MANITOBA
March madness has officially arrived but it’s more to do with the weather than anything else. Brutal conditions continue and getting out on the ice is a major challenge. Fishing right now is only for those well equipped. That means contacting one of the many guides that we have working on Lake Winnipeg or the few in the northern part of the province if you don’t have a tracked mode of transportation.
One of the best equipped is Kris Kaune, who guides on Big Windy. He has been putting his clients on some of those monster greenback walleye.
Jay Siemens has been continuing his tour of the southern half of the province. He recently made it down to Pelican Lake, near Ninette. This lake has been producing some nice perch and walleye all year long.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Finally, we’ve had a break in weather to fish outside again! After being stricken to the confines of a portable shelter in an endless amount of slush, it sure feels good to do a little outdoor angling. Albeit, the slush is certainly still there, but it’s just something we have to live with for now.SASKATCHEWAN
TOBIN LAKE
Fishing on Tobin has been hit and miss, probably due to all the unstable weather we’ve been having. SnoBear trips have been fair to good with a fair number of small fish with the odd trophy size. The biggest being a 75 cm 10 pound walleye. Slush is still a major concern as we’ve received even more snow. Be extremely cautious as the slush is not visible until you hit it.ALBERTA-WES DAVID-FISHING THE WILD WEST
Walleye are beginning to stage for the anticipated spawn. Truthfully, I have noticed pre-spawn staging behaviour in walleye as early as mid-February. This pre-spawn anticipation staging are often referred to as “March Madness”!
At this time of the year, walleye are not only feeding aggressively, but they are also very territorial. This is also the time of the ice fishing season when both the quantity and quality of walleye are caught.
Walleye are being caught throughout central and southern Alberta in their pre-spawn staging areas. Walleye spawn in two to six feet of water in and around rocks the size of softballs down to the size of gravel. If these areas have moving water such as water inlets or outlets, they will be ideal locations to target pre-spawn walleye, and this includes dam inlet and outlet locations on southern Alberta reservoirs.
DIFFERENT AREAS FOR MALE AND FEMALE WALLEYE
Male walleye are in the shallows waiting for the larger female walleye to arrive. Large female walleye are holding in 10-15 feet of water near the spawning areas. Anglers can catch male walleye with 1 ½” to 2” BuzzBomb Tackle such as a Buzz-Bomb or Spinnow tipped with a frozen minnow or with white soft plastics like a 4” Finesse Shad from Big Bite Baits with a little Liquid Mayhem scent for added attraction.
The same BuzzBomb Tackle tipped with a frozen minnow or with white soft plastics with a little scent will also trigger strikes from big female walleye but there may be more time in-between hookups as the females are taking a little more time to commit to the presentation. It’s not uncommon for these pre-spawn staging areas to be less than 30 feet apart from the spawning areas so this same setup beneath a tip-up is a good option for large female walleye in the staging areas while you target male walleye in the shallow spawning areas with your ice rod and reel.
Pre-spawn walleye beneath the ice. There is nothing like it!