Author: Don Lamont

 A MYRIAD OF OPTIONS FOR FALL WALLEYE For more than 40 years I have been chasing fall walleye on the Red River. One thing I have learned is that you can’t catch a trophy greenback if there not there. With social media and contact with guides on the river I can usually find out when there are a bunch if fish moved in. There are many factors that influence the movement of fish into the river but the most important is the presence of baitfish. Fisheries biologists have also determined that there is a pretty good run of whitefish spawning…

MANITOBA Lake of the Prairies It was time for our annual fall trip with a group of old friends from Saskatchewan and the West Coast. We stayed at Kilman Resort as we always do.  It has four nice cabins, a good boat launch and a nice filleting station by the water. Oh and three of the four cabins have hot tubs which is nice after a long day on the water. This was my second trip this year after visiting in June with Wes David and other industry members. I must say this time the fishing was not as good.…

MANITOBA It has been a hot couple of weeks across the prairies as we move into the middle of September. It looks like the warmer weather is going to hold on for a while longer. This has slowed down the transition of baitfish and predators to shallower water. There is some overnight movement but not concentrated pockets of larger fish. Expect the walleye to be in 16 to 24 feet of water and spread out on mud flats in a lot of our lakes. Catfish continue to be the story in this part of the country. The big channel cats…

Editor’s Note: Sorry for the delayed report but it has been hectic times around here as we try and get the Fall Issue of Hooked out next week. I must note that we have never had an issue so chock full of great content and I would like to thank all our contributors for making it happen. Make sure you subscribe to get a copy delivered to your doorstep.  MANITOBA It is officially September and as the leaves start to turn colour, big fish of all species start to get on the hunt. Channel catfish are no different and from…

Unlocking the Fall Walleye Puzzle I love fishing reservoirs and natural lakes in the fall time. They can certainly be challenging but when you unlock the puzzle it seems so worthwhile. On an early fall trip to Lake of the Prairies, local anglers told me you should have been here last week. It seems that the fishing had slowed considerably as we moved into colder temperatures. Arriving late afternoon, we launched the boat and headed out to a couple nearby points and shorelines. After four hours we had scratched together enough fish for supper, but the action could hardly be…

MANITOBA A Crappie time in the East!   Matt Gelley-MG Outdoors Pan fishing in the eastern region of Manitoba has been pretty consistent the last few weeks. Water temps have been hovering around the 24C – 75F mark for a while now. The fishing has been good. During the hot doldrums of summer, we found good schools of aggressive crappies as shallow as 8-9 feet; hugging shallow weed lines in the evening. Black crappies school hard in the heat and suspend mid-column during these times. Warmer days with stable weather is key. The other day, we watched an entire group of…

HAPPY LONG WEEKEND! It has been a scorching couple of weeks across the Prairies and  Northwestern Ontario and the fish have been feeling it. Changing your fishing times to early and late in the day can make it more comfortable but also result in better fishing. MANITOBA It is officially August and there are a wide variety of species to catch. I went on a recent trip searching for smallmouth bass. My fishing partner and I found them off rock points and weed edges, mostly in shallower water but not in bays, but shoreline related near the mouth of bays…

MANITOBA The weather has settled down a little bit since our last fishing report two weeks ago. Temperatures are back up to the hot/hot range so fishing early and lake becomes a better option. EASTERN MANITOBA Crappies don’t mind a little warm weather and will rise off the bottom as the day goes on. I have good luck on the Lee River. We  find the bigger crappie a bit deeper that this time last year. Look for larger fish came in 16 to 20 feet on the edge of big mud/sand flats. While they are easy to find at this…

FINDING OPEN WATER FORAGE FOR TROPHY SUMMERTIME SUCCESS  Every fall, I would head up to Tobin Lake to key in on a late fall run of walleye into the river system. That changed over the years as the bite in the 12 kilometres section of the river from Nipawin slowed considerably. Adapting, we started coming during July, with nicer weather and better fishing! In fact, an incredible bite for the most part. It wasn’t in the river though; it was in the main lake. THE KEY TO SUCCESS  Not every day was hot and heavy to begin with but with…

MANITOBA Rain, rain and more rain. Water levels are rising and many of our rivers are clouded with suspended mud. This includes Lake Winnipeg. I headed up to Hecla this week with my wife and some friends and was extremely disappointed to see just how muddy the water was. I know from past experience that when the strike window is severely restricted to less than a foot of visibility the bite slows down considerably. This was certainly the case our first evening out after setting up in the campground. We fished for two hours and did not get a…