Author: Don Lamont

MANITOBA Travel on all our waterbodies remains difficult with deep snow, large drifts and slush in many spots. This didn’t stop hardcore anglers Petro Hrynda and Nolan Plew from heading up to the Porcupine Hills recently. They were after a bucket list fish of a lifetime, the rare Artic Char. I saw a post of a huge char on Instagram and reached out to Petro so he could tell our readers about this incredibly difficult adventure. Here is his story. FISH OF A LIFETIME – PETRO HRYNDA In the dead of winter, an opportunity opens up to chase trout deep…

 SOME OF THE FINEST FISHING IN THE WORLD Over the last 30 years I have visited almost every corner of the Wheat Province, experiencing some of the best angling in the world! One thing you must understand about this province is that there is drive-to access to two-thirds of it. This dramatically increases opportunity while reducing costs. It is impossible to write one article that outlines all the great fishing opportunities. What I hope to do, is reveal some lakes, reservoirs, and rivers that I have come across in my travels that I have thoroughly enjoyed fishing. SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN In…

MANITOBA With cold temperatures and heavy snowfall in January, travel on the ice in most regions has been difficult. Most is restricted to snowmobile or SnoBear travel. Some hardcore ice anglers have been travelling in truck convoys in order to help the others get unstuck. It really is not the safest time out there. Jay Siemens recently headed out by snow machine from Gimli and had a successful day on the water thanks to help from Mat Hobson of Icebound Excursions https://youtu.be/-0QKYLl8wq8 NORTHERN MANITOBA Meantime Clayton Shick continues his tour of northern Manitoba. His latest adventure is on Lake…

LAKE WINNIPEG-UNLOCKING THE PUZZLE-PART ONE EDITOR’S NOTE- WE ARE GOING TO PUBLISH A THREE PART SERIES ON  THE RISE AND FALL OF FISH STOCKS IN LAKE WINNIPEG AND IT’S TRIBUTARIES. IN THE FIRST PART I RECOUNT MY OWN EXPERIENCES WITH THE BIG LAKE AND ITS TRIBUARTIES. IN THE SECOND PART WE EXAMINE FISH MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.   IN THE THIRD PART WE WILL DISCUSS WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. THE EARLY DAYS In the forty years I have been fishing Lake Winnipeg, during the 80’s and 90’s  I rarely fished the open water on the main lake. The truth be told…

WINTER DOLUDRUMS? NOT SO MUCH! An extended cold period across the prairies cut down on ice fishing activity over the Christmas Holidays and into the New Year. Despite the extreme cold, there has been some spectacular ice fishing in this part of the world. With the technological advances in portable shelters, clothing, and heaters, you can fish comfortably in almost any weather. Where it does get tricky is getting to where you want to go without the danger of getting stranded, or even worse, breaking through the ice. Every year vehicles go on down and this year is no exception.…

WHAT WILL 2022 BRING? While I don’t fish the 200 days a year when I started in this industry,  I still love to travel and fish new water. I think that has always been in my DNA and why I loved doing my television show for 15 years.  It doesn’t hurt that I am editor of Hooked Magazine plus the fishing columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press. It all means I still get opportunities do what I love the most. For a year and a half when COVID hit everything came to a standstill. There was very little human interaction…

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS It is a great time to spend time with your family and one of the best ways is in the outdoors. Anglers across the west have been streaming out to lakes, rivers and reservoirs to enjoy ice fishing. Here at Hooked we wish you a safe and happy holiday season. MANITOBA The Red River has returned to its glory days with many Master Angler fish being registered. The walleye fishery continues to bounce back and many of the Lake Winnipeg guides attribute it to the increase in mesh size on the south basin from 3…

MANITOBA WILDLIFE FEDERATION TO SPEARHEAD INITIATIVE The MWF has signed on to a new project for Big Windy titled “Improved Fisheries Management through Angling Assessment and Education Project”   The project has two components. PART ONE: ANGLING AWARENESS The MWF is hiring a recreational angling coordinator to assist with public communication around angling awareness. This person will also deal with staff recruitment and provide education to anglers on Manitoba’s impending angling regulation changes. PART TWO/ CREEL STUDIES ON ANGLER HARVEST This part of the project is designed to improve the understanding of angler use and harvest on Lake Winnipeg.  Money for…

COLD WEATHER DOESN’T LAST MANITOBA A few cold nights has helped tighten up ice in most parts of the west, but a return to warmer temperatures for the next week will slow things down. Anglers have been walking on many of the lakes and rivers in the southern half of the province and ice conditions are good for the most part. Ice cleats are a must on some of the ones that have frozen fairly smooth. With no snow cover, it makes walking without them an issue. In the last two weeks the three biggest stories have been the following:…

CRAPPIE STUDY HELPS WITH FISHERIES MANAGEMENT MacKenzie Hauger completed her Masters of Biological Science at the University of Manitoba over the last few years. Why is that of interest? To complete her Masters, she decided to do research on our black crappie populations. This information is critical to make informed management decision on this great sport fish. In the summer of 2018, she finished Phase 1 of her research, finishing Phase 2 the next summer. The completed study was designed to get a handle on the crappie population in the province of Manitoba. Crappie have become one of the most…