MANITOBA
Cold artic air has spread across the prairies and as I write this we have a windchill of minus 40 Celsius out the front door. We also got a lot of snow this week, changing the dynamics of on ice travel.
NORTHERN MANITOBA
The ice fishing season is in full swing up north. Lodges like Baker Narrows and Viking Lodge offer winter lake trout ice fishing excursions and accommodation. These have become an extremely popular bucket list destination trips for more and more anglers.
Here is a beautiful 39 inch lake trout caught and released by Nick Sumner on Lake Athapapuskow
Also on the agenda up north are the many stocked trout lakes in the region including one of the all star lakes, Barbe which is probably my favourite stocked lake of all time. Here is a beautiful brook trout caught by Davilyn Sparks!
Further south and west, Lake of the Prairies continues to produce outstanding angling for perch, walleye and trophy northern pike. Check out this Manitoba Master Angler!
LAKE WINNIPEG
Anglers continue to enjoy some great success on Big Windy this year with several Master Angler fish already registered. Travel has been a bit of hit and miss and with the new snow conditions caution is advised. As always before heading out check the latest travel conditions at Lake Winnipeg Report on Facebook . It is run by friend Rick Gergatz and he does a tremendous job with it.
SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS
Rick also reported on a recent series of events that had a lot of people shaking their heads.
I’ll be sending $50.00 to help rehab the launch and protect it from senseless damage, I hope you will join me. Any amount is appreciated.
EASTERN MANITOBA
NORTHWEST ONTARIO
/ @jamiebrucefishing SASKATCHEWAN
Ice conditions have improved dramatically in the southern part of the province with the much colder conditions. Last Mountain was basically walk on only right up until the start of the month. For those who have made it out there has been some great walleye and pike fishing . Here is some great underwater footage supplied by Pokey’s Tackle shop in Regina
ALBERTA-WES DAVID-FISHING THE WILD WEST T.V.
Good news. Central and southern Alberta has/is finally experiencing seasonal temperatures. This means ice anglers are venturing out, especially in southern Alberta where most ice anglers were shelved until the colder temperatures arrived and produced thicker, more stable ice.
Lake Newell, not far from Brooks was one of the first reservoirs I received an update from. Dan Davies, the owner of Big Sky Jigs, and friends headed to Lake Newell to test some new Snake Eye jigs on some unsuspecting walleye. The ice was 10 to 12 inches thick, and they found the bulk of their walleye on large flats in 11 feet of water. Jigs were tipped with a frozen minnow, and the walleye wanted the bait moving, as the majority of the bites came while snap-jigging their presentation.
It is forecasted that the temperatures will continue to drop over the next week and I’m sure that will trigger more ice anglers to venture onto southern Alberta’s hard water.
Southern Alberta Outdoor Show
The word is starting to spread. After a long absence, Lethbridge, Alberta, will host the Southern Alberta Outdoor Show (SAOS) on April 5-7, at the all-new Agri-Food Hub & Trade Center. On Tuesday, January 9, I was in Lethbridge with the show managers from Master Promotions doing a little promotion work and meeting with some of the vendors that will have booths at the show. The buzz and anticipation of the show is real and was felt everywhere we went with everyone we spoke with.
The city of Lethbridge is a great setting for an outdoor show as southern Alberta is full of great hunting and fishing opportunities. From big game hunting, waterfowl hunting, and gamebird hunting to a wide variety of reservoirs filled with world-class walleye, and northern pike. Not to mention the trout fishing and the many river systems filled with multiple fish species including the mighty lake sturgeon, and it all surrounds the city of Lethbridge.
Mark April 5-7 on your calendar. I hope to see you at the Southern Alberta Outdoor Show!