Author: Don Lamont

COLD WEATHER DOESN’T LAST MANITOBA A few cold nights has helped tighten up ice in most parts of the west, but a return to warmer temperatures for the next week will slow things down. Anglers have been walking on many of the lakes and rivers in the southern half of the province and ice conditions are good for the most part. Ice cleats are a must on some of the ones that have frozen fairly smooth. With no snow cover, it makes walking without them an issue. In the last two weeks the three biggest stories have been the following:…

CRAPPIE STUDY HELPS WITH FISHERIES MANAGEMENT MacKenzie Hauger completed her Masters of Biological Science at the University of Manitoba over the last few years. Why is that of interest? To complete her Masters, she decided to do research on our black crappie populations. This information is critical to make informed management decision on this great sport fish. In the summer of 2018, she finished Phase 1 of her research, finishing Phase 2 the next summer. The completed study was designed to get a handle on the crappie population in the province of Manitoba. Crappie have become one of the most…

MANITOBA With the onset of cooler temperatures, many areas of the province have lakes with enough ice to walk on. Many of the trout lakes in the central and northern parts of the province are producing some outstanding catches of rainbow, brook trout and brown trout. Jay Siemens and crew drove all the way up to Lynn Lake to fish a couple of lakes stocked with big brook trout. They fished both Gemmell and Digney Lake just west of Lynn Lake off of Provincial Road 396. You can look up both lakes on the Manitoba Lake Information for Anglers website.…

A TIME TO GIVE THANKS It is Remembrance Day so I am going to start off the last open water report of the year remembering those who have served our country.  My dad was a navigator in the Royal Canadian Airforce during the Second World War. His Lancaster flew over Germany on solo reconnaissance missions during the latter half of the war. Many of his friends and colleagues never made it back. He was one of the lucky few and even met my mother there who served as a Wren for the British Army.  He never talked about the war…

I headed out yesterday (November 5th) with friend Jim Price on a bright sunny balmy November day to try our luck. The boat launch at Selkirk Park was probably the busiest it has been all season. We quickly got the boat ready for launch and were soon heading south toward Lockport. I decided to stop along the north side of the Selkirk golf course to try a trolling run with some crankbaits. Over the many years I have fished the Red, this spot has produced some really large walleye. While not as popular as others, it is always worth a…

With a number of fairly dramatic changes to angling limits and seasons the Department of Agriculture and Resource Development wanted to get public feedback to see if they were on the right track. The Strategy outlined a suite of proposed angling regulation changes aimed at increasing opportunities for angling, while enhancing protection of Manitoba’s valuable fish populations. The “What We Heard”  report provides an overview of the engagement results and outlines modifications being made to the Strategy based on the feedback received. Stakeholder organizations that represent over 10,000 anglers participated in 15 engagement meetings and events. In addition, over 1,440…

MANITOBA THE RED RIVER It took all fall but there are finally enough walleye in the Red River to make it worthwhile. Most of the better catches I have been closer to Lockport and the stretch called Doc Reed’s has been decent as well as the Miracle Mile. It might just be worth one more launch of the boat or maybe an afternoon or evening from shore. LAKE WINNIPEG As has been the case all open water season, the best walleye fishing has been in the big lake itself. At this time of the year you have to pick your…

MANITOBA The decent weather continues to hold and the fish continue to bite! By all accounts it has been a great fall in this part of the world. With the forecast looking good for next week it might be that time to head north for some giant lake trout. There are plenty of outstanding lake trout fisheries in this province, especially in the northwest section. These include Clearwater, Athapapuskow, Kississing, Reed, and the Cranberry chain of lakes. WESTERN MANITOBA The stocked trout action in the Parklands remains strong. Patterson Lake has been kicking out some monster brown trout. Check out…

SAVING OUR COMMERCIAL FISHERIES The Manitoba government released two more progress reports this month on the status of fish populations in our commercially fished lakes. Agriculture and Resource Development have put the pedal to the medal in trying get a handle on the five major lakes with heavy commercial pressure. The most recent stock assessments include Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis, the second and third largest commercial fisheries in the province. To better manage these fisheries, the province will launch an engagement process with the license holders to review these reports and discuss future management plans for these valuable commercial…

MANITOBA Stable weather has allowed anglers  to get out on the water to enjoy the great fall weather. The fishing has been good as well. LAKE OF THE PRAIRIES-ROGER GERES Fishing is still fantastic but the fish are somewhat scattered, starting to move with water temperatures slowly dropping, We have been doing better with bigger presentations. The walleye are fattening up and we are finding them in depth ranges from 4’-22 feet.  There are also some big pike still being caught as well as jumbo perch. Keep moving around and you’ll find and catch fish ! NORTHERN MANITOBA The fishing…