MANITOBA
It has been a wild two weeks of weather with heavy rain, thunderstorms, insect hatches and wind all playing factors in angling success. For me it started off with a three day trip to Lake of the Prairies with a couple of long time friends. On the way out it rained the whole time, then overnight a wild thunderstorm hit.
On Monday morning the fish were a bit wonky but we managed to figure them out as the day went along. Jigs and leeches were the ticket the first day, then cranks and shiver minnows the second. Along the way I managed to land a Master Angler pike.
Fishing on this reservoir near the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border should only continue to get better as fish settle into their fall patterns. You can read the whole story here.
THE MIGHTY RED
There have been a few greenback walleye showing up in the mighty Red, but most anglers have been chasing the trophy channel catfish that abound in these waters. I took a couple of friends out a week ago, launching at Selkirk Park. We headed up to the locks, surprised to find no other boats. They were running a bit of water through all the gates but not enough to make for any significant current flow. This made fishing this area non productive so we headed back toward Selkirk. We ended up finding a good school of fish downstream from the old steam plant on the edge of the main river channel. We caught all our fish on shrimp. With virtually no flow, there were no current seams to fish so we spread our baits out. I anchored on the edge of the main river channel in 11 feet of water so we could cover the top flat and the deeper water as well. Most of the fish came in about 15 feet on the side of the drop.
It was another fun day on the mighty Red! Just to let anglers know the boat launching payment is now to be done online at https://campground.myselkirk.ca/product/boat-launch-parking-permit-daily/
The cost is $15.75 per day.
LAKE WINNIPEG
Big windy has been producing some good walleye fishing on some of the rock reefs that exist in the lake. Most of the big fish have been coming in 23 to 25 feet of water on jigs and salted shiners. The west side has been good as has Hecla.
You can forget about camping there though. Due to significant damage to the concrete sewer system the Hecla Provincial Campground is now closed for the season.
As we move into fall, wind becomes a big factor on Lake Winnipeg. You will have to plan your fishing days accordingly if you want to get out on the big lake. There are few wind apps available for download. I have one called WINDY.
WHITESHELL PROVINCIAL PARK
Anglers are catching a mixed bag of fish here. Included are goldeye, mooneye, crappie, walleye, smallmouth bass and pike. Friend Tim Au was out recently with his family on Eleanor Lake catching some MA sized mooneye.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
LAKE OF THE WOODS AND AREA – JEFF GUSTAFSON
VERMILLION BAY AND AREA – GLENN MCDONALD
Summer is winding down in Northwestern Ontario, the cooler temps of fall are on the horizon. For some this is the best time of year for fishing, for others it’s time to start packing up for winter.
The past couple weeks around Vermilion Bay have seen some unstable weather and erratic fishing patterns. However, as always, someone figures out how to catch fish.
Tiyanna Lambert, of Dryden On was fishing on her home lake of Wabigoon recently and hooked into a pike most people would dream of catching! All while fishing solo! In Tiyanna’s words, “Basically I had just put a buck tail on and my first cast towards some rocks with weeds around, I got hit halfway back to the boat. Brought it to the boat flawlessly so I could net it, took some pics and then a great release.”
What an amazing job this young lady did! She did tell me it bumped out to 45.5”, which is amazing for a pike. The lure she was using was from Muskie Munchies, ( built in Winnipeg, MB ) a burnt lemon colour Mega Slurp.
Hunter Macdonald, of Temple Bay Lodge, who I have spent some time fishing with recently, had an outstanding day on the water last week. While fishing with fellow guide, Miah Gardner, they had a great morning of walleye fishing. Hunter tells me the hot bite has been on pink or white jigs tipped with minnows or ned rig style rubber, again in pink or white. I would tend to believe him as he boated a 30” walleye that morning! Not stopping there he finished the morning off with a beautiful musky.
I spent the evening fishing with Hunter, dodging storms and rain. Our persistence paid off as I slid the net under two more fish for Hunter that evening. Finishing the day with a hat trick of muskies and a 30” walleye is amazing by any standards. Can’t wait to fish with Hunter again.
Over the past weekend I spent some time fishing with a couple good friends from the USA, staying at Manotak Lodge on Perrault Lake. We fished hard all day, with little to show for it. When the sun went down we made up for lost time, bagging three muskies in a little over an hour. Fishing after dark, for musky, is not for the faint of heart. You have to be prepared as any number of things can happen, all with terrible consequences. We were fully prepared and had very little issue after dark. Feeling your bait get hit, way out from the boat in the dark can be a strange experience, but one I feel any hardcore musky angler should try.
Water temps have remained stable throughout the region, 65-68 degrees on average. One thing of note, some lakes are experiencing a heavy algae bloom. This bloom can lead to tough conditions hard to fish, however most lakes offer areas that are slightly cleaner.
The upcoming new moon period should bring favorable fishing, if you follow the solunar calendar as we do. Many musky anglers prefer the new moon over the full moon period. With moon overhead during midday and moonset and sunset correlations this weekend, we could see some amazing catches from local musky anglers.
Enjoy your long weekend folks and good luck fishing!
SASKATCHEWAN
THE NORTH – WES DAVID
Bills Lake Grand Slam
I just returned home from a self-guided fishing trip to Baxter Lake, locally known as Bills Lake in northern Saskatchewan. I booked the trip through Adventure Destinations International, which operates Thompson Resort out of Missinipe, Saskatchewan. The breathtaking Twin Falls Lodge, is one of their 12 outpost camps, deep within the boreal forest of northern Saskatchewan. These camps are complete with all the comforts of home, including a fridge and freezer powered by a generator. I chose Bills Lake as my fishing destination. For five days I took on the Bills Lake challenge to complete the Lake Grand Slam.
TAKING ON THE CHALLENGE
The slam consists of catching a northern pike over 40”, lake trout and walleye of any size, and Arctic grayling in the MacArthur River system. I started with the northern pike in the shallow bays where I believed the pike would be enjoying the warmth of the sun’s rays. In my first 11 casts, I landed two pike around the 35” make and one over 40”. Truthfully, there was no end to the northern pike. Walleye was next on my list and can be found almost everywhere within the lake. Not only did I pick up two of the four species on the first day, but two walleye were also our guests of honor during our first supper at Bills Lake outpost camp.
The morning of our second day we headed out to the big water and three-way rigged the edge of a sharp rock shelf in 70-feet of water for lake trout. Within 45-minutes I not only located lake trout but had three lake trout caught and released. I knew Arctic grayling may be the most difficult of the four species to locate, so I caught and released one more lake trout and headed for the MacArthur River system.
STREAM CAUGHT ARTIC GRAYLING
After walking and working our way over the rocky shoreline and through the trees we found an opening along the river where accurate casts could be made into the rapids. Typical of a river species, Arctic grayling were stacked up behind the rocks they were using as current breaks. From this ambush spot they would dart out when a potential meal moved past.
Within an hour I had seven Arctic grayling caught & released using the #8 Glow Precious Bingo Bug from Lucky Bug Lures. My Bills Lake Grand Slam was complete.
ALBERTA – WES DAVID
September is my favorite time of the year to fish for tiger trout and my favorite tiger trout lake to fish is Chain Lake near Athabasca Alberta. Chain Lake is a stocked lake filled with rainbow trout and tiger trout. Anglers can only fish in Chain Lake with non-motorized watercraft or from shore. Tiger trout are very aggressive by nature but they seem to get even more aggressive during the month of September.
SMALL CRANKS THE TICKET
Small crankbaits like the F-Bomb or Fusion Extreme from Lucky Bug Lures are ideal for fan-casting and covering water fast for aggressive feeding tiger trout. Once a tiger trout takes your lure the fight is instant and right to the net, and best of all, the rainbow trout in Chain Lake are also big and aggressive and both species can be caught on every cast.
BRITISH COLUMBIA – DAVE SHMYR
The salmon run along the island is one of the best in years according to many longtime locals . Primarily we have been fishing teaser heads and anchovies and occasionally herring . Due to an extreme shortage on anchovies we have been forced to spoons, which also has been very productive as of late. Soon the fall run of Coho will be on . We will be primarily fishing the second tidal line way off shore in 400/600 of water 30/40 below the surface with short leads behind our flasher boards with spoons and hoochies. I’m currently firing up a guide business for the Sooke /Port Renfrew area as well as inland lakes for small/ large mouth bass and trout. If your ever coming to the island for a holiday be sure to look us up at Koobies Krankers Fishing Adventures on Facebook inbox.