Editors Note:
Summer is in full swing and the fish are hungry! The last three weeks have produced some of the best angling ever in western Canada. Tons of rainfall has meant high water and flowing water. These are all good things for fish. High water years traditionally mean successful spawning for many species of fish. It also helps the food chain as flooded vegetation allow fish to access more productive places to feed. It also helps reduce the effect of global warming and algae blooms. It is a win/win fore everyone including the anglers. Get out and enjoy!
MANITOBA
LAKE MANITOBA
It took a while but the perch population on this big lake is back! I had a chance to go out last week to Delta Beach on the south end of the lake with a couple of friends. We put in at the new boat launch and marina right at the Delta Channel. It was a well constructed launch and access was easy.
There is still the older launch as well and a new graveled parking lot for your vehicle and trailer.
With that out of the way we headed out on the lake to the 10 foot mark, looking for some hard gravel with some scattered rock. According to friend Jim Price this is where both the perch and the walleye like to hang around. While not very successful on our first try we ventured to three other areas until we found an aggressive school of perch, mixed in with both walleye and freshwater drum.
While we only landed five walleye, the perch fishing was spectacular with many fish in the 10 inch or bigger range.
PRESENTATION
For the first while I was the only one not to catch multiple fish until I learned the key to getting these fish to bite. Both Jim and friend Dan McCrae would lay their rods out straight over the side of the boat. No rod holders were used and the rods were laid perfectly flat with the jig just a touch off the bottom.
They were both using an 1/8th ounce chartreuse jig with a half shiner minnow. Patience was the key as they would wait for the fish to load up on the jig before setting the hook. Jim says with the low water clarity at that end of the lake, the fish have to find the bait by smell, so little movement is best.
As the day wore on I found that a 1/8 oz jig with a one inch Keitech 2 inch Easy Shiner swimbait was really triggering the bigger perch to bite.
We fished from an anchored position for the majority of the fish and it proved effective once the fish were found.
After I got home I cleaned some of these healthy perch and had some of the best tasting fish in the world. A little Cajun coating and it was as good as it gets.
LAKE WINNIPEG
Craig McDougall (fisheries biologist and president of Angler’s Edge Mapping) took his young family out
recently to Winnipeg Beach. The McDougalls found good numbers of both walleye and sauger, fishing
likely structural elements identified on the AEM maps between the launch and Sandy Hook.
Jointed Flicker Shads and Taildancers both produced steady action in the fishy areas.
Craig’s advice: “You can certainly get into good bites on Lake Winnipeg in areas devoid of structure….mud-bottom with 20-25’ of water. However, don’t neglect the shallow near-shore (relative term for Lake Winnipeg) structure.
Shallow fish are usually actively feeding fish, and on LW low water clarity often means that you can get
right on top of fish without spooking them….so watch your sonar. On this particular trip, we could see
the fish easily from 40-60’ away in 10-15’ of water using Lowrance’s ActiveTarget forward
looking sonar. We were then able to troll right over top of them, and frequently anticipate the bites
before they happened.”
“FLY BITES”
reports from members of the Manitoba Fly Fishers Association (MFFA)
The MFFA will add to the weekly fish reports available through Hooked as members are out and about this summer. Please note this part the fishing report will only refer to fly-caught fish only! We typically target the smaller lakes early season and follow temperature trends as most of us transition from Trout and Char to post spawn Pike/Bass/Musky. You will also find members targeting the world class Channel Cat fishery at Lockport.
Hexigenia Hatch
With the days finally warming the water is over 20C on many of our lakes right now. The Hex hatch has started in earnest and it is a rare time to fish true “dry flies” (not poppers). Find an area where the Hexigenia have been hatching at night and watch for pockets where the “spent wing” stage are accumulating. The Smallmouth Bass will be patrolling and gorging themselves with dying or dead mayflies in these areas. Use a small twitch to get the fishes attention. Walleye can be fooled as well during the early hours. As the winds pick up during the day the fish seem to shut down. A link to my Hex pattern is below.
Musky continue to move into their summer positions as the weeds are finally at the surface of the water, although the lakes are still coolish for this time of year. Musky, like most fish, will also feed on Hexigenia (and Dragonflies), believe it or not! Use a wire bite guard with a Lindy rig float attached to a Hex pattern. Poppers are the best fly too use in the weed beds right now. I had 2 multi fish days this week.
Tight lines!
Mike Corrigan
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
GLENN MCDONALD-VERMILLION BAY AND AREA
Summer has finally taken its hold on sunset country. Hot temperatures, the return of American tourists and the inevitable mayfly hatch. The first two weeks of July have brought damaging storms throughout the area. However in between these storms, some beautiful days remind us how amazing Northwestern Ontario truly is.
TEN YEAR OLD CATCHES HUGE TIGER MUSKY!
The highlight of my summer fishing trips thus far, a rare family outing. Not just any family outing, but both our younger daughters were casting, on their own, for muskies. Kaydi, age 8, had a musky hit close to the boat, scaring her in the process. Just prior to that our 10 year old daughter, Kenzie, caught a tiger musky! The kind of tiger musky most anglers would consider a bucket list fish. We were so proud of her, look for a video later this summer on my YouTube channel. Such an amazing experience, and so happy we did it as a family.
Casting a hard bodied bucktail, a Spanky Baits Pugsly, so it would float over the weeds, Kenzie’s fish hit just out from the boat. While mom did have to help steady the rod after the strike, Kenzie did it all on her own. Take a kid fishing, good things will happen.
BACKWOODS MUSKIES
Dave Chaval and I went on a back forty trip to fish a new lake, one known to produce decent muskies. With logging operations in the area the road was in good condition, and we drove right to the lake with no issues. Fishing new water, with no prior information is a great feeling. Something that does not happen very often in the musky world. We are creatures of habit and always return to familiar waters. That being said, we routinely fish six or seven different bodies of water.
During our exploration of this lake we found huge cabbage beds that held fish. We picked up two muskies, raised a few more and caught over 24 pike. We didn’t hit any hazards. A success! These types of trips remind us to keep our minds open to trying new things. It’s easy to become a specialist on one body of water, it’s another to catch muskies on a number of different lakes.
FIND THE WEEDS
One more recent trip of mention for me, Dave Chaval and I visited one of our favorite lakes. Of note, the water level is still close to a foot higher than normal. High water and lower early season temperatures have had an effect on the weed growth. We had to adjust, on the water, to the changes we saw from previous years. Finding the best weeds we found the muskies. Watch this trip on the video link here.
JUMBO NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO MUSKIES
Two of my friends have caught 52”+ muskies in the last week of different bodies of water. Hunter Macdonald, of Temple Bay Lodge, caught his on Eagle Lake. Casting a single bladed Dadson Blade Bait, a small bucktail by most standards, he crushed his personal best with a tank of a musky.
Matt Abel, from Minnesota, staying at Manotak Lodge caught a 52” musky on Perrault Lake while fishing with family. I do not have the specifics on the bait he used, however they have been averaging three to four fish a day, so they have the patterns dialed in.
The full moon has just passed and should bring good fishing this weekend. The next major moon period will be the new moon towards the end of the month. Warm temperatures for the rest of July should bring the best weed growth of the season. I expect the new moon period to be a highlight reel of the season.
Good luck out there anglers. Follow me at
https://www.youtube.com/c/54orbust
LAKE OF THE WOODS AND AREA-JAMIE BRUCE
We just wrapped up the KWO walleye tournament here on Lake of the Woods the tournament had record-breaking fish catches and a staggering amount of big fish a 28 inch walleye really didn’t mean a whole lot which is unfathomable. Ashley and I ended up fourth in the event caught fish anywhere from 8 foot mud flats to 25 foot shoals . We caught almost all of our weighers on a 1/4 ounce 2/0 btfishing Crusher Jig with a Hula Stickz. There has been a not so subtle change in diet in many Lake of the woods walleyes to Rusty crayfish in recent years and craw imitating baits are very hard to beat.
SASKATCHEWAN
The water temperatures are now rising to high 60s and the bite is on hard. The walleye are still biting well throughout the lake including the main lake basin areas with good numbers and some real Last Mountain Giants over 30” being caught and released. With the warmer temperatures the Walleye are moving deeper to depths ranging from 15’ to 26’. Trolling cranks, bottom bouncers and crawler harnesses, vertical jigging and jigging spoons are all great presentation right now.OTHER SPECIES
RAFFERTY RESERVOIR-RALPH SMART-PRAIRIE PRO OUTFITTERS
With recent rains the reservoir continues to rise. That has not slowed down the fishing with plenty of walleye being caught. The active fish are in ten to 12 feet of water. We have been using jigs to catch our fish. In the north end, with low water clarity, we have been using bright pink jigs while in the south with increased water clarity, silver is the colour of choice. Salted shiners have been the bait of choice.
ALBERTA
Wes David- Host & Producer of Fishing the Wild West TV
On Sunday, July 3, the first annual Airdrie, Alberta, Kids Can Catch event was held at Nose Creek Pond. It’s located within Nose Creek Park, not very far from downtown. The pond had recently been stocked with 3,000 rainbow trout and the response to the first annual Kids Can Catch event was amazing. Shauna Quinn, the main organizer of the event said there were over 400 pre-registered youth anglers and another 300 walk-up registries.
There were over 1200 kids, parents, grandparents, and guardians at the event.
Nose Creek Park was transformed into a small outdoor sports show. Along with teaching kids to catch and release fish, there was a pancake breakfast, even fly tying demos!
I was fortunate enough to be asked to present trout fishing seminars on the Outdoor Amp Theatre. There were all kinds of booths, such as the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), Alberta Environment & Parks (AEP), The City of Airdrie, The Boys & Girls Club, and many more.
There was also a wide variety of local sponsors as the whole city of Airdrie got involved in the event and even Big Chief Meat Snacks, Bass Pro Shops, Len Thompson Lures, Hooked Magazine, and Canadian Tire were involved in promoting this amazing youth fishing event.
The first annual Airdrie Kids Can Catch event was amazing to see and be a part of and I truly believe more communities should get involved with this program. (If you want to get your kids away from the computers and video games, take them fishing) was my message.
British Columbia Fishing Report
I was honored to be the Keynote Speaker along with Rick Hansen, (The Man in Motion) at the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) Keeping the Legend Alive, Gala, awards, and auction, held on July 9, 2022, at the Coast Hotel, in Langley, British Columbia. The (FRSCS) was founded in 1997 and is a not-for-profit, charitable organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the wild Fraser River white sturgeon.
The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, and the white sturgeon tagging program is a perfect example of what can be done by conservation-minded individuals with and for the white sturgeon swimming within the depths of the Fraser River.
This event is one of the main events in raising money for the (FRSCS) tagging program which is key in continuing to learn about the white sturgeon’s seasonal movements, spawning cycles, and the overall health of the species.
To date. Over 180,000 white sturgeon have been caught, tagged, and released since the program started in 1997, and 74 percent of those sturgeon have been re-captured, and documented at different locations on the Fraser River, Harrison River, and in the Pacific Ocean, including in the San Francisco Bay.
You don’t have to live in BC to be a part of this program. What is the minimum one person, or one family can do to ensure the (FRSCS) continues for years to come?
Donate today, adopt a sturgeon, adopt 10 sturgeon, you can even adopt a sturgeon and give it to someone as a gift. And, if/when you do book a fishing trip to fish for prehistoric white sturgeon on the Fraser River, book with a guide that is involved with the (FRSCS) and the tagging program. Not only do you get to see and be involved with tagging Fraser River white sturgeon, but you’re also helping to ensure that these guides are on the river tagging sturgeon tomorrow.
Wes David host & producer of Fishing the Wild West TV