Author: Don Lamont

It is late August and you have just hooked up with a 40 plus inch northern pike on the shallow edge of the cabbage and it’s pulling very, very hard. You had just tossed a “Snaggle Tooth”, multi-treble crank bait with a light rod and light line. Water temperature is around 22 Celsius and rising. It’s taking longer than usual getting this fish in due to the light gear, and it is also pulling sideways because that crank bait has hooks in the mouth and outside on the gill plate. After several minutes the beast is slowing down and…

Muskie fishermen are notorious for stockpiling tackle. Between new baits and old classics, both with different colour and size variations, it quickly adds up to a sizeable collection. Oversized tackle bags, boxes and bins for these baits typically take up a lot of space in the boat. Not to mention that muskie baits run about 30-bucks a pop, which makes it an expensive endeavor. The fact of the matter is that for someone looking to get into muskie fishing—or even a seasoned—could be very successful using just 3 different baits all season. Outfitted with just a spinnerbait, a topwater bait…

Ever fished for crappies in Manitoba?  More and more people are realizing that this species should be added to their list of species to target in this province. Many of the lakes in the Whiteshell region of this province are now home to impressive populations of this popular gamefish.  I can remember vividly to this day the great time we had on Caddy Lake ten years ago when I took my daughter out for a day on the water. She caught a massive 15 inch fish that is still the highlight of her fishing career. When I got an offer from…

High, fast, dirty water along with some cold temperatures this past weekend might have scared some anglers away from the Red River, but it didn’t stop the mighty channel catfish to go on a feeding frenzy. Jeff and Nicolas Connelly had arrived in town Friday to go after these tremendous sportfish with me on Saturday and a little cold weather wasn’t going to spoil the party. Jeff had arranged the trip to celebrate Nicolas turning sixteen years of age and a day catfishing with me was one of the presents. Neither had caught a catfish before so this was to…

Part Four- Minnitaki Lake Our final half day in Sioux Lookout was to be spent trolling in hopes of catching a trophy lake trout.  Ben Beattie really enjoys this challenge, knowing that on a good day, one or two fish is tops. We boated away from the main dock at Moosehorn Lodge at 7:14 that morning across Lost Lake to the entrance of Minnitaki Lake. This large body of water has a myriad of bays plus some large stretches of main lake basin, ideal habitat for lake trout to grow big. This lake also holds some good smallmouth bass and…

Part Three, Ben Beattie and Lost Lake Ben with a nice walleye caught dead stickingDay four finally saw us meet up with Ben Beattie, muskie fisherman extraordinaire and a darn good outdoor writer. Ben has been guiding out of Moosehorn Lodge for seven years, with a waiting clientele to book his services. We arranged this trip so we could work around Ben’s schedule but unfortunately none when the muskie season was open. So on this day we were going to try our luck on walleye, bass and pike on Lost Lake, a small body of water just south of Lac Seul…

Sioux Lookout Part Two Day three promised more great weather, but this time the wind was to be a factor in fishing success and location.  After some discussion with the guides at Moosehorn Lodge, Jim and I decided we would trailer the boat to Big Vermillion Lake. This was only a short hop from the lodge, one of many lakes in the region that hold multi species. TROLLING FOR TROUT On this particular day we wanted to try for the lake trout that swim everywhere in this relatively large and deep body of water. Since the surface water temperature…

In my 36 years in the sport fishing industry I have sampled a lot of water and heard about a lot of great fisheries. So when Hooked Magazine contributor and guide Ben Beattie talked to me about coming and fishing Lac Seul and area I didn’t have to think twice before I agreed. Lac Seul is noted for its gargantuan muskies, some of the largest in the world. Linda Rice owns the record for the largest muskie ever caught by a woman, an incredible 57 inch fish that was estimated to be 57 pounds. Linda Rice with the replica of her…

Seeking a challenge that offers inspiration and a tangible return for our efforts can be often harder than we imagine. Naturally, for many of us, we gain satisfaction by simply getting out and doing what we love most or surrounding ourselves with an environment that fulfills a passion. Sometimes though, we all need that extra bit of “wow” factor to break our norms and obvious expectations. Wouldn’t you agree? The first time I ever cast my fly rod on a Parkland stillwater was a moment that I will never forget. The anticipation of the trip weighed heavily on my mind…

I still remember the first Freshwater Drum I ever caught. I brought it to shore on the muddy banks of the Red River while bottom fishing. “What kind of fish is this?” I had asked as I began to remove the hook. “A Drum, and they can get way bigger” was the response from my friend. With droopy eyes and subtle hints of turquoise and pink shimmering on its side, I thought it was pretty cool looking. As I went to release the fish, it croaked almost like a frog before making contact with the murky water. What a neat…