Author: Don Lamont

Catching Lake Superior steelhead through the ice is one of the most challenging and exciting types of winter angling there is. These big, nickel plated rainbow trout are tough to pattern at the best of times, and under the ice they become even more unpredictable. Yet hook up with a winter steelhead and it’s likely to be a fight you will remember. These fish strike at full snort and make mind boggling power runs. More than a few winter anglers have been spooled when they connected with a steelhead and didn’t have adequate line to handle the runs. Powerful stuff…

The prize that these fishers were after were the fast growing and large rainbow trout stocked annually by myself and by the men and women who raised them at our Provincial Fish Hatchery near Westhawk Lake. Obviously I knew these fish were in there. What I did not realise, until I started meeting some of these fishers, was that they were not only from Manitoba but the United States. In fact, the majority came across the border from North and South Dakota, Montana and Utah. These folks had heard about our cluster of stocked nutrient rich stillwater trout lakes…

The temperatures have dropped and the landscape has changed, a season many dread is upon us and I can credit ice fishing for me not being one of those people. The crisp layer on top of the snow pack crunching beneath your feet, each breath exhaled clearly visible as you near your intended spot on the ice. The rare chance of a sun dog on those almost too cold to be outside kind of days. These are just a few of the things I like about ice fishing. With so many species to target and many more bodies of water…

Illustration by Sara Wilde Take it serious when you take on fishing with the kids or risk being reduced to the laughingstock of the family, and I know this from experience. Jackson was nine and Gloria was seven when their old man demonstrated such a lack of maturity and grace that I’ll admit I may have ruined them. We were shore fishing from that spot in St. Vital Park known for a mixed bag, reliable bite, and snag-free waters. I whistled the theme from Andy of Mayberry to annoy the kids as we scoured amongst the dogwoods for a stick…

Guide proven tactics for when the going gets tough. When it comes to winter walleye fishing it seems like the trend is either feast or famine. One day they’re smashing everything you put in front of them and the next they’re nothing more than marks on your flasher. Trying times on the ice get more common during the mid-winter timeframe, too. When walleyes aren’t co-operating try turning to finesse techniques to coax bites from inactive fish. WATCH FOR SIGNS There are no hard and fast rules saying when it’s time to start finesse fishing. On a day-to-day basis I let…

Pete with a nice one!When I saw the weather forecast for Thursday this week, I knew I had to get out to Traverse Bay for some greenback walleye. Word on the street had anglers heading up from as far away as South Dakota to get in on a late season bite. Friend Pete Hiebert and I arrived at the boat launch just after 8:30 in the morning and there were already a number of boats launched. As we had driven up that morning the wind was gusting from the northwest, the worst possible direction for Traverse Bay. Once on the…

Manitoba has a new record goldeye! Jim Tarsiuk with his monster goldeye!Jim Tarasiuk has been fishing with friend Terry Tooley on the Saskatchewan River for the last seven years. Terry held the Manitoba goldeye record for five years, from 2007 to 2012. So, it was only fitting that the two were fishing together at the time when this fish was caught. Jim wasn’t sure what kind of fish he had on the line when he set the hook given the variety of species that exist in that stretch of river near The Pas. In fact, given the pull on the end…

Jim and Dale with another Red Zone fishTOBIN LAKE: DAY THREEOur captain had to head to Saskatoon for a wedding so we jumped in with Dale and Russ in the big 21 foot Ranger. Since there were four of us fishing today we decided to jig. With a water temperature at 46 Fahrenheit, the use of a jig at this of the year is always a great option. As it turned out, we had a tremendous day on the water with 16 Red Zone walleye caught. I have done a lot of jig fishing over the years and I have…

Don and the Captain!DAY TWO: TOBIN LAKEThe sun broke out on day two of our trip and so did our spirits. Funny how a little sun can cheer things up and erase some of the disappointment of the day before.Jim and I were in Boyd’s boat again as we headed back down to the river from Tobin Lake Resort where we were staying. A strong west wind made heading out to the big lake an impossibility. Jim taking a bit of a breakGiven the success we had trolling yesterday (Jim!), we decided to put some time in today, fine tuning…

DAY ONE: TOBIN LAKEThe long range forecast was very encouraging, sun and temperatures getting over the ten Celsius mark, a heat wave at this time of year. We had moved up our annual fishing trip to Tobin Lake, Saskatchewan a week earlier than in previous years. After an uneventful ride from Winnipeg, we caught up with a number of old friends who make this trip so special for us.On day one we fish with Boyd Holmen, in his eighteen foot Yar Craft, a very nice rig indeed! This turned out to be the nicest day weather wise but probably our slowest…