MANITOBA
Crazy heat has kept people off the water for full days but early and late in the day has been perfect. Walleye are still using the shallow water in many of our lakes and reservoirs. Matt Gelley had a good day recently on a nine foot hump. He found the walleye and smallmouth bass mixed together.
Aaron Wiebe of Uncut Angling fame was out on Lake Winnipeg at Hecla Island competing with Clayton Schick and Jay Siemens in a nine hour full walleye event. Aaron was a but surprised when he found all the active walleye in less than nine feet of water. That is the same case with Lake Manitoba but the fish are even shallower! Make sure to stay safe on the water by drinking plenty of liquids and stopping for a swim break.
Hardcore angler Brodie Green is working up at Snow Lake but found time for an evening fish on Wekusko. It did not disappoint with a 28 inch fish on his first night back.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO-GLENN MCDONALD
The heat of summer has truly hit Northwestern Ontario, and with it has been some fantastic fishing!
Reports have come from all corners of Sunset Country of better than average fishing for this time of year. Do we owe this amazing fishing to the lack of fishing pressure from the border closure? Maybe it’s due to an early ice out and early summer? Whatever the reasoning, the fishing has been dynamite this season so far.
Walleye fishing was great all through the region the past couple weeks, despite high temps and the dreaded may fly hatch. On Eagle Lake we were able to catch four person limits with little trouble, using jig and minnow or jig and plastic. The choice of bait was of little consequence. The eye’s were hungry and hitting almost any bait!
Smallmouth have spread out and moved to their summer areas, making them a little more difficult to catch. But once you find what they are relating to, it’s easy to replicate those areas.
Small pike have been caught in the weeds and backs of bays, as one would expect. However this year we have caught some truly great pike out in the areas one would expect to find musky.
My wife caught a nice one on a Dadson Blade Baits marabou bucktail, and Richard Madussi caught a beast of a pike on a Red October Tube.
This time of year musky is almost always our primary target. The past couple weeks we have put a few into the bag, including the biggest sub 50” fish I’ve witnessed!
Fishing the last couple minutes of daylight, Richard hooked into a giant at the back of the boat. Boat side strikes are wild to begin with, but when they hit a top water bait beside the boat it’s pure pandemonium!
After a short fight I slid the net under her and we stood back, amazed. At 49 ½” long she was a true beast of a fish. Already pushing the 40 pounds mark this fish has all the potential to be a 50 pound fish in the future.
I caught a beauty during an evening fishing trip with my wife. Of note with this fish is the fact we raised her and just by slowing my retrieve and pause speed I was able to get her to eat in the second pass.
My father in law, Harry, caught a real dandy while fishing with my wife. Caught while twitching an old school jerk bait, it gave Harry a good fight, and Kyla said it got Harry’s heart beat really going! A solid mid 40” fish was a nice way to start the season for Mr.Reliable, Harry Sawchuk!
With continued hot weather on the forecast and a favourable new Moon period, fishing should be great again this weekend!
Let’s be mindful in the warm water to be very careful with large fish of all species, especially musky. Keep handling time to a minimum and water release fish wherever possible.
Follow me on youtube at 54 or Bust for some cool northwestern Ontario content all at summer!
SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN
Last Mountain Lake continues to produce outstanding catches of large walleye. Clayton Schick recently had a day to remember on this natural lake just north of Regina.
http://https://youtu.be/qQLdCJ-ZiAo
NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN-WES DAVID
Adventure Destination International and Thompson’s Resort based out of Missinipe, Saskatchewan is a drive to fishing adventure. Adventure Destination International (ADI) is the same company that owns Twin Falls Lodge in northern Saskatchewan but also specializes in putting self-guided fishing trips of a lifetime together for eager anglers looking for a fishing adventure.
PLENTY TO CHOOSE FROM
Adventure Destination International owns the guiding rights to over 20 lakes in northern Saskatchewan and has outpost camps on 12 of them and several day flyouts. I recently returned home from a self-guided outpost trip for northern pike and lake trout to Hickson Lake where I spent four full days doing non-stop battle with these two species and experienced breathtaking scenery, wildlife, and the comforts of no real-world distractions.
I believe self-guided fishing trips are something every angler should experience. They are an incredible experience with family and friends. Very rewarding. And (ADI) can put any freshwater fishing package together that you and your crew would like to experience. https://www.adventuredestinations.ca/
ALBERTA-WES DAVID
The southern Alberta reservoirs walleye and northern pike fishing slowed down during the heatwave that most of western Canada experienced. Reservoirs are commonly warm water waterbodies but the seven days of +30 degrees and some areas of southern Alberta hitting 38 & 41 degrees.
The crazy warm weather heated the reservoirs even more and of course, with these temperatures, water was also in high demand and was being pulled from the reservoirs for agricultural irrigation use.
Walleye were transitioning to deeper cooler water and although you could catch walleye all day, the best bites with a leech on a Big Sky Jig were vertical jigging in 20 feet of water early morning until 11:00am, and evenings from 7:00pm until dark. It sounds like warm weather and water fluctuations will be the norm for southern Alberta and the southern reservoirs, which means, walleye will always be looking for cooler deeper water.