MANITOBA
Since our last report I had a chance to head out to Lake of the Prairies on my annual trip. I usually prefer the middle of September but schedules got in the way. It didn’t seem to matter as the fishing was even better than last year. In fact we caught three Master Angler fish, two walleye and a perch.
We arrived Sunday afternoon and fish until almost dark. We caught lots of fish but not many over the 45 centimetre slot limit size. That all changed Monday as we headed down the reservoir from Kilman’s Resort.
On the first day we had used some bottom bouncers and spinners but on Day Two the jig tipped with bait was king for sure. We not only caught quantity but also landed the largest walleye I have ever seen personally from LOP. It measured 30 inches and was solid. Not sure of the weight but it sure felt heavy!
It happened that on this day the wind was perfect for a slow drift, which allowed us to cover a large flat were the walleye were scattered. I assume they were eating perch because we caught a few jumbos of those as well. Whatever it was, they were there in numbers and size. The conditions were overcast with a light mist, perfect conditions for a good walleye bite.
We caught the fish in 18 to 26 feet of water and depth varied during location and time. It paid to use your electronics to spot the fish first. That is a key consideration, especially at this time of year when fish are a bit deeper.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO – GLENN MACDONALD – 54 OR BUST
As summer winds down in Northwestern Ontario, the period leading up to the full moon was great for fishing! Cooler nights, dew on the ground in the mornings, perfect weather for musky fishing.
Over the past few weeks the musky bite in sunset country has been productive, albeit in tight bite windows. Two weeks ago, during the new moon phase, fishing in the midday, moon overhead period proved itself with multiple fish. Not only did I see such results, but my buddy Matt Lenz, owner of Net Buddy products, saw similar results on Cedar Lake.
A FAVOURITE TIME TO FISH!
New moon is my favorite moon phase to fish, and moon overhead especially. During this recent period, we caught the majority of fish sitting off the structure. In my case, casting Red October 10” tubes over deep water and casting bucktails to target the first or second break off shore. Fish were suspended over 25’ of water, sitting just off the six to eight foot breakline. In Matt’s case, he was slow rolling Musky Mayhem Mini Grenade’s, keeping them six to eight feet deep. Again, he was targeting the fish sitting just off the main structure.
Between the new moon and full moon period we saw a push from a lot of fish back up onto the structure. Whether it was onto mid lake reefs or back into the weeds, they became a little more predictable to find. During a recent solo trip, I caught a nice tiger musky that was sitting on the top on a main lake reef. Mid day sun warms up the rocks, making for a nice resting spot for fish. Casting a Dadson Blade Bait around the perimeter of the reef, I actually had to move up onto the top of it, in shallow water to encounter fish. This fish hit way out and missed hooks, followed into the figure 8 and bite on the second turn. Just like we want them to do.
CHECK OUT THE 3-LURE CHALLENGE ON 54 OR BUST!
As we entered the full moon period, my fishing partner, Dave Chaval and I tried a unique concept for our YouTube channel. A Three Lure Challenge. We only picked three baits and gave ourselves three hours to try to catch a musky. Little did we know it would work so well. We picked moon rise as the time period, as moon rise on the full moon phase is a key time to be on the water. Casting bucktails for myself and Dave casting a spinnerbait from Droptine Tackle, we both caught fish. I caught two muskies on the same spot, separated by only three or four casts. Dave caught a beautiful tiger musky only minutes later, off of a rocky shoreline. We expected moon rise to produce, we could hardly believe it was going to be that good.
For all you musky hunters out there, pay close attention to the moon phases. If you only have limited time to be on the water, pick a time that coincides with a minor or major moon phase.
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Recent 3 Lure Challenge video MUSKY CHALLENGE! We ONLY get 3 BAITS!
SASKATCHEWAN
LAST MOUNTAIN LAKE – ROB SCHULZ-G&S MARINA
Last Mountain Lake is continuing it’s awesome summer bite. The water temperatures have cooled slightly now from 68 to 70 degrees. The walleye are still biting well with lots over sized walleye up into the 30” range.
The walleye are on the steep break lines and also moving onto the sand points ranging in depths from 18’ to 28’ in depth.You can catch them by dragging crawler harnesses, trolling Deep diving crank baits, jigging spoons and bait rigging.
The Northerns have moved up now AND are starting to bite. They are running in depths from 6 to 20’. Trolling crank baits, casting swim baits or spoons are working well.
The Carp are fishing very well also in the main lake basin. You bait them and they will come!!
There is lots of Perch biting almost everywhere we are fishing walleye with some good sized ones being caught.
Good luck fishing and please practice catch and release on those trophy fish !!
RAFFERTY RESERVOIR – RALPH SMART – PRAIRE PRO OUTFITTERS
The Big perch are biting on Rafferty! They are a welcome bonus while walleye fishing and are a first for these Anglers The jig bite is still on with fish at the shallower north end in 10 to 15 ft range but farther south down the lake look in the 21 ft range the weed lines took a beating from a couple huge windy storms and are diminished along the main lake shore but check out the bays now with the water starting to cool and giant balls of minnows moving in these areas.
WES DAVID – FISHING THE WILD WEST
Saskatchewan Lodge Report – Ena Lake Lodge
I spent three days fishing at Ena Lake Lodge in northern Saskatchewan and what an experience. Ena Lake Lodge is the only all-inclusive fishing lodge that we visit in 2023, with Fishing the Wild West TV. To get to Ena Lake Lodge, you can fly out of Fort McMurray or Edmonton. We flew out of Fort McMurray, and I can assure you, after working in Fort McMurray at the mines for over 13 years, it’s a much different feeling driving to Fort McMurray to go fishing than it is to go to work.
We flew out of Fort McMurray Aviation, to Uranium City, Saskatchewan. If you are a history enthusiast like me, then taking a tour around and through Uranium City is a must. Uranium City was a booming mining town in the 1960s and 1970s with over 10,000 residents.
However, the skeleton and ragged structures of schools, grocery stores, shops, hotels, condos, houses, and churches, have felt the effects of time and Mother Nature and many of these structures have been swallowed up by the surrounding boreal forest. A little over 80 residents still remain in Uranium City, and Ken who runs the shuttle from the Uranium City airport to the floatplane that takes you to Ena Lake Lodge, is more than willing to take you on a tour and tell you stories of the once booming Uranium City.
Once the floatplane touches down at Ena Lake Lodge, you are greeted by the entire staff. Your luggage is off-loaded and taken to your cabin while you sit down to a lunch fit for a king or queen. You are treated as if you were family during your entire stay at Ena Lake Lodge and treated to fun-friendly activities, including the beach party! However, let’s get to the fishing.
Lake Trout
Lake trout were suspended at precisely 60 feet in 100 feet of water. On occasion, bait fish were present at 60 feet which would indicate the lake trout were feeding. However, I also believe the depth both predator and prey were holding at had more to do with the thermocline.
Using the fish finder and a Streamside Legend line-counting reel, we trolled a #4 Len Thompson Lure through the suspended lake trout. We were fishing the suspended lake trout at 60 feet, however, due to wind, boat speed, line deflection, and the 8oz Thundermist pencil weight, we were always running with 150 to 160 feet of line out. This is where the pin-point accuracy of a line counter reel comes into play when three-way rigging or running an inline weight system for lake trout.
We were consistently picking up lake trout every few minutes. As soon as one was caught and released and we got our lures back in the strike zone, we would have another hook-up.
Northern Pike
Ena Lake Lodge is well known for their lake trout fishing however, their northern pike fishing should not be overlooked.
Northern pike were where they should be. In back bays, at the mouths of the back bays, and holding on inside corners, especially, if the inside corners had a mixture of weeds and sand. In the back bays, they were in 12 feet of water hiding amongst the aquatic vegetation.
Also known by anglers as (Cabbage). Casting and retrieving a variety of #2 Len Thompson Lures brought the northern pike out of hiding and into the boat. However, the #2 Fire Tiger pattern proved to catch both quantity and quality of northern pike.
At Ena Lake Lodge, it was easy to lose count of the number of lake trout and northern pike we caught and released. Not to mention, the number of lake trout and northern pike caught and released at Worldwide, one of Ena Lake Lodge’s even more remote flyout lakes.
If you are thinking of booking an all-inclusive trip of a lifetime, give Ena Lake Lodge a call. https://enalake.com
Wes David Host & Producer of Fishing the Wild West TV