Author: Don Lamont

MANITOBA Above average temperatures have returned to the prairies throwing a bit of a curveball to ice anglers. According to Mat Hobson who owns and operates Icebound Excursions on Lake Winnipeg it broke up he big pods of fish, slowing the bite a bit.  As the weather stabilizes again, he anticipates the game will be back on! Hooked Contributor Matt Gelley recently headed out on Lake Winnipeg in style with Le Burger Week champ Carlo Guzzi!  Special thanks to Westshore Marine for the fully loaded double cab Polaris Ranger on tracks. We had a great couple days chasing down…

MANITOBA Cold artic air has spread across the prairies and as I write this we have a windchill of minus 40 Celsius out the front door. We also got a lot of snow this week, changing the dynamics of on ice travel. NORTHERN MANITOBA The ice fishing season is in full swing up north. Lodges like Baker Narrows and Viking Lodge offer winter lake trout ice fishing excursions and accommodation. These have become an extremely popular bucket list destination trips for more and more anglers. Here is a beautiful 39 inch lake trout caught and released by Nick Sumner on…

A YEAR IN REVIEW As we welcome in the New Year, we at Hooked Media would like to thank all the people that made 2023 such a memorable one for us. There was no bigger highlight than the Bassmaster Classic win by our longtime contributor and friend Jeff Gustafson. In early January last year I was on the phone with Gussy talking about his season on the Bassmaster Elite circuit when he brought up the Bassmaster Classic Event. It was  being held in Knoxville, Tennessee at the end of March and Gussy dropped a bombshell. “Don, he said, you should…

MANITOBA Some colder weather has arrived across the prairies and with a lack of snow cover in many areas the ice is thickening at a rapid rate. Friend Jim Price reports great ice conditions on Lake Manitoba with 16 inches in most places on the lake. He has been driving on for a while now and reports good fishing action just before dark in shallow water. Jim says he has been finding walleye tight to shore all over the lake. LAKE WINNIPEG Big Windy is starting to heat up. Anglers are now driving out from various access points. There are…

MANITOBA As is usually the case, stocked trout have been the early ice story in Manitoba. Given the wind and warmth this has also been the safest choice for ice anglers. Bower Lake in the southwest corner of the province has been producing some really nice rainbow trout. Hardcore angler Sarah Henuset has been landing some master angler fish. Up in the Duck Mountains you have a variety of lakes that are fishable. Gull Lake has been solid for a variety of stocked trout species. As always Twin Lakes continue to amaze. It has decent ice and the fishing has…

FIRST ICE ADVENTURES ACROSS THE PRAIRIES MANITOBA Ice conditions are still very iffy across the southern half of the province, especially on larger lakes and reservoirs. Some of the smaller stocked trout lakes and ponds are fishable close to the shores. The Duck Mountains are always a good choice at this time of the year because of higher elevation and colder overnight temperatures. Check out the Digital Edition of Hooked Magazine, covering tons of Manitoba Ice options! DBFishing and his friend Brandon recently make the drive to Gull Lake in the Ducks for brookies, rainbows and splake! https://youtu.be/1obM3GzdppE Twin…

SOUTH DAKOTA ICE INSTITUTE SHOW Before we get into this weeks report an update on the past weeks activity down south. Hooked and Travel Manitoba headed down to Sioux Falls for their big ice fishing show November 10th to 12th. Representing Travel Manitoba were young guns Nolan Phew and Petro Hrynda. Wes David came all the way from Alberta to do seminars and talk about the great fishing to be had in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Over the course of the three days Publisher Kevin Stobbe and I gave away hundreds of issues the Winter Edition of Hooked Magazine which is…

MANITOBA They arrive a later every year but when they do it is quite a bite! The greenback walleye showed up in the Red River starting the first week of October and the fishing got better every day. Unfortunately Mother Nature has played a big role in shutting down the party. Heavy snowfall the last three days is making conditions tough to trailer and launch. Still, shore anglers are catching some nice walleye! As the season winds down don’t forget to get the water out of your lower leg on your outboard and put some fuel conditioner in the…

BE PATIENT AND IT WILL HAPPEN 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 a trip last fall to Lake of the Prairies, all the 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. THE SEARCH BEGINS 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,…

MANITOBA Every year at this time, hardcore walleye anglers patiently wait for the walleye to show up in the Winnipeg and Red Rivers. A warm fall has slowed the fall run of greenbacks somewhat but there are still fish being caught. Winnipeg Jets players and coaching staff assembled on Saturday, Oct. 7 for a Team Building outing on the Red River in pursuit of walleye, sauger, freshwater drum and goldeye. It was an tremendously organized event, jointly put together through the hockey club and local guide and fishing personality Todd Longley which included a fish fry at the end of the…