Author: Don Lamont

Its official, fall has arrived! This time of year brings anglers in this part of the world out in droves, hoping to catch a trophy walleye. On a recent adventure to the Whitemud River, I pulled out my first Berkley Flicker Minnow. My friend Jim Price was using the # 7 Flicker Shad in a custom painted perch patter. By the end of the day he had out fished me about 20-14, so I would have to say that crank proved a little more effective on this day. It was also diving a bit deeper on less line than my…

Brilliant sunshine met Kevin Stobbe and I as we headed east to the Whiteshell Provincial Park this week.This was to be my annual pilgrimage to Crowduck Lake Camp. Kevin, who is the publisher of Hooked Magazine had signed up for this Charity Fishing Event with Boston Pizza owner Denis Paulhus. As editor of the magazine I got to go along.It seems I make at least one trip to this great walleye lake every year and this day did not disappoint.In fact, it was one of the better days I have on the lake as far as size of fish caught.…

Kenna with one of her many fish caught!Six Lac du Bonnet students enjoy a great day on the water!By Don LamontNestled on a small bay at the start of the Winnipeg River at Pointe du Bois, Trail End Camp is a favourite destination by anglers in the know. This was the destination on a beautiful August day this past month for some lucky students from Lac du Bonnet and area. Vance and Maureen Hrechkosy were outside the main lodge to greet the six students from Lac du Bonnet that had been offered a dream fishing trip. It was to be…

Saturday  Our last full day, we decide to head down the foothills to the Oldman River,  in a section near Highway 22. I have one of my most enjoyable days using two different presentations. I start with a Terranasty along with a Prince nymph dropper. Six fish later the action slows…then on the last pool of the day fish start to rise and I catch two beautiful trout on a Royal Coachman on what was a great day for me. All in all a great trip with some real nice guys, something I sure would consider doing again.

   Part Two of our Adventure to southern Alberta Now headquartered out of the Racehorse Creek campground the next three days are spent fishing the Livingstone River. There are many roads that lead to the riverside, but this river is also very popular among fly fisherman. The first two days we don’t have too much trouble finding a stretch of river to fish, but come Friday things are crowded. On our first day on the Livingstone, Len Penner has a great day, landing nearly 20 fish. Lime Sally was the fly of the day. Phil and I catch some fish…

DAY FOUR: Castle Falls holds some big bull trout! The next day we try and access the south Castle River but are stopped by some washed out sections of the access road. Instead we stay relatively close to home and fish the forks of the south and west Castle. Some beautiful pools make this short section attractive but Phil hooks the only rainbow of the trip on a big brown Wooly Bugger fished in a straight section of the river. Meantime in the pool below I land two cutthroat back to back before we call it a day. That’s because…

Often overlooked and similarly undervalued, rough fish are some of the best fighting, interesting looking and sometimes challenging fish to catch. A good portion of my shore angling is spent targeting carp, different species of suckers and catfish just to name a few. Many different types of water bodies hold rough fish and each requires its own plan of attack, what works one week may not the next and as with any fishing, seasonal patterns are very important. The saying “here today, gone tomorrow” often applies and when the bite is hot and the weather nice, it’s time to go…

Top water tactics for explosive summertime muskie action. One of the first times I brought my wife muskie fishing I set her up with a Top Raider surface bait. They are easy to cast and even easier to retrieve. She was getting the hang of throwing the bigger muskie baits and her figure 8’s were coming along nicely too. We hadn’t been out long when I noticed the tell-tale ‘wake’ behind her bait and I calmly told her she had a follow and to just keep reeling and be ready to do a figure-8. As her bait approached the boat,…

  While the Castle River is one of the more popular in the region, it can, like most rivers, be tough to fish. On our third day we headed southwest from Castle Falls on Road 774 past the Castle Mountain ski resort. This is rugged country and four wheel drive is recommended if you are going to access stretches of the river off road. Not only that, but you have to be prepared to do some work to get to different sections of the river. There is fallen timber everywhere, which means you can only access short stretches of the…

  DAY TWO: On day two of our trip, we headed over a nearby mountain pass to fish the Carbondale River. Access to this steep sided smaller river was somewhat difficult. We ended up finding an old access bridge and walking down the bank near a busy campground. Phil and I stared fishing a deep pool but I quickly decided to work on taking both still pictures and videos with my new Nikon AW1. Phil lands a small cutthroat in a back eddie This rugged camera is shock proof and waterproof to 49 feet. In other words, a camera that…