Author: Don Lamont

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…

It was my first trip north of Pine Falls in quite a few years but finally I was headed up to fish the Manigotagan River as it empties into Lake Winnipeg. The nice part about this drive, despite it being five in the morning, was that Highway 304 was paved all the way to our turnoff. As the rain clouds gathered we enjoyed the solitude of the country at this early hour of the day in mid June. One small channel catfish and a walleye, a unique doubleheader! The Manigotagan is a challenging whitewater river that wends its way from…

The Miles Mac Angling Club is back for another year, with more students than ever interested in learning how to fish and raising money for a good cause. The Club is once again raising money for the “Kids Fishing for a Cure” organization. All students participating will be getting pledges and organizers Tim Au and Corey Kapilik will be presenting a cheque to the organization on June 2. This earmarked money goes to Child Oncology at Cancer Care Manitoba as well as for taking children who are current or past patients and their families fishing!Last year The Miles Mac Angling…

As we pulled up to the sunken island on Regina Bay at Sioux Narrows, memories from eleven years previous came rushing back. I was with friend Darrin Bohonis and he had invited me down with him from Winnipeg to fish springtime smallmouth bass. Now Darrin is an awesome angler, and he had won a tournament on this body of the fall previous so when he decided to start on this spot it was no surprise. Still, when I started to laugh he had no idea what was so funny. I explained to Darrin that it was here in 2001 that…

 Boyd and Odie enjoying some pike action Three days of fishing in central Saskatchewan, what could be better! So when I got an invite to speak at the annual Porcupine Plain Wildlife banquet just before the close of the ice fishing season, I was all in. Friend Jim Price and I headed up to Carrot River to hook up with our friends to fish Tobin Lake and area beforehand.We were not to be disappointed with some great fishing for both pike and walleye. Our first evening upon arrival saw us out on the Saskatchewan river jigging up walleye. As…