Author: Don Lamont

MANITOBA SARAH HENUSETSmiling big because I almost landed a lake record! This 15.75” bullhead from Pelican Lake wasn’t just a personal best, it earned me my Specialist Award through the Cabela’s Master Angler program. Bullhead have been haunting me for over a year. Last summer, I spent countless hours chasing just one more Master Angler to seal the deal on my specialist. I even stumbled across a washed-up 14” bullhead at Whitemud and thought… am I being taunted?! This summer, I set out determined to close that chapter. The day started off rough: blazing sun, no bites, and my patience running thin. Eventually, I…

MANITOBA Hooked Contributor Matt Gelley spends his summers at his parents cottage on the Lee River. Matt takes that time to chase a variety of fish including really large smallmouth bass. While he has to look for them many of these larger smallmouth eat ciscoes during the summer. They are located near main lake basins on ledges near the deeper water were they can corral these high protein forage. This diet makes them fat and sassy.  While many of our rivers in the southern part of the province are low from a lack of rainfall it is concentrating fish in…

Editors Note:  This weeks report is a bit limited due to travel and other work. Meantime Wes David is down at ICAST IN Orlando this week and has the all the latest  Hope you are enjoying a break in the hot weather. Great time to be on the water.  MANITOBA Cannel catfish are still suppling some solid fishing especially at night during the hot days of summer. For years anglers from all over the world have been coming to Manitoba to experience firsthand what it’s like to fight a Master Angler channel catfish. What makes this fishery so spectacular? Smart…

MANITOBA It has been an interesting couple of weeks across the prairies as rain swept through Alberta , Saskatchewan and parts of Manitoba. It seems that moisture fired up the stocked trout bite as indicated by Wes David in his two reports below. Here in Manitoba one of my favourite lakes in the world, Barbe, is again kicking out some gorgeous brook trout, many in the Master Angler category. Check out this beauty caught by Evan Reimer. Barbe is close to The Pas and has been producing some monster trout for a long time. It should be on any anglers…

MANITOBA Wildfires are still impacting the Northwest and Southeast parts of the province. There are plenty of places to still go to experience some great fishing including Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba. I was able to get away for a few days to Hecla Island Provincial Park with my wife and friends Phil and Lorraine Brake last week. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and headed out fishing right away. It didn’t take long to find massive schools of walleye and have non-stop action that evening. The fish fry later was world class and it was great to be back…

A DRIVE TO FISHING MECCA! While I have been to many lakes and reservoirs in southern Saskatchewan there are still some on my bucket list. One of those is Kenosee Lake, located right next Moose Mountain Provincial Park.   I actually just found out it recently when friend and t.v. host Wes David stopped to film a show this June. While the lake is not large, it has a good population of nice sized walleye. Wes says they weren’t hard to find. He just headed to Pickeral Point and dragged some bouncers and the PK Sure Death rig with a crawler…

Editor’s Note:  Wildfires across the west continue to be the story especially in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This has made travel to the central and northern parts of the province a difficult decision.  Having said that you are best to check with either the park people or a lodge you might  be heading to. Rain and cooler temperatures have helped a lot and the majority of the lodges remain open and are welcoming guests. Visit their websites for more details.  MANITOBA Most of our lakes, rivers and reservoirs in the south have been fishing extremely well. Out west, Lake of the…

MANITOBA A week of wind and below normal temperatures made time on the water pretty miserable for most.  As always the hardcore got out there. It was a good time to be a shore fisherman. For example a week ago the surface water temperature in the Whitemud River was 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Yesterday it was down to 48 degrees and the bite was nonexistent.  Before all this happened there were some walleye being caught but mostly big freshwater drum. Matt Gelly – Red River Cats! ‘Twas a much different May long weekend with the recent wildfire evacuations in the eastern…

MANITOBA Shore anglers have been enjoying some good success on some of the open water spots available in the south.  Shore anglers have been doing well landing Master Angler caliber freshwater drum on the Whitemud River. The big news in this province is the walleye season opens in southern Manitoba on Saturday. There are exceptions to this, one being a closure on Lake Winnipeg until May 17th. This regulation was put in place to protect spawning fish in the big lake. The Red River is open on Saturday though. The Whitemud will be a busy place this weekend.  You can check…

GETTING READY FOR THE SEASON EDITION As we transition from the ice to open water season it’s time to get the boat out of storage and get the tackle organized if you haven’t done so already. I have been doing the same ritual for over 40 years. Let’s start with the boat. In early November I added stabilizer to my gas in the boat for over the winter. I then add a bit in spring to get ready for the first trip of the year. I have plugged in my onboard battery charger and charged my two trolling motor batteries…