MANITOBA – HUNT/FISHMB PETRO HRYNDA
March Madness is on!
Not only are they some of the most accessible and well-accommodated trophy Laker Trout lakes across Manitoba, but the incredible fish that roam them would seem anything but. This month, anglers caught and released a true once-in-a-lifetime catch with a massive 46” lake trout from Athapapuskow Lake!
For those looking to make a trip up north to experience the incredible waters of these world-class fisheries are in luck. As the days continue to get longer and inevitability warmer, the forthcoming March bite will open countless angling opportunities as we are bound to see more anglers rewarded with some phenomenal catches.
Walleye – Trophies of a Lifetime
With the continued mild winter, the conditions continue to be favourable for access across Lake Winnipeg. The walleye bite had slowed down occasionally across the lake as cold swings took their toll on the mood of the walleyes, yet anglers have put some giant walleye on the ice this month.
Whether you’re looking to target panfish such as perch or try something new like targeting Whitefish or smallmouth bass, March is the perfect time to change your target species and take advantage of the local fisheries.
HOOKED NOTES:
The HuntFishMB crew are just finishing up their trip to northern Manitoba with a little back country stocked trout experience. There is some great action in this video!
Marcel Laferriere does a lot of spectacular work with a camera but in this video he gets a chance to fish in front of the camera. You can hear all about Marcel’s career and how he became one of the top videographers in the outdoor industry on my podcast here
https://www.hookedmagazine.ca/podcast/the-complete-angler-podcast-episode-34-marcel-laferriere/
Some of the top species to target during this time include walleye, with Lake Winnipeg as a prime destination. Being as shallow as 4 feet or even as deep as 16+ feet, you have the chance to run into large schools of hungry greenbacks with multiple masters in a day not uncommon.
Northern Pike are another favourite species to target during this time. Targeting shallow water near the mouth of creeks 4-8ft deep, a tip-up rigged with a dead bait will give you one of the best opportunities to catch some of the biggest and heaviest pike all season. Lake of the Prairies is a prime destination.
Within only a couple short weeks away, it’s time to start packing some sunscreen, stocking up on bait and tackle and planning to take advantage of the warm March sun across Manitoba’s countless hardwater hotspots!
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
VERMILLION BAY AND AREA – GLENN MCDONALD
Some catches only come once in a lifetime. My wife’s cousin, Sam Boucha, just caught a fish of a lifetime. That term gets thrown around all over social media, I’m guilty of using it as well. When I saw the pictures shared between family members, my jaw literally hit the floor.
I could describe the catch, but I could never do it justice. Here is the story of this incredible catch, in her own words.
“Believe it or not, the key to catching this record breaking fish involved a last minute decision, a coincidence, and the help of my fishing partner, Brad Molloy. The morning was off to a rough start, the sled wasn’t running right and we lost the pin to the sleigh. We were on our way to our fishing spot, but at the last minute decided to stop somewhere closer instead.
We weren’t specifically targeting big trout, we just wanted to catch a limit to eat. We only had an 8” auger, 3/8 oz jigs, and minnows. The minnows we bought just happened to have a few suckers mixed in the bag. My rod had a walleye jig on it, so I decided to hook a 5 inch sucker on it, put the line in the water, and place the rod in the holder.
A GOOD START TO THE FISHING DAY
The fishing started off good, we had caught a couple trout in no time at all. I was jigging another rod when I saw the rod in the holder go down, I ran over and set the hook. When I set the hook, it was dead weight, I knew it was going to be a nice fish. I have caught a thirty seven pound trout before, and figured this fish was going to be something similar.
I battled this fish for close to an hour. Every time I was close to bringing it in, it would run and take drag, over and over again. Brad had seen it pass by the hole and said it was huge, but I didn’t know to what extent.
Finally, we got it to the bottom of the hole. Only the mouth of the fish would fit in the hole. I passed off the rod and grabbed the fish to try and pull it up, but there was no way it would fit. By the time I grabbed the fish, it had spit the hook. I knew I had to see how big this fish really was.
We decided we had to drill a second hole. Picture this, I had my arm all the way to my shoulder down the hole holding onto the fish, scared that I was going to lose it, and Brad was drilling right beside my arm, scared that he was going to cut me with the auger. We were both screaming, crying, and bursting with adrenaline. Once the second hole was through, I was able to pull the fish up.
When I first got a good look at this fish, it brought tears to my eyes. I knew this experience would be one of our greatest fishing memories. The giant lake trout measured 47.75 inches with a 31 inch girth, a 57+ pound monster.
I’m extremely sad that the fish did not survive, however it will aid in the MNR’s research. I am grateful to have caught this fish in my hometown, on one of my favorite lakes. I was taught by one of the best – Robert Boucha, this one’s for you Dad.”
Glenn McDonald: For the record, Sam’s father, Robert passed away a number of years back. He was an avid outdoorsmen and well respected angler. No doubt Rob is smiling down on Sam. Also, Sam has reported that she will be getting a skin mount of the fish.
These are the stories that inspire generations of anglers to fish, congratulations Sam. Your fish is truly amazing, however your story is so much more than that. Thank you for sharing, in your words, this experience.
A HOT BITE IN SUNSET COUNTRY!
Throughout Northwestern Ontario the fishing has been fantastic. My family has enjoyed some lake trout fishing on back woods lakes, walleye fishing on Eagle Lake and crappies on Dinorwic Lake.
Lake trout have been hitting on Droptine Tackle Hunger Strike tubes, tipped with a minnow. On dead sticks, I have been using Bondy Bait Company eyeball jigs, tipped with a minnow head. This presentation has been great as well. Exploring backcountry lakes around the Eagle Lake region is a fantastic way to spend a weekend.
The walleye bite has been very good. Using custom painted jigs from Droptine Tackle we have had some excellent days on the water. Most of our walleye have been in the 25’-35’ deep areas, and using Garmin Live Scope we are able to really work active fish. Our daughters enjoy fishing with the electronics. The live sonar helps them react to fish, as well as keeps them interested.
Crappie bite has been steady, again using Live Scope technology has been key in helping find active schools of fish.
Over the past weekend a friend of mine, Craig Larson, had his family out at KC Landing for an afternoon of walleye fishing. Craig caught a few real nice fish in the 19-21” range, using a Droptine Tackle jig and tube. Not to be outdone, his son, Reegan caught his personal best walleye, measuring out to 29.5” Congrats Reegan.
March break starts this weekend in Ontario, no better time to get the family out on the hard water for some of the best ice fishing of the season. For me, this weekend is the Minnesota Musky Expo, not that I need more of a reason to think about muskies.
Good luck out there to all the anglers.
SASKATCHEWAN
SOUTH EAST – WES DAVID-FISHING THE WILD WEST
On February 26 to March 1, I made a quick trip to southern Saskatchewan to ice fish Crooked Lake and Echo Lake for northern pike. As we all know, southern Saskatchewan has an abundance of lakes with some amazing year-round fishing for multiple species and during my trip, I was not disappointed.
PIKE ON THE FLATS
The northern pike were where they were supposed to be at this time of the year, on shallow flats in six to 12 feet of water adjacent to known spawning locations. The northern pike were feeding on an abundance of bait fish and small gamefish. Frozen herring and large frozen minnows were the bait of choice under tip-ups and single treble hooks.
SETTING THE HOOK AT THE RIGHT TIME!
Pike would take the bait, but it was key to let them run with the bait and give them time to get the bait and hook in their mouth. Once the pike stopped, pull the line up until you felt the weight of the fish and set the hook. Male and female northern pike were feeding on the flats, and we were able to catch and release several year classes of northern pike including some large females that I’m sure were full of eggs.
PIKE WERE IN MOVING SCHOOLS
Northern pike would come in waves. Tip-ups would consistently go off for 30 or 40 minutes then nothing for 30 to 45 minutes until the next wave of northern pike would move through. The Aqua-VU camera would show large pike at presentations but all we could do was wait until the pike decided it was time to feed.
As much as I enjoyed catching and releasing northern pike, I couldn’t help not dedicating a few hours each day to fish for the jumbo perch Crooked Lake is known for. Only 50 or 60 yards off the northern pike flats, the water dropped off into 23 feet of water. Here we found a sunken hump that plateaued to 16 feet of water that held an abundance of perch and small walleye. The perch and walleye must have thought this was a safe distance from the northern pike.
PRESENTATION
Perch were hitting a #6 Len Thompson Lure tipped with a piece of frozen minnow. The head end of the frozen minnow seemed to produce the most bites. However, small jigs or small Buzz Bombs tipped with a piece of frozen minnow also worked. Some great perch took the bait and came to the surface along with a few nice walleye that we saw on the Aqua-VU cameras. The larger walleye didn’t seem abundant in the area we were fishing. It was more like they were grabbing a quick snack as they were passing through or over the sunken hump on their way to another location.
Southern Saskatchewan lakes hold a bounty of multiple fish species and southern Saskatchewan is a great place for anglers to experience March Madness!
ALBERTA – WES DAVID
The Red Deer Sports & Outdoor Show held at Red Deer’s Westerner Park March 3-5, is a major fundraiser for the Red Deer Fish & Game Association, with hundred percent of the proceeds put back into conservation projects, hunting and fishing, and youth hunting and fishing programs. At the time of this writing, the final attendance numbers were not in but the 55th annual Red Deer Sports & Outdoor Show was a huge success. www.rdsportsoutdoorshow.ca
LOTS TO SEE AND DO!
Outdoor enthusiasts took in hunting and fishing seminars, purchased new outdoor products, and booked hunting and fishing trips for the coming season. There was a wide variety of new booths attending the 2023 Red Deer Sports & Outdoor Show, including Big Sky Jigs out of Medicine Hat, Alberta making their one and only Alberta appearance, https://bigskyflies.ca.
The Stockman’s Lodge, out of northern Saskatchewan, is owned and operated by Curtis and his wife Cory from Blackflads, Alberta. www.stockmanslodge.com was also at their first Alberta outdoor show. Curtis and Cory, have a ranching and rodeo background with a down-to-earth family-friendly personality and a lodge nestled in the boreal forest of northern Saskatchewan with some amazing multi-species fishing and spring black bear hunting. Talking with Curtis and Cory, they were having a great show booking fishing and hunting trips of a lifetime but they said they were also very happy to be supporting the Red Deer Fish & Game Association.
After a three-year absence, the 55th annual Red Deer Sports & Outdoor Show knocked it out of the park!