WINTER DOLUDRUMS? NOT SO MUCH!
An extended cold period across the prairies cut down on ice fishing activity over the Christmas Holidays and into the New Year.
Despite the extreme cold, there has been some spectacular ice fishing in this part of the world. With the technological advances in portable shelters, clothing, and heaters, you can fish comfortably in almost any weather.
Where it does get tricky is getting to where you want to go without the danger of getting stranded, or even worse, breaking through the ice. Every year vehicles go on down and this year is no exception. Lake Winnipeg claimed two vehicles and a Bombardier before Christmas according to the Lake Winnipeg Ice Time report. Luckily everyone was okay.
MANITOBA
WHITESHELL HOT FOR CRAPPIES
Kayla Jorgenson loves to fish the backcountry lakes in the Whiteshell Provincial Park. She recently headed out before first light one of her favourite rainbow lakes on her quad with sleigh behind.
Unfortunately, the access trail drifted in, and her quad got stuck. It took almost hour of shovelling and the use of a winch to get out of the drift. As she was by herself, she didn’t want to risk going any further. She knew the other side of the trail was an open swampy area and there would be no trees to attach her winch to if she did get stuck again.
Frustrated by missing the sunrise bite she turned the quad around and headed to a different lake. She drove the quad to a spot where the year before she had done well on early ice black crappies. Setting up portable tent she hunkered down for the day. With her electronics on she then lowered her Aqua Vu down to see if anything was around. For the first hour pike and perch filled the screen. Around ten a.m. she finally had a crappie come in to view. She twitched the small jig she had on the end of her line and the crappie just inhaled it!
“I had the record on the Aqua Vu on, and I just figured the fish must be close to the camera because it looked large on screen. When I got it up to the hole, it was squished in the eight-inch opening. Once I got it out, it was just a monster, and I was flapping my arms in excitement!”
She quickly took some pictures and a measurement! On the bump board it measured 44.27 centimetres or 17.43 inches. (Travel Manitoba has recognized it as the new Manitoba length record for a black crappie.)
At the time she had no idea it just set a new Manitoba record. She only found out later from posting the picture on Instagram that it was! Her day turned right around from then on.
Kayla Jorgenson grew up seasonal camping at White Lake until becoming a cabin owner on the lake. Here she spent the summers fishing with her dad and grandpa. They both helped ignite her passion for the outdoors. She caught her first fish at four years of age while fishing Rainbow Falls. She continued fishing every chance she got throughout the years. She loves to take out family and friends fishing whenever she can and the smiles on their faces when they catch fish.
Congratulations Kayla on the fish of a lifetime.
LAKE OF THE PRAIRIES
SOUTH END-ROGER GERES
My fishing been limited because of work but i been lucky to find some big with four Master Angler walleye in a short period. We found drilling holes and marking baitfish seemed to pay off. Because of the cold we stayed put but by changing presentations we got some fish to commit. I always have a deadstick with a live minnow and like glow jigs with a frozen shiner on my active rod.
NORTH END OF LAKE OF THE PRAIRIES
Phil Paczkowski owns Patches Tackle Store in Roblin and his ice shack rentals have been going strong. He said the walleye bite on that end of Lake of the Prairies has been a bit inconsistent with the cold weather. Despite all of that some big walleye have been caught including a 30 inch fish. Phil also got out pike fishing for an hour with some tip-ups and had three flags. The pike measured between 36 and 41 inches. Should be a great season once the weather warms up.
Phil also sent me a picture of a huge splake that was caught in Childs Lake in the Duck Mountains. Check out this beast that measured over 30 inches. The angler is young gun Liam Puchailo who already has 38 Master Angler fish to his resume. The last stocking of splake in Childs took place in 2008 so that fish is at least 14 years of age.
LAKE WINNIPEG AND THE MIGHTY RED-KRIS GAUNE
The Walleyes have been biting extremely well so far this year. The Red River had been producing true Manitoba giants this fall which has carried over to this winter. I have found the “big ones” have been suspending in the deeper holes on the river. What has been working best on the river is dangling a large minnow on a flasher jig with a dead stick suspended about 4 feet from the bottom. If the fish are seen higher up in the water column on the Garmin Livescope I will raise the bait up to the mark and hope for a bite. With my second rod I’ll have an Element Custom Baits rattle bait tipped with a live minnow or salted minnow. Live Minnows’ courtesy of Lee Hastings!
The Big Lake (Lake Winnipeg) has also been giving up a lot of good eaters, along with some photo finish giants. Out from the mouth of the Red River I have seen a lot of anglers with an impressive number of large fish being brought topside! Rattle baits and Clam Leech flutter spoons have been piercing a lot of greenback lips. I do find with a cold front or some drastic weather change the walleyes do tend to get a little tight lipped. Successfully downsizing to a 1/8 or 1/4oz jig with a live minnow, lipped hooked with a bait button you can let that minnow do all the work for you.
ICE CONDITIONS IMPROVED BUT CAUTION STILL NEEDED
It took a while to get GOOD ice on the lake this year but now it’s here! After the last cold snap, the ice is approximately 20-24” in most areas, I have even found 30” in some places. Lake travel has been better the last couple of days but the blowing snow has made some hard drifts in places that will hang you up. So, if you plan on adventuring onto the lake make sure to travel in pairs and have a shovel and tow strap. You can find Kris at https://gaunefishin.ca/
If you like to catch big fish January could be the best month of the year on Lake Winnipeg. Those words from none other than Lee Nolden, the grandfather of ice fishing on the big lake. Lee was a guest on my friend Wes David’s podcast recently. It’s worth a listen at https://fishingthewildwesttv.podbean.com/e/ftwwtv-podcast-e24-lake-winnipeg-ice-fishing-with-lee-nolden/
NORTHERN MANITOBA
Who says pike are no fun to catch, especially during the winter time. Clayton Schick targets them all year long and recently he visited Neso Lake up by Cranberry Portage. Clayton was headquartered at Neso Lake Lodge, which is open all year round. He had some outstanding pike fishing in shallow water. Some great action.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
VERMILLION BAY AND AREA-GLENN MACDONALD
Welcome to 2022! Ice fishing season is in full swing in Northwestern Ontario. Cold temperatures have kept all but the most determined anglers off the lakes for the most part. Not everyone has been hiding indoors through the Christmas season and early January.
SHALLOW WALLEYE BITE WAS HOT
I was able to get out over the Christmas holidays for some winter walleyes. Fishing west of Ear Falls, ON on a small, remote lake, we were able to find some walleyes in shallow water. Set up off a gravel bar, with the remnants of pencil weeds still showing through the ice, we were targeting seven to nine feet of water. At this depth flashers and graphs are of little use, as fish roll in quickly to feed, or hug tight to bottom.
In a little over an hour, just prior to sunset we caught 30+ fish, ranging from 13” to 24”. Standard jig and a minnow were the hot presentation, although Droptine Tackle Hunger Strike tubes caught a number of fish. I also had one rod set up with a Bondy Baits eyeball style spoon with a small treble tipped with a minnow, this proved to be a great way to coax them to bite as well. I have a full video of this trip on my YouTube channel, and include a link to this video AT https://youtu.be/lYHiIVBtG5M
Throughout the region, reports of better than average walleye fishing have been coming in. Most reports are of jig and minnow being the most popular option. Some anglers prefer a jigging rap for fishing deeper areas.
MONSTER LAKERS STAR OF THE SHOW
Every year, anglers wait for the opening of lake trout season on January 1. With brutal cold temperatures over the first couple days of January, the reports of lakers were few and far between. The weekend of the 7th and 8th finally brought some milder temperatures, and the anglers hit the lake.
Cody Szachury, a name familiar with my fishing reports, caught one of the first true giants of the young season. Caught on a Droptine Tackle 5” hunger strike tube tipped with “ a massive sucker minnow” as Cody put it. This is the size of fish all trout anglers hope to catch. I can bet we haven’t heard or seen the last of Cody this season.
TEMPLE BAY AND EAGLE LAKE
My buddies, Henry Salinas and Jeff Moreau, from Temple Bay Lodge have been out with guests on multi species trips a number of times already this winter. Whether guests book a day trip or overnight accommodation, the gang at Temple Bay can take care of everything for them.
Henry has been on the hunt for lakers in early ‘22, and he reports them hitting tube jigs tipped with minnows as well as Jigging Raps. His plastic of choice is Dynamite Plastics, makers of a number of quality products that the guys use. I do know they rely on the Ned rig style rubber in the summer for walleyes as well.
Henry just finished up a great eight fish day, trout fishing with Jeff and some guests. Only a few days earlier he was out targeting crappie. Talk about a life spent on the lake.
FAMILY AND FISHING-DOES IT GET ANY BETTER!
Jeff Moreau and his wife, Marianne had some family and grandchildren out fishing over the holidays and had a fantastic time. Catching some beautiful walleyes on jig and minnow or jig and plastic is so much fun, and only better when the kids are involved! Warmer weather is forecast for this weekend, and I plan to hit the lake for my first laker trip of the season. We also plan to get the kids out for an afternoon walleye trip.
Ice season is in full swing, good luck to all the anglers out this weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/c/54orbust Youtube channel
LAKE OF THE WOODS AND AREA-JEFF GUSTAFSON
With all of the cold weather over the past few weeks I haven’t been fishing a ton. I’m not that interested in sitting in a shack all day, I just like to move around to much. I have a five minute rule…if I fish a hole for five minutes and don’t at least mark some fish, I’m on to the next one.
Luckily, I live close to the lake so I usually go out at three in the afternoon and fish a couple of hours until dark. Been fishing on LOTW mostly. Fishing has been good for walleyes and perch. Not getting any big fish but I’ve had a few good dinners. Just happy to get out there and catch some fish. I always fish a new spot when I go and I’ve been mixing up different spoon colours when I go out.
SPOON FEEDING WALLEYE
Northland has a variety of ice spoons and it’s interesting that different models produce better on different spots or different days. The Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon is always tied on one of my rods. I think it’s the best ice fishing bait ever, I have caught thousands of walleyes on it. The new Buck-Shot Coffin Spoon has been good and, on some days, the silent Glo-Shot Spoon produces better.
As far as colours go, it seems like the UV glow colours – which many of the Northland spoons include – are better than the non-glowing colours. Likely has something to do with all the snow cover we have, it’s dark down there in 30 feet of water. My top colours consistently include Pink UV Glow, UV Electric Perch and Purple Wonder. They are great looking baits!
NEW AUGER TEST A SUCCESS
Got a chance to test out a new auger, manufactured by Razr, a Minnesota based company that has a history of manufacturing augers for other companies. They have a good product and are going to be coming out with some new stuff soon that is going to be super light and powerful. Glad to be on the electric auger train now for sure!
TIME TO HEAD SOUTH
I’m headed south next week to start getting ready for a new season on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Looking forward to getting back in the boat! I’ll be home the last week of March to get some quality time in on the ice late in the season, my favourite time to be out there. Happy fishing everybody.
Gussy- Jeff Gustafson Outdoors
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SASKATCHEWAN
LAKE DIEFENBAKER-DARYL GILBERT
The Extreme cold temperatures over the last few weeks have increased the ice thickness quickly making some hard to reach areas accessible by vehicles now. With most fishermen out enjoying the hardwater, fish are starting to get pressured at some popular locations.
One major mistake novice anglers make this time of year especially when fishing new water is to follow the permanent ice huts around and set up near them. While sometimes this can put you on fish, be aware that on Diefenbaker sometimes huts are out in locations due to accessibility and convenience.
DO SOME HOMEWORK TO FIND HOT SPOTS
With some quick preparation and study of the area’s maps, look for key points of structure near the traditional locations. Don’t be afraid of moving away from where the others are set up. It can really pay off this time of year when the fish get pressured.
Walleye have been consistent throughout the deep freeze and large fish have been found shallow in the evenings from 12-18 ft of water. Rapala Slab Raps have still been doing the trick for me with an aggressive jigging motion to bring them in but a small flick of the bait to seal the deal.
NORTHEN PIKE ON THE HUNT
The Northern Pike are back feeding heavily and have been caught in shallow bays or up on the top of the contour edges of the lake. Smaller sized smelts and minnows have been consistent while dead sticked to hook these Saskatchewan giants.
Burbot are starting to pick up and over the next few weeks will only get better. They can be found cruising sand flats ranging from 10 to 25 ft of water. While Burbot can be caught at all hours of the day the evening bite is starting to pick up for them, so don’t leave your hut too early if you are after some quality Burbot action.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE RAINBOWS!
Rainbow trout have been active and with this warm up in the weather the next few weeks should be great to catch some of these fish. Target shallow water from 2-8 ft deep. The back end of coulees with any type of runoff or flow will put you in good position to catch some of the active feeding rainbows that are cruising the shallows for food. Also don’t overlook shallow points adjacent to deep water for some of the action! You can find Daryl at http://darylgilbertoutdoors.com
TOBIN LAKE-JASON HAMILTON
I’ve only been out only a couple of times. Cold and snow and a blown snowmobile has left me shore bound. Conditions on Tobin aren’t great with lots of snow causing slush in many areas. It is not bad to the point of being impassable, but it will slow you down. Truck travel is limited to the community spots with a road being plowed out from Tobin Lake Resort. The road onto the flats is also plowed.
Fishing has been spotty, fish being very noncommittal in the cold weather. Small jigs and half minnows showed some success. Best bites at dawn and dusk. With this warmup we should be seeing some activity increase, the weather has been very unsettled the last few days making it difficult to pattern fish.
Hope all is well. I was glad to be back on the ice the last couple of days with a working sled. Run of smaller than eaters and a red zone. Not fast fishing by any means.
LAST MOUNTAIN LAKE
Big fish continue to be caught on the Mountain, including a massive 31 inch beast by the Mountain Man himself.
ALBERTA-WES DAVID
Special Walleye Harvest License
Now that the ice fishing season is in full swing, one question that keeps coming up on message boards and social media is can Alberta’s 2021 Special Walleye Harvest Licenses still be used during the 2022 ice fishing season? The answer is yes.
An Alberta Special Walleye Harvest License is a way to manage and maintain a healthy walleye population in different walleye age classes on 13 different waterbodies across Alberta while still giving Alberta anglers a chance to harvest walleye for table fare.
The Alberta Special Walleye Harvest License draw application that takes place each March must seem odd to Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario anglers, however, Alberta has the fewest amount of walleye lakes within the prairie provinces with only 174 lakes/reservoirs supporting walleye.
Walleye do not spawn for the first time until they are four to five years of age and with only 2% of their eggs surviving to adulthood.(mature enough to spawn)
Alberta is also the fourth-largest populated province with well over 100,000 fishing licenses sold annually. This all combines to makes Alberta’s walleye fishery fragile. The Alberta Special Walleye Harvest License is a tool the Alberta fisheries biologists use to help these 13 waterbodies maintain a healthy walleye population.
This Special Walleye Harvest License does come with some controversy. Each year during the annual provincial hunting and fishing general meetings anglers voice their opinion about the walleye draw system, some on either side
Despite that, as stated in the 2021 Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations, fishing regulations are effective from the opening of the 2021 fishing season to March 31, 2022. Anglers that did not get a chance to fill their walleye draw tags during the 2021 fair-weather fishing season can use their 2021 Alberta Special Walleye Harvest License (tags) during the 2022 ice fishing season which is open until March 31, 2022.
Information about the Alberta Special Walleye Harvest License can be found online or on page #19 of the 2021 Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations.
https://mywildalberta.ca/buy-licences/fishing-licenses-fees/special-harvest-licences.aspx
Happy New Year everyone and safe travels!