MANITOBA
EASTERN MANITOBA – MATT GELLEY – MG OUTDOORS
The angling in the eastern region of Manitoba has continued to be decent. Despite the elevated water temperatures, the forage has stayed shallow. Crappies, walleyes, perch and northern pike are up around the weeds.
Eyes & Slabs
I spent a bunch of time pitching a 3” swimbait around the leafy weeds in that 4-6 foot of water range. A 1/8oz NED rig or small swimbait has been the ticket depending on the mood of the fish. The crappies are now post-spawn and more spread out in the bays. Walleyes on the other hand, are up feeding on perch. We have been seeing lots of minnows around the docks as well.
Last weekend, one of my good friends was up on the Winnipeg River system near Point du Bois. They were looking for smallmouth bass on the classic boulder shoreline and ended up nailing a bunch of fat 20 inch walleyes in 3 feet of water. I’ve seen this before many of times in the middle of summer. If the food is there, the eyes will be there. Especially on a hot summer evening. Don’t be afraid to look shallow this summer.
Northern Pike
The bigger northerns appear to be hanging out on main lake rocky shorelines points. I’ve had a couple incident catches this spring on jerkbaits while bass fishing. This pattern might be worth checking out before the water temps gets too warm. My buddy Steve Sasaki and I landed a beauty a couple weeks ago in a bass tournament. Unfortunately, we had no proper way to measure it.
WESTERN MANITOBA – ROGER AND SUE GERES
Lake of the prairies is absolutely on fire, 100 plus fish days are easily happening, still quite shallow 5-14’ we found , bottom bouncing or jigging on a school both work amazing, have lots of bait!
NORTHERN MANITOBA
Summer has arrived in the north and the fishing has been outstanding. Many people might not know but there are a few good smallmouth bass lakes in this part of the world. Rocky Lake seems to be the superstar with an excellent population of Master Angler fish.
Check out this beauty caught by Shawn Friesen that measured 18 inches.
“FLY BITES”
Reports from members of the Manitoba Fly Fishers Association (MFFA)
The MFFA will add to the weekly fish reports available through Hooked as members are out and about this summer. Please note this part the fishing report will only refer to fly-caught fish only! We typically target the smaller lakes early season and follow temperature trends as most of us transition from Trout and Char to post spawn Pike/Bass/Musky. When the Hexigenia hatch (aka Fish Flies) happens in June, it is our time to shine as most species shut down on eating bait. You will also find members targeting the world class Channel Cat fishery at Lockport.
Lockport
As the spillway drops, Channel Catfish are numerous with sizes to 37”. Freshwater Drum to 24” have also been reported. The fish are taking darker coloured Clousers, DDH’s, and other minnow imitations. The main river channel is still quite high and the fish are stacked up in the “tail water” requiring heavy flies and sink tip lines. The Goldeye have moved in and for the newbie fly fisher it can be a great chance to catch their first fish on a fly.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO – MIKE CORRGAN
The lakes in the Kenora are are warming and the post spawn Bass and Pike are aggressive on brightly coloured minnow patterns and poppers. Surface temperatures are already in the low to mid 20C range.
The Hexagenia hatch is beginning on Black Sturgeon Lake early this year and both the LM and SM Bass are readily sipping the imitations. The water surface is covered with nymphal shucks as the adults emerge. Soon the Bass and Walleye will target this huge Mayfly as their main food source. Even with the cold front the Bass keyed in on the Hex!
Musky season opens here on Saturday June 17, and the winds are forecast to be light!
SASKATCHEWAN
LAST MOUNTAIN LAKE – ROB SCHULZ-G&S MARINA
The walleye are going crazy with big number catches and lots over sized walleye up into the 30” range. The walleye are in the shallows ranging from 6’ to 15’ in depth. They seem to be everywhere on the lake right now so pitching jigs into the shallows, dragging crawler harnesses and bait rigging the sand points are all producing very well.BIG PIKE LOCATION
After seeing the weights of the Regina beach tournament, some moving around and a few changes were needed to entice the big ones to bite. Once we found them, with a little coaxing we got them to bite. Several big walleye on the day, that fishery is amazing! It seemed they wanted a jig and leech, in depths anywhere from 7-18’ and not to aggressive jigging. Some quick photos and quick releases. Same as always, find clouds of bait and the fish are nearby. It’s a big body of water. You have to work at it and try different things, but if the stars align it can be rewarding!
RAFFERTY RESERVOIR RALPH SMART – PRAIRIE PRO OUTFITTERS
Rafferty reservoirs water level is up nearly 5 ft this spring. We had an unreal early spring bite and now after a couple weeks of very hot and calm weather the water temp has drastically risen and fish have moved over the new weed growth. 12 ft depth seems to be the average weed line forming and walleyes are travelling that edge.
Bottom bouncers pulled along the erratic edge is working great to cover more water and keep spinners above the new vegetation The very heavy weights recorded at the Rafferty Dam Walleye Tournament two weeks ago proved the lake is teaming with large fish now and getting better !
ALBERTA – WES DAVID-FISHING THE WILD WEST
Three lakes in three days in the Lac La Biche Region!
Last week I spent three days fishing for walleye on three different lakes in the Lac La Biche Region. I was faced with three different weather conditions and forced to use a few different fishing presentations, but each lake produced walleye gold.
Lac La Biche Lake
We were told by local anglers that the ice had only been off Lac La Biche Lake for 25 days when we arrived. I believe this to be true and why we were only marking and catching walleye in five to 13 feet of water where the water temperature remained a consistent 61.5 Fahrenheit to 63.5 Fahrenheit, 16.4 Celsius to 17.5 Celsius.
We were fishing the West Basin of the lake and walleye were holding in these warm water locations off the rocky shorelines and points. We were bottom-bouncing a Slow-Death hook tipped with a leech with gold beads and a gold or silver smiley face behind a 3/4oz bottom-bouncer weight. Our speeds were slow .5 to 1.1 zigzagging on and off of the rock structure. It wasn’t uncommon for walleye to pick up the bait that was moving even slower on the inside turn. Lindy Rigging fished in the same locations also proved very effective.
Lac La Biche Lake is well known for producing large healthy walleye, but I was not expecting one of the best walleye fishing days in my entire life. Even with the slow-moving presentation, we managed to catch and release over 50 walleye and at least 15 of them ranged from 29 to 31 inches in length. Considering these big healthy walleye were post-spawn walleye, I must schedule a trip back to Lac La Bich Lake in September or October when they have had time to bulk up over the summer.
We stayed at https://www.laclabichefishing.ca/lakefront-cottage-cabin When fishing within the Lac La Biche Region, you can self-guide or book a fully guided fishing trip with https://www.laclabichefishing.ca and I highly recommend it.
Calling Lake
Calling Lake is located just outside the Lac La Biche Region and only an hour’s drive from where we were staying at the lakefront B&B. We arrived at the boat launch and were faced with extreme cloud cover and windy conditions. We found walleye on the east side of the lake in nine to 11 feet of water holding tight to the bottom. We deployed the Power Poles equipped with the Drift-Paddles and positioned the Drift-Paddles at a 75-degree angle to the wind and slowly drifted down the shoreline. We were drift jigging a ¼ oz Big Sky Jig on the bottom tipped with a 3” white Jerk Minnow from Big Bite Baits. The paddle-tailed bait was imitating a minnow and creating a vibration through the rough water. The Calling Lake walleye were competing to feed and would pick up the bait off the bottom fast and with aggression.
The 3” white Jerk Minnow from Big Bite Baits proved to be effective and cost-saving. During our six hours of fishing on Calling Lake, we caught and released over 200 walleye all ranging from 40cm to 53cm.
Pinehurst Lake
On the third day, we stayed at the Canalta Hotel in the town of Lac La Biche. Staying at the Canalta Hotel allowed us a short 30-minute drive to Pinehurst Lake. The wind continued to hound us, and the walleye bite was very tough. We managed to catch and release six walleye using the same techniques and presentation mentioned above at Lac La Biche Lake, however, the bite was slow. After a few hours, we turned our attention to the northern pike and couldn’t keep them off our hook.
The northern pike were where they were supposed to be. Along the cutouts of the sunny side of the shorelines in shallow water that support new vegetation growth. We were casting a #2 Len Thompson Lure in any colour pattern into the shallow weed growth. Northern pike ranging from four pounds to 10 pounds would consistently come out of hiding to hit the lure. An angler not far from us had the good fortune of landing a 40-inch northern pike using the same cast and retrieve presentation.
Within the Lac La Biche Region, there is no end to the outdoor activities for you or for the whole family. Fishing, camping, ATVing, historical sights, and so much more. And during the fall months, there is no end to the hunting opportunities. The Lac La Biche Region has something for everyone! https://laclabicheregion.com