Author: Don Lamont

And yes, it was cold!I don’t usually put my boat away until the end of October. I’m not sure when that’s going to happen this year. Today I headed out on the mighty Red River with a couple of teachers from Kelvin High School. Jon Romu has been the head football coach at Kelvin for a lot of years, running an extremely successful program. His close friend Corey Brown joined the staff at Kelvin last year and has been helping with the program the last couple of years. Corey also knows a bit about basketball and is helping me coach…

Big walleyes continue to roll! Ken Barr with a Tobin Lake monster!As water temperature continue to plummet, big fish are moving into current areas as part of a real late fall run. The Saskatchewan River at Nipawin is finally turning on big time. Friend Boyd Holmen was out Saturday and his friend caught a beast that measured 89 centimetres which means just over 35 inches. WOW! Now that is a pretty special fish. It was caught on a Clackin Rap, (not a jig and minnow as previously reported) near the mouth as the river empties into the reservoir. I managed to…

This fish knew how to eat!It’s almost a week ago that the walleye starting showing up in numbers on the Red River from the main lake to Lockport. While anglers fishing closer to the lake have been having sporadic success for about a month, in the last week those fish have moved up to the traditional areas closer to the locks. Stretches of river like “Doc Reeds”, the Power Plant and the “Miracle Mile” all have a place in Manitoba fishing folklore, legendary over the years for their mind numbing catches of green hued walleye. Some years the run of…

Jim starts the day off with a 32 inch fishDAY THREE: With a forecast for heavy winds from the north, we knew we would be in tough on the main lake. So we decided to fish some protected areas.As it turns out it was a great day with some real nice walleye caught, Jim and friend Jered landed two walleye that measure 32 inches. My largest was 29.5 inches, all caught on jigs tipped with both nightcrawlers and leeches.It was a satisfying way to end another open water season on Tobin Lake.Here are some shots from the day. Dale catches a…

Jimmy bumps up the size later in the dayDAY TWO: The forecast was for light winds and sunshine on the second day of our trip. As we headed out in the morning, the wind was actually fairly brisk from the northeast, not the best wind on this reservoir. It certainly seemed to also affect fish activity levels. By noon we had not caught a walleye, though I put a huge Super Shad Rap off the back of my bottom bouncer in order to see if I could catch something large. We were trolling along in about 30 feet of water…

Hard to imagine a nicer fall than the one we have enjoyed in western Canada this year! Every fall in late October friend Jim Price and I head up to fish Tobin Lake in northern Saskatchewan. This past year we moved the date to the middle of the month. A few years back we didn’t make it until the first week of November and that was a disaster. The warmest day on the water that year was minus three Celsius. We all agreed that we would do everything in our power to make it a way more enjoyable. So when…

Lake Winnipeg Walleye at RiskHow much trouble is Lake Winnipeg really in? I don’t know about you but I have been pretty concerned lately on a number of fronts. First it was provincial fisheries officials telling us that the walleye population is in trouble. Then it was recent reports on the explosion of Zebra Mussels. A slim walleye caught at the mouth of the Saskatchewan River and Lake WinnipegLet me back up a bit though to last weekend while fishing up at Grand Rapids in the Saskatchewan River as it empties into Lake Winnipeg. What concerned me here was not the…

Last fall was the first time I got to spend some time in a boat with Jeff Gustafson. I was hoping it wasn’t going to be the last. Why? Well, just because he is a real fun guy to fish with. Knowledgeable, yes? Well, he sure is, but that’s not the real reason. I have fished with lots of people who really know how to catch fish but had no interest in spending any more time in a boat with them. Gussy, as he is affectionately known, is just an all-around good guy, with a passion for the sport that…

PRO ANDY KUFFER WITH A NICE AIKENS LAKE PIKE!Aikens Lake/Lost Lake, Fishing in Style!The first time I was introduced to the Aikens Lake experience was 2006. I was working for Travel Manitoba at the time and Aikens was hosting the first ever PWT Celebrity Shootout. The top ten finishers on the Professional Walleye Trail were invited to Aikens to participate in this first of a kind event. They would be teamed with celebrities from across North America who were vying for cash and prices, all for a good cause. In fact more than a $100,000 was raised for the Boomer…

It was a warm south wind that pushed behind us the five hours from Winnipeg to Moak Lodge on Cross Bay. Five of us were heading up to fish Cross Bay and area for three days. It had been a couple years since we had made the trip but anticipation was high as the weather forecast looked very favourable. Southern Manitoba had been blessed with extremely warm temperatures for most of the month, while the forecast for Grand Rapids was for reasonable wind and temperatures. Cross Bay is large water and any strong wind will make fishing tough. Upon arrival…