MANITOBA
It has been a hectic two weeks for me fishing in the eastern region of Manitoba, starting out with a visit to the Lac du Bonnet section of the Winnipeg River. I finally got an opportunity to target black crappie on the Lee River near Lac du Bonnet.
Regional fisheries biologist Eric Mullen has been doing a ton of research on populations of crappies on the Winnipeg River system and it indicates a healthy population of these great sport fish.
Eric says not only are there good populations in the Lee but also Hay and Coppermine Bays as well as the Bird River. Eric has been setting trap nets to determine population density and size of fish. He has also learned that there is a very healthy populations of big smallmouth bass.
Eric lined up a fishing day with me and the crew of Fishing the Wild West TV. Eric fished with Wes David, the host of the show and I and Hooked Magazine publisher Kevin Stobbe took my boat.
We found the crappies scattered along weed lines in 12 feet of water. By trolling slowly with light bottom bouncers and small spinners we were able to cover water. Since the crappie were scattered this was the best way to put fish in the boat. We ended up with several nice fish, the largest measuring 13 ½ inches.
In the afternoon we decided to target smallmouth bass in the main section of the river towards MacArthur Dam. We found the bass on windswept points in four to eight feet.
During our trip we stayed at Trail End Camp at Pointe du Bois. Maureen and Vance Hrechkosy are long time friends. We have had many adventures together but this time we got spend time in the boat with their son, Carter.
On day two of our adventure, we headed upriver all the way to the end of Eagle Nest Lake. Here we caught some beautiful smallmouth and pike with a couple walleye thrown in. I got my start in the fishing industry on this great river, so it brought back a ton of memories.
It has been an incredible year for water levels and the river is just starting to come back down. Lamprey Falls was still a site to behold with white water everywhere!
I was glad we journeyed upriver in one of the camps 30-foot charter boats. Vance has now a fleet of these boats that can take large groups of people out fishing for the day. He says he got the idea from a trip he took for sturgeon a few years back on the Fraser River.
When he flew back from that trip, he drew up the design of the boat on a napkin. Since that time this group guiding has been a huge part of his business with his two full time guides booked most of the summer. You can find out more on their website at trailendcamp.com.
On our third and final day we ventured into a portage lake that Trail End has two boats on. Called Burton Lake, this small body of water has outstanding smallmouth bass fishing. I got to spend the day with Eric as we discussed the management of the lakes in his region. There is one thing that stood out for me in the conversation. He said controlled sportfishing helps the health of many fisheries by taking some fish out of the system. This helps grow fish to trophy size and limits stunting by overpopulation. Fisheries managers across North America know that fish, just like any other creature, can eat themselves out of house and home. To help that, a limited harvest of fish is critical.
JACKSON’S OUTPOSTS – LITTLE SASS LAKE FLY OUT
Every year the Lamont family gets together for a family fishing trip. This year we were lucky enough to get to fly out to one of Shaun Jackson’s many great outpost camps. Despite the fact that Shaun lost two of them to forest fires last year, there were still plenty to choose from. Shaun recommended Little Sass because of the good fishery on this medium sized lake on the eastern side of Lake Winnipeg.
Over the three days fished we had some excellent angling for walleye and pike. I was also impressed by the overall size of the fish. We found the walleye and pike mixed together on some of the many reefs that this lake has. In fact I had auto charted live many of them. While our largest walleye was not quite 24 inches there are have been walleye over 30 inches caught in Little Sass.
There are also a few pike over 40 inches registered each year. We found the walleye in 20 feet of water on the average. On our first day we had nonstop action but things slowed on Day Two after a change in wind direction. I could seen on my Helix 5 that a lot of the fish had moved off the bottom. This coincided with the late mayfly hatch. On day three we switched over to Ned Rigs with Z-Man HULA STICKZ to imitate mayfly larvae. This did the trick as we once again had non-stop action.
As is the case with all of Shaun’s outposts, the lodging was comfortable and well maintained the equipment first class. The good news is that Jackson’s has had a great year, with the camps full most of the year. You can find them online at https://jacksonslodge.com/
ONTARIO
“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. You will also find members targeting the world class Channel Cat fishery at Lockport.
Stable Weather and Falling Lake Levels
Black Sturgeon Lake, like LOTW, continues to drop and with that the happy fish are back! The 24-40” Pike and 14-18” Smallmouth Bass are in the shallow weedy bays, which are extremely plentiful this year. I am using a sink tip line with a 6 foot leader and small bell sinker above a swivel. I have a snap attached to 18-24” of 15lb fluoro and a floating fly (foam minnow patterns of various types). The idea is the fly rides above the bottom reducing fouling. The rig is similar to a Lindy rig but the floating fly replaces the float. The setup is very easy to cast on my medium to fast action Streamside fly rod.
We did several back country Musky trips in the past few weeks and the fish are thriving in the weeds and the very shallow water, hiding under lily pads and thick grass. The fish explode when a small foam fly, like my foam Diablo (think Heddon Flatfish with a dragon tail), comes within their view. The Musky seem to be holding in the shallow, shady water adjacent rock walls near drop offs as well. I am throwing flies no longer than 6” and doing very well!
Flies with wiggle tails have been very effective in colours of orange/chartreuse/white.
Tight lines!
Mike Corrigan
LAKE OF THE WOODS – JAMIE BRUCE
SASKATCHEWAN
RAFFERTY RESERVOIR – RALPH SMART, PRAIRIE PRO OUTFITTERS
Fish have moved deeper! We are finding the fish at the 22 to 30 ft range but always fish as shallow as you can find them. Keep checking the outside of weed lines that are now out to 15 ft for active feeders. Jigs and minnows are still working well for my clients as we jig fish 100% of the time. Night crawlers also producing well Metallic finishes on jigs out produce coloured jigs for us but keep experimenting daily Wake and bait!