Late ice Lake Winnipeg Walleye Trip!

[Extreme Sask Angling]

Well as I do most years I wrap up the season with a bang. Or at least try to! I'm thinking this year I would like to get onto the big gals on Lake Winnipeg. I would be making the trip from south central Saskachewan at the end of March. What advice can the locals be willing to share? Locations, ice access, depths. Ect. Nearest place to stay the night to where I would be fishing. Aiming for 3-4 days straight. I do have a quad. But won't bring it if I don't need to. Maybe that friendly local would like to be my fishing buddy/ non profit guide for that week! Lol.

Thanks a ton guys and gals!

Trevor

ESA

[Svengalli]

Way too early in the season to make a determination about the need or lack thereof for the quad.  If your quad doesn't have tracks then you may need a snowmobile depending on conditions.  Last year was pretty much snowmobile or tracked quad only for pretty much the entire season.  I've been out some 10 times or so this year and there's very little snow even as of yesterday.  Right now driving is easy but that can change quickly after a few snowfalls and there's 2.5 months to go before late ice.    Preferred access points will likely change based on conditions as well towards the end of the season.

Similar post from last year --> http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=260944.20

My advice is come back to this post as the winter progresses to check conditions.  People will be able to help with accommodations better than I.

[Silas]

Here is a seminar to get you started with the basics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRijkabeUWA

[Leemb1]

that seminar by the FM walleye guys is the best out there for a newby to Lake Winnipeg

[oldccm]

Unless you're staying at a friends or in Winnipeg, you might have trouble finding a hotel nearby.

[chrism]

You can stay at the South Beach casino on Hwy 59 - lots of fishermen stay there, gas station across the street, restaurant on premise - plus fishing spots are 10-20 min away. Problem solved.
w w w.southbeachcasino.ca/reservations/

[Leemb1]

the casino has been full since last march.  The new Canalta Inn in Selkirk opening soon will have rooms for a while yet

[Svengalli]

the casino has been full since last march.  The new Canalta Inn in Selkirk opening soon will have rooms for a while yet

Yes quite full.  I think Pinefalls and Gimli would have options as well but likely to fill quickly.  Anywhere North in Winnipeg wouldn't be all that bad either.  Whether it's around McPhilips or Lagimodiere, you're looking at 45 mins to LW.

[chrism]

the casino has been full since last march.  The new Canalta Inn in Selkirk opening soon will have rooms for a while yet

Yowsa! Didn't know that about South Beach - but good to see that others dig the adventure on Lk Wpg!!

[Andre1]

Yes Chris.  South Beach has been filling up for March for several years already.  There are quite a few hotels/motels all around the south basin that are now making money in the winter because of our glorious Lake Winnipeg winter recreational fishery.  It really is good to see.

[wanna30]

There are a couple small motels in Teulon. It's only 20 mins to the lake. Nothin fancy but I know a few guys are shacking up there every year now.

[avidangler]

Yes Chris.  South Beach has been filling up for March for several years already.  There are quite a few hotels/motels all around the south basin that are now making money in the winter because of our glorious Lake Winnipeg winter recreational fishery.  It really is good to see.

       One can only imagine how many more tourists would come if the lake had better access and some plowed roads on the ice..The motel/hotels right in Winnipeg would probably benefit also..gas stations,food stores, tackle stores  etc  ..Ever see the ice fishing industry in Minnesota ?  We are so behind in Manitoba

[CILRedRIVER]

How well do you think that would work in Manitoba?
Look at the Red, garbage lying around everywhere. In the spring its a pig pen.
Imagine the vandalism.
No respect here.

[Andre1]

How well do you think that would work in Manitoba?
Look at the Red, garbage lying around everywhere. In the spring its a pig pen.
Imagine the vandalism.
No respect here.

Exactly what he said!  So sad but so true!

[Walleye Whisperer]

       One can only imagine how many more tourists would come if the lake had better access and some plowed roads on the ice..The motel/hotels right in Winnipeg would probably benefit also..gas stations,food stores, tackle stores  etc  ..Ever see the ice fishing industry in Minnesota ?  We are so behind in Manitoba

Careful what you wish for. If access were improved to a point where it no longer be that great of an "adventure" there would be a lot more people, and a lot less respect on the ice. Economy would more than likely benefit though. Double edged sword

[Andre1]

Careful what you wish for. If access were improved to a point where it no longer be that great of an "adventure" there would be a lot more people, and a lot less respect on the ice. Economy would more than likely benefit though. Double edged sword

The presence of anglers on the lake as it exists today is based almost exclusively on Stu McKay and I spreading the message via various forums around 2006ish.  Suffice it to say that unless Stu and I bring this walleye mecca to the intranet, the HUGE MAJORITY of anglers would have no idea that they could catch a walleye through the ice on Lake Winnipeg during the winter time.

Up until the mid-2000s there was probably less than 50 shelters and less than 100 winter anglers in total from Gimli around the bowl to Grand Beach.  Officers who have worked Lake Winnipeg fisheries as recently as the early 2000s say that there was almost no angling activity in the winter. They were completely amazed to learn that walleyes can be caught through the ice on the south basin.  They are beyond amazed at the volume and size of the catch and how popular the whole recreational fishery has become.

[Leemb1]

I remember those days well..... 

[dkozyra15]

You really think that a few people with common sense wouldn't put 2 and 2 together and realize that the walleye have to come from somewhere? That somewhere being the south basin. Ice fishing as a sport has also grown 10 fold I'm sure the amount of shacks on the red river have multiplied dramatically as well just saying.

[CILRedRIVER]

I fished the Red when there was not a single ice fishing shack. I grew up along the banks of the Red and would fish summer and fall off Dr Reid's dock. Walleye would be caught daily from Ian's dock and off shore from what was known as "house 34" on Eveline Street. Winter was tough had to compete with the snowmobiles and the ice racers.

I later moved to the Lake, tough back then as portables and "good" ice augers where few and far between. Those were the days!

[Fish Camp 24-7]

The presence of anglers on the lake as it exists today is based almost exclusively on Stu McKay and I spreading the message via various forums around 2006ish.  Suffice it to say that unless Stu and I bring this walleye mecca to the intranet, the HUGE MAJORITY of anglers would have no idea that they could catch a walleye through the ice on Lake Winnipeg during the winter time.

Up until the mid-2000s there was probably less than 50 shelters and less than 100 winter anglers in total from Gimli around the bowl to Grand Beach.  Officers who have worked Lake Winnipeg fisheries as recently as the early 2000s say that there was almost no angling activity in the winter. They were completely amazed to learn that walleyes can be caught through the ice on the south basin.  They are beyond amazed at the volume and size of the catch and how popular the whole recreational fishery has become.

I remember hitting the red hard from freeze up till mid January when the Walter bite was hot then off to the back lakes for the rest of the season. We tried off matlock a couple times back then, no truck trails, basically shovelling and pushing 8 times each outing to get out there with the truck. I don't ever recall catching walleye. We had a ton of perch and sauger and some burbot. The perch fishing was crazy. This would have been just before the timeframe Andre is referring to.

[clash]

The presence of anglers on the lake as it exists today is based almost exclusively on Stu McKay and I spreading the message via various forums around 2006ish.  Suffice it to say that unless Stu and I bring this walleye mecca to the intranet, the HUGE MAJORITY of anglers would have no idea that they could catch a walleye through the ice on Lake Winnipeg during the winter time.

Up until the mid-2000s there was probably less than 50 shelters and less than 100 winter anglers in total from Gimli around the bowl to Grand Beach.  Officers who have worked Lake Winnipeg fisheries as recently as the early 2000s say that there was almost no angling activity in the winter. They were completely amazed to learn that walleyes can be caught through the ice on the south basin.  They are beyond amazed at the volume and size of the catch and how popular the whole recreational fishery has become.

Give me a break. How can your head fit into a regular sized hat? Did you also single handedly create the red river cat fishing ? Pine falls walleye ? Bring back the jets? Spearhead the New Bomber stadium?
WOW

[Andre1]

You really think that a few people with common sense wouldn't put 2 and 2 together and realize that the walleye have to come from somewhere? That somewhere being the south basin. Ice fishing as a sport has also grown 10 fold I'm sure the amount of shacks on the red river have multiplied dramatically as well just saying.

Interestingly, people had not done the math because virtually all angling was done on the river.  Very few people even tried the lake.  Read the posts by Lee, CILredRIVER and Fish Camp 24-7.  Why would anyone go out on the lake when walleyes of all sizes were regularly caught in the Red River?  There wasn't any ice cutting to shorten the fishing season back then.

From the game warden perspective, I tripped over this fishery myself after following truck tracks down the Red and out the main channel back in the winter of 2001.  There were 3 permies out from the main channel.  Checked a couple anglers on a couple occasions.  It was extremely quiet out there.  The officers in the Selkirk District when I got here in 1999 as well as those who worked Lake Winnipeg at the time or earlier, didn't spend any time on the recreational fishery because there wasn't one.

It took several years before a group of us finally went out near the end of March around 2006, (maybe 2005).  I know of one angler by the initials of AC, as the only angler that I knew actually fished somewhere outside of the Salamonia Channel.  There were no permies anywhere out there. 

My son caught and released a 42 inch gator in 6 fow out from the Sal.  Later in the morning, one local area person sledded out and started fishing in about 10 fow.  Stu went over to bs with him.  In no time he landed 3 or 4 walleyes.  We all blasted over there just in time to see him land a 32.5 inch walleye.  Stu took some photos and put the fish back down the hole.  You should have seen the old boy's face when he saw that fish go back down the hole! funny.  I guarantee you that he was going to keep that 32.5 along with the 26 incher he already had on the ice.

Stu was posting those walleye and big gator photos on Walleye Warrior, MB Anglers and a couple Minnesota sites the next day.

Fast forward to the winter of 06/07.  Stu, Dale Esopenko and Terry Belhumeur primarily but also accompanied by Claude Provencal, Nick Gorda and I on occasion, explored east of the main channel and down towards Beaconia.  We tried out the big reef in front of Grand Beach and off the point down there too.  There were only a handful of permies visible north and south of Grand Beach.   

Stu was posting photos of the angling every day as this was obviously a guaranteed money maker for outfitters.  He started taking clients from the U.S. out on the lake.  A number of which then started going out on their own seeing as how fishing the big lake wasn't rocket science.  Punch holes until you find walleyes who want to eat. 

Stu approached South Beach and some east side resorts with business proposals.  Nobody believed him!  Pretty sure that South Beach came to the realization that there were definitely business opportunities based on a winter recreational fishery.

So word of mouth via fishing forums by Stu, myself, Mr. Rig and Canuck is absolutely the means by which the Lake Winnipeg winter recreational was introduced to the angling community at large.  We were definitely the ones who opened up this fantastic fishery that was right under everyone's nose but known by only a very few folks.

Think about it.  This is the winter of 2014/2015.  How long have fishing forum members been fishing the big lake?  There's only a handful who can say longer than 7 - 8 years.  How did you find out about it and how long ago was that?

In a very short time, people like Lee Nolden, Donovan Pearase, Roger Stearns, Jason Hamilton, Bradley Dokken from the Grand Forks Herald, and of course the entire membership of WAAM who have been ambassadors of this great fishery by hosting the Fargo-Moorhead crew for the past several years, have taken this fishery to another level completely.  It grows exponentially every year.  The incredible success this winter will blow the popularity of the walleye fishery on Lake Winnipeg OUT OF THE WATER, pun intended.

I'm not blowing my own horn here.  I am however, very proud to say that I played a significant part in opening up the Lake Winnipeg winter recreational walleye fishery to the angling community.   

[Andre1]

Give me a break. How can your head fit into a regular sized hat? Did you also single handedly create the red river cat fishing ? Pine falls walleye ? Bring back the jets? Spearhead the New Bomber stadium?
WOW

An Ice Shanty member for 2 years and this is the topic that got you out from under the bridge for your first post!  haha.

For the record, I voted against the new Bomber stadium.   

Hope that didn't fly too high over your head.  You can go back under the bridge for another couple years now.

[Leemb1]

Andre is correct.  I have fished LW for 20 years but not every day.  At the time I lived in Matlock and used to take my 3 wheeler on the ice and catch a few perch.  At the end of March we would go way out on the lake (LOL) to the Salamonia channel and would catch a few walleye.  Mostly I fished in front of Matlock for Perch with a few other guys.  It was odd to catch a walleye.  I can still remember the first time I caught 2 one afternoon. 

At the time there was not the numbers of fish in the lake that there are today.  Commercial guys had a hard time getting a tub per net with 3 night in.  I can remember when I could look around and say I knew everyone out there.  The few guys out there kept things to themselves.  The first big influx of guys I remember is after a article in the paper by Don Lamont.

The access at Prudens creek is all Stu.   He used to take his guys out there.  I always came in from the west side and never went past Pruden Bay.  We could see him out there with his guys.  For a while it was all Americans that went out of there.

I really enjoyed the early years out there.   Very few guys, you could stay on a school for a week or so and follow them.  Checking out new areas and figuring things out was the payoff for me. 

The first few years were a big learning curve for most people.  Guys would come talk to me and ask what the flasher was.  Most guys used a 4 inch leader and a jig with a saltie on a dead stick and sat in the truck and waited for the rod to bounce.  They couldnt believe I could catch fish on a swedish pimple or a jiggin rap  The average angler has come a long way in a few short years.  When Roger introduced the LIVE Target fishing, well that is a whole another story........

[avidangler]

20 to 25 years plus ago the Red was just full of walleyes in winter and fall ... you could drill a hole just about anywhere and catch...they musta have been coming from the lake then ? Maybe just weren't coming into the shores at chalet beach....now the lakes full and they are scarce in the river ( scarce compared to what there used to be )...Things have sure changed in those years.. prefer the lake anyway

[Leemb1]

less fish in the river may be a result of no dredging in the main channel.  There was a lot less fish back then if you talk to the commercial guys.

[snipersam]

thanks for the history guys. love reading stuff like this.

[fordfan22]

Wow. That is awesome. I have fished mainly white mouth lake most of the 5 years I have ice fished. This year is the first time I have ever fished there and am amazed by the size of some of these fish! Nice to know some of the stories and history behind it, besides the one Debbie downer. Thanks Andre

[firefighter]

Interesting commentary. Must add that my friends and I would fish the lake way back in the mid to late 1980's. Wasn't much snow many of those years and we would drive with out "beaters" out onto the lake from end of main. Never caught much but had lots of fun.

Also accessed the lake from what I think was Chalet Beach Rd at a location once called Sans Souci... not sure of the spelling there lol. Road ended and we would drive through the bush on a trail with a few old cabins along the route. Then on the sand to the Salimonia Channel and out from there.

Those days the channel was only about 60 or 80 yards across, not even recognizable as a channel these days. Never caught a walleye but did slam the perch there. Burbots were common too. Shoreline along the lake is absolutely nothing like it was 30 years ago.

FF   

[HighlandGlen Guide]

I remember hitting the red hard from freeze up till mid January when the Walter bite was hot then off to the back lakes for the rest of the season. We tried off matlock a couple times back then, no truck trails, basically shovelling and pushing 8 times each outing to get out there with the truck. I don't ever recall catching walleye. We had a ton of perch and sauger and some burbot. The perch fishing was crazy. This would have been just before the timeframe Andre is referring to.

If my dad only knew what we put his truck through!  Lol
We did make it to the mouth though! Your first hole drilled you almost drilled into mud maybe a foot of water.
No gas back then either...no one ever said we were smart! But boy could you push!