MANITOBA
It has been a hot couple of weeks across the prairies as we move into the middle of September. It looks like the warmer weather is going to hold on for a while longer. This has slowed down the transition of baitfish and predators to shallower water. There is some overnight movement but not concentrated pockets of larger fish. Expect the walleye to be in 16 to 24 feet of water and spread out on mud flats in a lot of our lakes.
Catfish continue to be the story in this part of the country. The big channel cats are hungry and providing some amazing fishing from Lockport to the lake. If you have never caught one, now is the time.
I am just loading the boat and heading out for three days at Lake of the Prairies. The fishing remains good for both numbers and size.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
JEFF GUSTAFSON
During the summer months, I spend most of my time targeting walleye in shallow water, where their primary forage is crayfish. As we move into the fall, I tend to start fishing a little deeper and I feel like the forage preferences for walleyes really turn to baitfish like perch, shiners, smelt or cisco, depending on the waterbody. My presentations change to match those baitfish.
My all-time top bass tournament bait is the Smeltinator/Jerk ShadZ combo and that has proven to be a killer for walleye when they are focused on eating minnows, especially in the fall. The baits come in several sizes so I’ll try to match up the plastic to the size of the baitfish that I feel like the fish are focused on. Obviously, if the fish are eating larger ciscos, I’m going to go with the five-inch Z-Man bait, but if they are smaller perch or shiners, I’ll go with the 3.5” version.
When it comes to choosing a jig head, I’m going to use a ¼ ounce jig for 20 feet and less but if I’m fishing deeper than 20, I’m going with a 3/8 ounce Smeltinator to get down to the fish a little bit quicker. You truly don’t need to use meat on your jigs in the fall, walleyes get in the mood to bite and will have no problem munching on some plastic. Just make sure it’s rigged up nice and straight so it swims naturally.
“FLY BITES” reports from members of the Manitoba Fly Fishers Association (MFFA) and President Mike Corrigan
Small Lake Musky in Northwestern Ontario
The backcountry Musky lakes continue to produce. The fish seem to be a little larger and a little more wary, but aggressively stripped flies without pausing has produced some quality fish. Even as the water starts to cool down, the fish continue to hold in very shallow water. I spent a few days fishing in windy conditions (wind and fly fishing are generally not compatible) and the fish attacked darker coloured surface flies as Musky seem to be less shy with the movement in the waves.
SASKATCHEWAN
LAST MOUNTAIN LAKE-ROB SCHULZ-G&S MARINA AND OUTFITTERS
The walleye are on the steep break lines and also moving onto the sand points ranging in depths from 18’ to 28’ in depth.
RAFFERTY RESERVOIR-RALPH SMART-PRAIRIE PRO OUTFITTERS
I’d like to say the fishing on Rafferty has been great all year but it hasn’t! It’s been fantastic !
The numbers and size have been consistent all open water season. and last With water temps cooling the bigger eaters are schooling and fighting harder than ever The prominent weed line in 15 ft is still a good starting point to search pulling spinners. Another consistent pattern involves jigging them close to where the old Souris river and creeks come close to shore with deep water.
Experiment with different jig colours as they show a preference almost daily. With our guided large groups we start with various colours and one always out produces so don’t be afraid to switch if you are only getting the small bait stealing walleyes. Big pike are now getting very active and we are constantly having them attack our walleyes we hook.
TEST NETTING REVEALS HEALTHY POPULATIONS
Saskatchewan government biologists were just here netting two weeks ago and talking to them they found a very large and healthy population of perch, walleye and pike. There is a huge population of perch that the walleyes were feeding on by the netting samples. Livescope has kept us more consistently on the 18 to 22 inch walleyes and also trophy fish.
A largemouth bass was just last week caught in Rafferty. I found it filleted in our shack and it proves that bass can get into Rafferty from Boundary Reservoir that has the largemouth On high water years bass can easily swim into Rafferty I personally caught one in Rafferty 20 years ago.
Our docks stay in at Mainprize till freeze up so come checkout the fantastic fishing with Prairie Pro Outfitters
BRITISH COLUMBIA
WES DAVID-FISHING THE WILD WEST T.V.
The north end of Vancouver Island and the Pacific Ocean is fishing very well. I spent three days fishing with Serengeti Fishing Charters out of Port Hardy British Columbia for various fish species. This is an annual fishing trip and my ninth season with Serengeti .
The first day on the big water was comfortable but we were faced with heavy rain conditions. Serengeti Fishing Charters boats have covered cabs and in-between fish under the cab is where we spent our time. The first day we focused on Chinook and coho salmon. We trolled in 55 and 70 feet of water near and around rock islands picking up Chinook salmon on almost every pass. This was the time of year when Tyees (30 lbs. or larger) are consistently caught, however, on our trip, we didn’t hook into any Tyees. That’s fishing. However, we did land a few 24 to 26-pound Chinook salmon.
Coho were often caught while fishing for the Chinooks but the bulk of the coho were caught at the mouths of the river systems spilling into the Pacific. Using my medium-heavy action Streamside rod and reel, we would cast Buzz-Bombs into four feet of water at the mouths of the river systems and retrieve the lure as fast as we could and with almost every cast and retrieve, a coho would take the presentation. The action was exciting and often non-stop.
On day two, we focused on ling cod and rockfish. Fishing black rockfish on sunken pinnacles in 70 to 80 feet of water using my medium-heavy action rod and reel is one of my favourite fish to target on the West Coast. Once we found a school of black rockfish often referred to as black bass, it took us less than 30 minutes to fill our limits. Ling Cod was next. We fished ling cod in 100 to 150 feet of water off the edges of sharp rock drop-offs with Spinnows from BuzzBomb Tackle. The deep underwater predator was more than willing to take our offerings.
On day three, we hoped to fish for Albacore Tuna, but the wind and sea had other plans, so we turned our attention to halibut. The halibut were caught using cut bait in 300 feet of water and after setting up to fish the deep water, it didn’t take long for the first rod to bow over under the pressure of a big halibut.
By the time of this Fishing Reports release, Serengeti Fishing Charters will be done for the season. However, after nine years of fishing with THEM, I can honestly say that if you’re looking for a West Coast fishing experience for the 2025 season, I highly recommend Serengeti Fishing Charters. The fishing, scenery, and accommodations are truly amazing.