MANITOBA
It has been a warm couple of weeks in this part of the world but the fishing remains good. Plentiful rainfall at regular intervals has kept things lush and green in many parts of the province.
On a recent trip to the Lee River for crappies we had to admire the good looking crops along the way. Water levels were good upon arrival and surface water temperature on the Humminbird was 73.5 Fahrenheit. We had been out on the river at this time last year filming a segment of Fishing the Wild West television show with Wes David and his camerman Chuck so we had some good starting points.
We did find the bigger crappie a bit deeper that this time last year. All our larger fish came in 16 to 20 feet on the edge of big mud/sand flats. While they were easy to find, not so easy to catch. It was a slow morning bite but with the wind picking up in the afternoon we got into to some nice slabs. While none hit the 13 inch mark there were lots in the 12 inch range.
TERMINAL TACKLE
We had our best success with a light bottom bouncer rigged with a small smiley blade tipped with a once inch pink power tube. Funny as it sounds, when a picked up the troll speed into the wind in the afternoon we had a good flurry of big fish on the bite. It always pays to experiment and on this day we tried a variety of techniques including jigging and trolling with Ripping Raps. Cover water and you will catch fish!
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Walleye have moved to mid-lake structure in the 15 to 25 foot range. A variety of presentations are working including live bait rigging with leeches and crawlers. Big pike are suspending over deep water feeding on open water forage. The smallmouth are using rock points and shoreline. Now is a good time to pitch plastic to the first and second drop-offs. Some are looking to set up in flush areas created by wind. That is a big part of the bite right now.
Musky season is in full swing with some plus 50 inch fish being caught. Big rubber has been hot!
SASKATCHEWAN
The long weekend is in full swing and the walleye bite is hot. I headed out to Rafferty Reservoir to meet up with friend Ralph Smart of Prairie Pro Outfitters. Ralph had invited the family out to enjoy a weekend fishing and visiting at Main Prize Park. Saturday saw us board his 23 foot houseboat for a tour of the reservoir.
We also caught a bunch of nice walleye along deep weed edges. Using 1/4 ounce silver and pink jigs tipped with salted shiners we had some great action.
We look forward to some more great action over the next couple of days. Main Prize is a busy place with campers, cottagers and day visitors enjoying this productive reservoir.
Mid-Summer walleye on Lake Diefenbaker-Wes David
Lake Diefenbaker in southern Saskatchewan is well known for its world-class walleye, northern pike, and rainbow trout fishing, and it may be one of the best multi-species lakes I’ve ever fished for Sauger, perch, whitefish, and many others.
We fished Lake Diefenbaker for four days. July 30 through August 2. Our focus was the walleye swimming within the depths. We booked into Sarah’s Cove Condo Rentals near Elbow, Saskatchewan, and were quickly on the water. The walleye were where they were supposed to be. Adjacent to the rugged dirt slopes in 16-25 feet of water. There were walleye holding in much deeper water, however, due to the health and safety of the fish, we didn’t fish any deeper than 28 feet.
Run and Gun the Points
While the points were very productive, we were often forced to move after only a few bites. We would hook into two to six walleye then the bite would turn off on that point and we were forced to move to the next point looking for active feeding walleye.
Points with rocks and weeds proved to hold more walleye than bare points and often held larger walleye. Search presentations such as bottom-bouncing a gold, silver, or bright blue smiley blade with a Slow-Death hook tipped with a nightcrawler, leach, or a Big Bite Bait imitating one of the two triggered bites from active feeding walleye.
When the bite would slow down or even turn off, we would set up over the top of the walleye using the spot lock on the trolling motor and vertical jig the resting walleye with as light of a Big Sky Jig as we could get away with. The current and wind determined the weight of the jig we used. There was no consistency in the bite. Some walleye would hit the bait aggressively, while others forced you to watch the line to determine a bite.
After two days of fishing near Elbow, we loaded up and headed to Kyle, Saskatchewan staying at the Hi-way 4 Motel right in Kyle, Saskatchewan. We launched the Tracker boat at the Sask Landing Marina about 15 minutes outside of Kyle. The same techniques, bait, and presentations triggered walleye bites at the Kyle end of the lake as they did at the Elbow end of the lake.
The moral of this Fishing Report, the mid-summer walleye bite is on, on Lake Diefenbaker.
Wes David host & producer of Fishing the Wild West TV