It’s almost that time of year! The days are getting longer, the sun hotter and the fish hungry. In one short week it is official March Madness time. I must admit there probably is nothing I would rather do that sit out on the ice on a late March day with family and friends catching a few fish and sharing stories. Enjoy!
MANITOBA
Plenty of great stuff happening on the ice this month, despite some stretches of cold weather. The Hunt/Fish Manitoba crew have been up north for a couple of weeks chasing a wide variety of species in northern Manitoba. Headquartered out of Bakers Narrows Lodge, Jay Siemens got the the team together for a wild day on the ice chasing seven different species!
The stocked trout action has slowed a bit in the western half of the province. Lake of the Prairies is starting to heat up for big pike action as the females start to really bulk up for the early open water spawn season. Check out this 42 inch beauty caught and released by Kim Wauer.
The perch fishing has also been good on LOP. Meantime Pelican Lake in the southwestern section of the province near Ninette, has been fishing well all winter for pike, walleye and perch. Check out this beauty caught by Aidan Keown.
CENTRAL MANITOBA
Access on Lake Manitoba has been a bit of an issue over the last three weeks. Friend Jim Price has not been able to drive a truck on for a while now. Tracked ATV’s or snow machines are pretty much the choice.
If you can get out there is some pretty good perch action in most sections of the lake with some big burbot thrown in for good measure. The walleye action will really heat up towards the end of March in shallow water.
Meantime just to the east, the Shoal Lakes in the Interlake have been good all winter with many master angler fish caught. Brett Grimes caught this block from East Shoal.
LAKE WINNIPEG – THE STORY OF THE YEAR?
Big Windy has been the biggest ice fishing story in this part of the world. Ice fisherman have been able to drive out most of the winter so access has been okay. The government also gave overnight licenses to three operators on the lake for the ice fishing season. This means you can stay overnight on the ice and enjoy a unique experience on the big lake. It doesn’t hurt that some massive fish have been caught as well. Check out this beauty from Andrew Marx.
For more information and the guides and operators on Lake Winnipeg, check out the Manitoba Hunt/Fish website at https://huntfishmanitoba.ca/
SASKATCHEWAN
A lot of snow has made access tough in many parts of the province. That heavy snow covered has also slowed down the bite in the central part of the province. Down south the Qu’Appelle chain of lakes has been good for pike and perch all winter with some decent walleye action thrown in.
Lake Diefenbaker has been good all winter with angler able to drive around. March could be the best time to fish this huge reservoir that is full of big fish of a number of different species. Check out the two part series that guide Daryl Gilbert wrote on how to catch the big whitefish and pike during March. It is posted on this sight in a two part series!
Meantime the Saskatchewan Fisher has been joying some big walleye and goldeye action on the reservoir.
ALBERTA – WES DAVID – FISHING THE WILD WEST TV
It’s great to be able to attend in-person meetings and outdoor sports shows again. After a two-year absence, the Calgary Boat & Outdoor Show held on February 10-12 at the Calgary BMO Center was a success. There were fewer boat companies at the show due to a lack of inventory but hunting and fishing lodge booths were up and many other outdoor products and outdoor adventure opportunities booths. There was also a great lineup of outdoor speakers on the Wild TV Outdoor Stage, and just being able to talk about hunting and fishing with other outdoor enthusiasts was a real pleasure.
Just a friendly reminder that the Red Deer Sports & Outdoor Show will be held at Red Deer’s Westerner Park March 3-5. This is another great outdoor sports show that is returning after a three-year absence.
BRITISH COLUMBIA – WES DAVID WITH THE BC SPORTFISHING GROUP
As we move further into the month of February and inch closer to March Madness, it seems strange that I’m writing about open-water fishing on British Columbia’s Harrison River. However, as I get a little older, this is truly my kind of February ice fishing!
As a youngster, I think every one of us had a fascination with dinosaurs. That fascination is quickly turned to reality when you book a sturgeon fishing trip on the Harrison River and the Fraser River with BC Sportfishing Group.
I have fished for white sturgeon with BC Sportfishing Group for the past 10 years during almost every month of the year, including the winter months. I have always left with sore arms from doing battle with several prehistoric white sturgeon that swim within the depths of the Harrison and Fraser River systems. Not only will you get the chance to catch and release many of these amazing fish species with BC Sportfishing Group you also get to be a part of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) sturgeon tagging program.
TAGGED FISH KEY FOR ACCURATE RESEARCH DATA
Each sturgeon caught is scanned for a tag and if a tag is present it is referred to as a (re-capture). If a sturgeon has no tag one is placed under the skin behind the skull plate before being released. The electronic tag is slightly larger than a grain of rice. The sturgeon is measured for length and girth, and the date, time, and river location are documented before releasing. The whole process takes about two minutes while the sturgeon is comfortably submerged in the water in a canvas cradled at the back of the boat.
If/when the sturgeon is caught again (re-capture) at a later date, this same info is taken and reported back to the FRSCS and the information is once again recorded and the records are updated on the sturgeon’s growth and travel patterns since being caught last.
During my February white sturgeon fishing trip, I caught and released several juvenile sturgeon that had never been tagged, (virgin sturgeon), and several age groups of sturgeon that were tagged including two sturgeon estimated to be 45 years old. One sturgeon I caught was tagged two weeks before I arrived, and one sturgeon I caught was tagged during the fall of 2001, 22 years earlier. The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) sturgeon tagging program, is one of the most hands-on conservation programs an angler can be a part of! The program gives credit and works 100% alongside the conservation-minded sturgeon fishing guides on the river system.
Book your first or your next sturgeon fishing adventure with BC Sportfishing Group and catch and release multiple fish of your dreams while being a part of the conservation efforts that will ensure our kids and grandkids will have the reality of catching and releasing a real-life dinosaur. https://bcsportfishinggroup.com/contact-us
While in Harrison, stay at the Harrison Hot Springs Spa & Resort and be treated like a king or queen after a day of catching, tagging, and releasing prehistoric white sturgeon. https://www.harrisonresort.com