MANITOBA
Hump Walleyes-Matt Gelley
Reef season is upon us! Shield Walleyes are stacked up on mid-lake structure as clouds of baitfish move offshore.
Most walleye anglers will drop down live bait on a jig. I like to approach things a bit differently with plastics. One sleeper bait that outright catches em’ is the NED rig. My favourite way to fish these is to drag them on the bottom vertically or by pitching them on top of the hump depending if there is a nice flat. Another option is to cast swimbaits on top of the reef or on the sides. The Kalin’s Google Eye Swimbait jig rigged up with a 4” paddle tail is my go to setup. Nice wide gap hook and rattle complete the package.
USING YOUR ELECTRONICS
It is important to use your mapping in conjunction with your sonar to consistently stay on the fish. Lakemaster mapping makes it easy to see the “lay of the land”. Finding the spot on the spot makes all the difference on getting bit or not. Humminbird’s CHIRP sonar makes walleyes stand out like a sore thumb. Look for the “cordwood” on your graph.
Most of the active feeding fish will move up shallower on the structure. This may not always be the case from lake to lake. The more walleyes using the structure; the more competition for your bait.
Get out there and try fishing plastics on mid lake humps. Should only get better going into August. Show them somethings different and get bit. Stay safe on the water.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
In northwestern Ontario the fishing has been as hot as the weather! Everywhere you go anglers are catching not only numbers of fish, but big fish as well!
First, the continued hot and dry conditions have lead to extreme fire conditions and some areas are closed to the public. I urge anyone out enjoying the outdoors in the coming weeks to exercise caution.
The past couple weeks for been fantastic for me and my fishing friends. Walleye have been moving to summer mid Lake humps and shoals. On Eagle Lake my buddy Harley Read has been targeting them with the super versatile Neg Rig. He reports both numbers of eater sized walleye as well as the odd above slot sized fish.
The annual Lac Suel Walleye Cup is this weekend and reports during prefishing have anglers catching nice fish up to the 30” mark. Look for a report next time around about what it took to win the Cup.
In my corner of the fishing world, chasing musky, we have had and amazing trips on the water.
I’ll include links to a couple recent videos on youtube.
http://https://youtu.be/A27vIQ5A4R8
The hot, calm conditions have lead to low water levels and the reduced run off from the lack of rain has brought increased clarity to our lakes. With this, the weeds are growing at an incredible rate. Musky are using these weeds for cover and the added oxygen they bring to the water.
Bucktails have been the hottest lure of late. Using a new Dadson Blade Baits bucktail I have had a hot hand on the water as of late. This lure has fast become my confidence bait.
Throwing it last weekend, while fishing with my wife, Kyla, I hooked into a stunning tiger musky. While not the longest tiger I have ever caught it ranks up there with one of the prettiest!
Surprisingly the water temps have stayed stable around the 73-77 degree mark. With the warm weather forecast for next week it will be interesting to see if the full moon this weekend will bring cooler nights. Late July and early August can be some of the best musky fishing the summer has to offer.
I’ll be out next week and plan to fish some backwoods lakes for a new adventure. Stay tuned.
To follow our fishing adventures all season check us out on youtube.
https://youtube.com/c/54orbust
SASKATCHEWAN
Last Mountain-Rob Schulz-G&S Marina Outfitters
The summer bite is heating up on Last Mountain lake. The water temperatures have warmed up to approximately 72°F. This has moved the Walleye into their regular summer locations and patterns. They have now moved onto the steep brake lines of Last Mountain’s main lake basin.
There has been some big numbered daily catches and also many giant Walleye in the 28” to 32” class being caught and released.
For Walleye all the summer fishing techniques are working well right now. Bottom bouncer and crawler harnesses, crank baits, jigging spoons, jigging and live bait rigging.
CARP ON THE BITE!
The Carp are now finished their spawn. They are now feeding well with some good catchers of fish ranging from 15 pounds to 34 pounds.
The secret to a good Carp fishing day is the work that goes into the pre-baiting of the area you plan to fish for Carp.
The Northern Pike have also moved into the deeper water.
Trolling deep diving crank baits seems to be working well for the Northern’s as well as the Walleye.
There are some Perch being caught off the steep breaks with small jigs and minnows or a piece of crawler.
Your electronics are critical now that the fish have move into the deeper water. Your depth finder is your under water eyes so watch for what depth you are marking fish then work that depth.
Remember never fish deeper than 30’ so you don’t kill those Walleye as they cannot withstand the trauma of coming out of deeper than 30’ depths.
Good luck fishing and remember to release those trophy fish!!
TOBIN LAKE REPORT-DON LAMONT
I finally got to spend some time with old friends last week on a trip to Tobin Lake. We fished the main reservoir for four days, landing some really big walleye. Most were caught jigging with frozen shiners in water from 16 to 28 feet. This fish were coming up from deep water to forage early and late in the day on a main lake point.
We did catch some fish bottom bouncing near Tobin Lake Resort. These walleye were relating to sunken timber and we donated a bit of tackle to dig them out.
Friend Jim Price was dragging a big swimbait above the bottom while Russ Heatherington and I were using a spin and glow and a floater rig tipped with leeches. With the hot weather we only fished until early afternoon when the bite totally shut down.
It wasn’t fast and furious but the quality of the fish sure made up for it.
SOUTHERN ALBERTA FISHING REPORT-WES DAVID
Although Rolling Hills Reservoir in southern Alberta is a 1 ½ drive from my doorstep, I consider Rolling Hills Reservoir & Campground my home lake. Rolling Hills Reservoir has everything an angler could ask for. A beautiful campground, first-class marina, islands, rock structures, and an abundance of walleye and northern pike.
LEN THOMPSON
When Brad Pallister from the Pallister Bait Company/Len Thompson Lures called me and said I would like to take dad (Richard Pallister) walleye fishing, there was little hesitation where I was taking these two legends within the lure industry.
We bottom-bounced frozen minnows on a Slow-Death hook behind a gold blade and beads until we found active feeding walleye in 18-21 feet of water at the first sharp drop-off adjacent to the first island that we fished.
SPOT LOCK ON THE FISH
Once the school of feeding walleye was located we hit Spot-lock on the trolling motor and started jigging a frozen minnow. Immediately, Richard set the hook into a walleye. Before Richards walleye was back in the water, Brad set the hook on another walleye. We fished various locations of the island and drop-off and lost count of how many walleye we caught and released over a five-hour period.
If you’re in southern Alberta and looking for a first-class campground and great walleye and northern pike fishing, give Rolling Hills Reservoir and Campground a try. You won’t be disappointed! https://www.eid.ca/rhrcampground.html