Author: Don Lamont

It seems Manitoba Sustainable Development – Fisheries Branch, has been in the news a little more than usual this past couple of years. With the Lake Winnipeg South Basin commercial and recreational fisheries under scrutiny, to the short staffing at the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery, the branch is showing its’ weariness from an apparent, decades long, systematic dismantling by various elected governments.    There are many factors one can attribute to this deterioration. However, I am not drafting this to lay blame or to point fingers. I simply want to show the factual changes that have occurred, some of the reasons for said changes and possibly offer up some solutions. Just basically how things…

While it’s still early in the ice fishing season, the south end of Last Mountain Lake, Saskatchewan has frozen over. The rest of the lake is just bit behind. Really cold temperatures are making ice fast. Jered Reiss is a hardcore angler from Regina, who spends a lot of his time chasing down the walleye on this great body of water, located just north of the city. In the story below he shares his secrets to early ice season success on this lake. Watching a determined walleye come in on my flasher and coaxing it to bite is the most…

Late fall means iffy weather but if you like fresh air and big fish, it sure is a great time to be on the water. There aren’t many years when my boat is put away before the middle of November. Recently Hooked publisher Kevin Stobbe and I met with contributor Jeff Gustafson for a day on Lake of the Woods. Jeff makes his home just outside of Keewatin, Ontario. It’s been an extremely busy year for Gussy, what with a move from the FLW to the Bassmaster Elite Series. Recent events make that move like a stroke of genius. Major…

For anglers trying to zero in on fall walleye in natural lakes, covering water can be a real key.   While there will always be a certain percentage of the walleye population in current, some of the most untapped areas are deep weed edges in combination with extensive sand, marl flats. These areas will hold a multitude of food options for walleye. This could include minnows, crayfish, insect larvae and perch. TROLL TO COVER WATER One of the most effective ways to locate these fish is by trolling. When you do this, you have a few options, my two favourite being…

This summer I wrote a story about Mary Jane Reservoir and the work local conservation groups were doing to save this unique fishery. Four years ago a number of area residents from Pilot Mound, Manitoba decided they needed to do something in their neck of the woods to revive local fisheries. Not a big group with 15 key volunteers and 40 members, the Mound Wildlife group gets after it! Pembina Valley Conservation District Award! Travis Saban is one of those key individuals. He recently dropped me a note to talk about the work the group has done over the last…

It was a gorgeous fall day, the grain fields shimmering in a warm September sun, the leaves just starting to turn colour.  Friend John Toone and I were heading west to the Parkland region of Manitoba. We had been invited by owner Paul Conchatre to visit Birdtail Waterfowl the third week of September.  Both John and I had been hunting with Paul two years previous for sandhill crane. This time we were targeting the abundant ducks and geese that roam the Parkland region of Manitoba. VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE It really is incredible the number and variety of…

Fall is here and that only means one thing, time to go hunt GREEN-BACK WALLEYES!  Anglers come from all over North America at this time of year to  Selkirk, Manitoba for a chance to land a huge green-back walleye on the world famous Red River. What is a green-back Walleye you may ask? It’s only the most awesome looking freshwater fish in Canada. Because of the limestone base on the big lake, the walleye are brilliant emerald green in color. SHINERS MOVE INTO THE RIVERS IN FALL The walleye will instinctively start to school up at the mouth of the…

Working out of one’s home has certain advantages. Probably the one I like most is missing out on rush hour. Since I live close to downtown Winnipeg this is a huge deal. It also means I can turn on the Sportsman Channel when I want to check out some of my favourite shows. Most involve bass fishing, which happens to be a passion of mine. While I still spend more time walleye fishing, my favourite fish to catch is a smallmouth. When I first broke into this business as a guide on the Winnipeg River, I was lucky enough to…

Every second year the Lamont clan and their relatives head to Clear Lake in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park, to enjoy a week of companionship.  One of my responsibilities is to bring along the boat for daily fishing excursions. Over the last twenty some years I have almost always spent at least one day on the water here every year. This past December I had a spectacular day ice fishing for Whitefish. It was the second week in July when we visited this year. CLEAR LAKE IS GREAT PIKE WATER This time we were after the abundant pike that swim…

The fever has hit! A number of years ago as editor of the Manitoba Fly Fishers Association (MFFA) I wrote an article on the evolution of the fly fisher. Really, it was about how the addiction to fly fishing drives you to more and different species, locations, and opportunities. Your addiction to fly tying also gets dragged along for good measure!  Moving to Manitoba in 2014 has really opened my world to the sheer number of species that we can target locally for our “fix”. With the move also came a whole other need to upgrade some of my equipment,…