Sun finally comes out on Day 4! You roll the dice with the weather the last week in October in northern Saskatchewan. This year the weather and the fishing came up snake eyes. In four days of fishing Tobin Lake the temperature in this part of the world never got above minus three Celsius. Combine that with a brisk north wind all four days and you had wind chills in the minus 12 range. How cold was it? So cold that the front troll motor froze in place on more than one occasion! We were basically ice fishing out of a…
Author: Don Lamont
Don Lamont
Don Lamont - The Complete Angler Don Lamont has been a full time professional angler for 41 years, hosting and producing the award winning “The Complete Angler” television series for fifteen of those. Don has received several awards for his commitment to public education and the future of recreational fishing in Canada. Don had a regular fishing column in the Winnipeg Free Press for 30 years and is currently editor of Hooked Magazine. He also recently took on the role of Executive Director of the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters, if he wasn't busy enough already! He recently published a book that highlights many of his adventures over a lifetime of fishing. It can be purchased online at donlamont.com
It had been a week since my last trip to the mighty Red. But a forecast of 10 Celsius along with some sunshine, not to mention the chance to catch some more trophy walleye was all the encouragement I needed. This time along were friends Jim Price and Phil Brake. Over the period of a week, a lot had changed. Water quality was not quite as good but current flow was still decent. There was quite a bit of debris in the water as water is released through the gates at Lockport. Notice water quality, down from a week agoWe hit…
GO BIG GREEN!The Delavau brothers hold some Red River green!A southeast was blowing some warmer air into southern Manitoba on Monday. Despite rain in the forecast I had convinced friends Jeff and Randy Delavau to partake in the greenback walleye run on the mighty Red River. Randy had not fished since he was a youngster and Jeff not for a couple of years. As I dressed them in two floater coats to protect against the weather we headed up river from Selkirk to the “Miracle Mile”. Use the double stackAnchoring the boat in 12 feet of water along the main river…
After a spectacular day on the Red River last week, it wasn’t too difficult to convince fishing partner Jim Price to head out this past Thanksgiving Sunday for round two. This time when we arrived at Selkirk Park at 7:30 there were already twenty rigs parked in the lot. I guess the word was out that there was some green in the river. As we headed up river, we had decided to start with a trolling run back on the Miracle Mile in order to cover some water. A lot can be determined by this method, especially with good electronics. One thing…
The Red River is still one of the best places in the world to get a trophy walleye!A fierce south wind was whipping up small whitecaps on sections of the Red River this past Tuesday. Luckily for friend Bryan Gray and I we were fishing a fairly protected section of the river called Doc Reids. We had arrived at Selkirk Park at eight in the morning, surprised to see only a handful of boat trailers in the parking lot. I would have to say this is the fewest number of rigs I have ever seen parked here the thirty years…
Beautiful fall weather has anglers in Manitoba heading to their favourite lake or river in droves to enjoy some great fall fishing. One of the more popular locations has been Traverse Bay on Lake Winnipeg with the legendary fall greenback walleye run underway. Out in Traverse Bay walleye movement is dictated by wind generated current. A big north wind for a few days can move some fish out of the bay and up into the Winnipeg River. Conversely a switch in wind direction to the south will empty water out of the river back into the bay, creating increased current…
Cross Bay Day Two: As we rolled out of bed the next morning, we could hear the waves crashing along the shoreline below our cabin. Walking the short distance to the boat launch at Moak Lake Lodge did not change anything. It was going to be a walleye fishing day at Grand Rapids. As we loaded the boats and headed back down the gravel road to launch in town, we wondered how big the waves would be on the Saskatchewan River. As it turns out the west wind that was blowing had increased the current flow in the river…
Cross Bay Late Summer Pike!Day One:When people ask me about a great drive to place for big pike I mention Cross Bay and portions of Cedar Lake. This fishery is located above the dam at Grand Rapids, Manitoba, some four and half hours by paved highway from Winnipeg. The Grand Rapids Generating Station was built between the years of 1960 and 1968, and this huge structure was the first major hydro-electric project in northern Manitoba. Grand Rapids was the logical spot to build the dam because of a series of natural waterfalls along this stretch of the Saskatchewan River that…
CLEAR LAKE DAY TWO: Sunshine again greeted us the next day as we headed out early to visit the Clear Lake Golf Course. Unfortunately the restaurant overlooking the 9th green was closed for business, a very disappointing turn of events. Heading back into town at 7:30 in the morning we were only able to find a cup of coffee and a bagel to sustain us to the 9th hole. As we teed off, I ran into a retired teacher who had coached against me when I was a player in High School at Windsor Park Collegiate. Maybe that is why…
CLEAR LAKE DAY ONE: AL CATCHES THE BIG ONE AND SAVES A ROD! Friend Al Beaver had arrived back to Winnipeg all the way from Australia were he was working in fire control. Now he was headed up with me on what had been an annual fishing trip before he moved away. Every year we would get together with two friends from Prince Albert Saskatchewan on a fall trip that included both fishing and a round of golf. In past years we had visited Lake of the Prairies but this year we decided to try Clear Lake and Riding Mountain…