MANITOBA
SARAH HENUSET
Smiling 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 admitted defeat and headed home. But later that afternoon, in classic “Typical Sarah” fashion, I grabbed my gear, jumped in the truck, and started driving with no destination in mind.
Of course, I brought along my Lew’s Mach 2 spinning combo. It’s been my go-to rod this summer for river fishing, tackling everything from explosive smallmouth bass to hefty carp with ease. My gut pulled me to Pelican Lake. Two minutes after my first cast, BANG! My Mach 2 loaded up, and I knew I had something big. Now, it’s officially in the books as the third-largest bullhead submitted from Pelican Lake. Not quite the record… but pretty darn close!
With bullhead now checked off my list, it’s time to choose my next target. A few species are calling my name, and you can bet I’ll be chasing them with the same determination that landed this beauty.
MATT GELLEY
Eastern Manitoba Bass and Walleye Fishing has been tricky. Needless to say, Mother Nature has been throwing curveballs with constant weather switches. Combine a plentiful food source with unstable weather and you got a recipe for being on the struggle bus.
Smallmouths on the pelagic baitfish program this time of year aren’t always sitting on the structure. They like to corral bait off the sides of rock piles. Quite often, we’re fishing a 20-foot deep hump for walleyes and we see bass corralling Emerald shiners or Cisco’s at the surface in open water. Anytime you see blow ups, it’s either top water or swim bait time. I’ll throw a 4-5” swim bait 3-4 feet down under the surface. Sometimes there’s so much bait that the smallies completely ignore lures all together.
I rely on the Humminbird VX mapping for positioning the boat on a piece of structure and fishing the entire spot before moving on to the next one. “Fish the point, the whole point and nothing but the point” Covering ground is essential. Find the spot on the spot with mapping!
I was out with the boys from the Fishin’ Hole Winnipeg this week and the Smallmouth fishing felt like musky fishing. Finding bass is challenging right now, since they move around a lot and follow the baitfish. Bass foraging on crawfish are a lot more predictable on boulder shoreline structure. We did catch walleyes all over the place and caught a bunch of pike on Ned rigs and cranks. Walleyes were on the reef drop offs in the usual late summer pattern.
DUCK MOUNTAINS – ROGER AND SUE GERES
We made a trip to the ducks for rainbows and it took a bit of trial and error but once we found something that worked it produced master angler rainbows and suckers .
We covered a lot of water and found pockets with fish and tried different techniques till we realized worms were the answer and the 30-40’ was the thermocline with active fish, always fun to try something different and get a pattern that works.
NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
LAKE OF THE WOODS
Some pretty hot fishing right now for walleye on classic structure. In the deeper sections of the lake check out mid lake humps and points next to main lake basins. If you run over the fish they will slide off to deeper water and suspend. So use your mapping and be careful. This is where forward facing sonar comes in to pick off fish while they are up top and active. Still, you can accomplish the same with side imaging. Just put a way point on the fish as you go by on the outside of them. Then spotlock and throw to them. This is also a good time to use bobbers and live bait like leeches and crawlers. Your setup is vital though. Use a long rod and a big bobber so you can use a larger sinker to get your jig down to the fish quicker. Use a 1/8 ounce jig if you can about two feet below the weight and keep the motion to a minimum.
Musky have been tough to come by but towards the end of August they, along with the pike will move to deeper cabbage and set up. This is one of the most consistent bites of the year.
SASKATCHEWAN
Wildfires continue to impact some operations but recent rainfall and cooler temperatures in the central and northern part of the province have reduced the risk. For more information on the situation visit
https://saskparks.tourismsaskatchewan.com/alerts-restrictions
Meantime, the south is still fishing well as well as Tobin Lake.
ALBERTA
WES DAVID, FISHING THE WILD WEST TV
McGregor Lake is a long, narrow reservoir located in southern Alberta, created in 1920 for agricultural and irrigation purposes. However, McGregor Lake was also a part of the Alberta walleye stocking program in the early 1990s and has become a walleye hotspot for Alberta anglers.
I fished McGregor Lake with two friends on Sunday, August 10th, for the first time in 15 years and what a day on the water. The walleye were exactly where they were supposed to be, holding off points, rock shoreline, and on the sunken humps in 16 to 28 feet of water.
We were bottom-bouncing on or near all these locations with a 2-oz bouncers and a variety of blade baits from PK Lures. The boat was running at 0.8 to 1.1, and walleye were eager to take our presentation.
While my two friends were running nightcrawlers, I was using a 4” Mayhem Devil Split in the Fire Tiger pattern soft plastic. Before long, my buddies were reaching for my Mayhem soft plastics.
We fished for six hours, including into the 28°C heat, and the walleye fishing was outstanding. Walleye of all sizes were taking the bait, an indicator of a healthy walleye fishery. We didn’t keep track, but I’m guessing that between the three of us, we landed well over 70 fish.
If you are looking to catch both quantity and quality walleye, McGregor Lake, in southern Alberta, is waiting for you.