes shrimp. Depending on the Kokanee strain they can live between 4 to 7 years. Majority of Kokanee spawn on their 4thyear and like salmon they die off after the spawn. From August to December mature Kokanee make their way into streams and lake shores to spawn. During the spawn the fish transform in appearance from their nickel silver colour to green and red, very similar to Sockeye Salmon. You can tell the difference between the males from the females due to the male’s long jaws, large teeth and hooked snout (The Kype)
