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 in eight to 13 feet of water.
This resort lake has plenty for the family to do with all kinds of hiking trails and an excellent golf course. Wes was booked into the the Kenosee Inn & Cabins and spent two days targeting walleye. The Kenosee Lake boat launch is only minutes away from Kenosee Inn & Cabins was in great shape, well-maintained, and somewhat protected from the wind. It is a scenic part of the world and gets overlooked by most. Just minutes south is another decent walleye lake called White Bear.
GRANT DEVINE RESERVOIR
Friend Ralph Smart has spent plenty of time fishing this productive body of water, catching some huge walleye including a 34 inch, fourteen pound fish that his wife boated. The Grant Devine Dam, formerly Alameda Dam, is an embankment dam located near Alameda and Oxbow. It was constructed in 1994 to control flows on Moose Mountain Creek and Souris River. It provides flood protection and irrigation for this area of Saskatchewan, along with protection for Minot, North Dakota. The Grant Devine Reservoir provides opportunities for recreational use such as boating and fishing.
There is some seasonal camping on the lake. Moose Creek Regional Park (49.2939°N 102.2022°W) is a regional park on the east side of the reservoir, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the dam. The park encompasses about 3/4 of a section, which is about 480 acres. The park is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of Alameda off of Highway 9 The park features full-service camping, tenting, picnicking, swimming, boating, and fishing. There is also Moose Creek Golf Club, a 9-hole golf course. The third weekend in June each year, the Alameda Fishing Derby takes place on the lake.
This reservoir gets fair amount of fishing pressure but still maintains a high-quality fishery.
RAFFERTY RESERVOIR
According to Rafferty guide Ralph Smart in recent years the walleye, pike and perch populations have once again exploded. He attributes this to the addition of new weed growth in many sections of the lake. Ralph recently received a guiding license on the reservoir. He than purchased the store at Main Prize Park, which is halfway between Weyburn and Estevan. Ralph needed a home base for his guide business, called Prairie Pro Outfitters, http://prairieprooutfitters.com/
and this was the perfect spot with a marina and good boat launch. During a name search he ended up with the title “The Dam Store”. Ralph loves to tell people he has the best soft ice cream in southern Saskatchewan and judging by the people heading in to buy it, many would agree.
Friend Kevin Stobbe and I were invited down in the middle of July three years ago to fish with Ralph for a couple of days. We were certainly not disappointed as the walleye and pike action was nonstop. Ralph located the walleye holding along the new vegetation, feeding on the abundant bait fish that were hiding there.
SIMPLE PRESENTATION THE BEST
Most of our fish were caught on a jig but Ralph caught his on a variety of presentations including a Shiver Minnow. When the fish were active, we used a ¼ ounce jig with a plastic swimbait. When the action slowed, we added a frozen shiner. The most active walleye where in three metres of water on a shallow rock reef that had some scattered weed growth.
Ralph has two high end fishing boats that he guides out of as well as a pontoon boat for large groups. We fished out of his 21-foot Nitro fiberglass boat. He has also added three more rental boats to his fleet. For 2022 he plans on renting out a houseboat that will accommodate overnight trips out on this long reservoir. Ralph has also been hard a work mapping the north end of Rafferty for Anglers Edge Mapping. This will allow many inexperienced boaters to travel the lake safely.