New Manitoba Fisherman

[Bolderds]

Hello!!! I'm moving up permanently from New Jersey this year to Sandy Lake, Manitoba.  Perhaps someone is able to answere these questions for me:
1) Is it permitted to use tipups with flags for icefishing?  If so, how many?
2) May I use live shiners for bait on the tipups?
3) Must I use barbless hooks?  If so, where can I get them?
4) If I use tipups, how should they be marked?
5) How should an ice shack be marked?
7) Is there anywhere near Sandy Lake to catch Laketrout?  How about Landlocked salmon?
8) Anyplace near Sandy Lake to catch yellow perch or white bass?
9) How is the fishing in Stuart Lake or Sandy Lake or Thomas Lake?
10) What fish are in the sloughs in this area?
 
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm moving in without a clue.  Bolderds

[firemb]

How do you end up in Sandy lake from Jersey?By the way welcome to Manitoba.
1] tip ups yes.2 lines per person max
2] closest lake trout would be a couple hours away.no landlocked salmon
3] lots of perch in the area

[Skiff]

Hi, and welcome!  There are a number of dedicated fishermen (and women) that fish that area of the province, notably Grump and Mountain Mama, WallyWhacker, Big Walleye, Chief and little chief, and others, so they can answer almost any question you have of the area.

--As for ice shacks, you need your name and address on it (and maybe phone number, I'm not sure).
--Any hook is considered barbless if you crimp the barb down til it touches the shank, so you don't need special hooks. 
--Fishing in National Parks requires non-lead jigs and weights, so you'll have to get some of these if you fish in the National Parks.
--You have to stay within 50 meters of a tipup to be able to see the flag.  No special marking is required.  BTW, you're allowed 2 lines in the water icefishing, but only 1 line in summer.

Check out the Manitoba Anglers's Guide here for more info.  The general angling season ends in southern Manitoba March 31, but goes longer further north, and is still longer for trout species.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/fish/images/06guide.pdf

Anything else you need, just post a question, lots of knowledgeable people here.
Cheers!

[SK Justin]

2) May I use live shiners for bait on the tipups?

On certain lakes, yes. Generally live minnows can be used in the Southern division aside from the parks, and stocked trout waters.

3) Must I use barbless hooks?  If so, where can I get them?

Barbless hooks must be used throughout all of Manitoba. There aren't very many options for buying them. You will need to pinch the barbs down on your hooks with a pair of pliers.

4) If I use tipups, how should they be marked?

They don't need to be marked, but you must remain within 50 meters of your tip-ups, and be able to see them at all times.

5) How should an ice shack be marked?

Your name and address must be written on the outside of the shack. Shacks must be removed by March 31st.

7) Is there anywhere near Sandy Lake to catch Laketrout?  How about Landlocked salmon?

There are some lake trout in nearby Clear Lake, but the Duck Mountains would likely be a better option. There are no landlocked salmon in Manitoba anymore.

8) Anyplace near Sandy Lake to catch yellow perch or white bass?

You'll find yellow perch in many lakes. There are no white bass by Sandy Lake, but you can find them further east along Lake Winnipeg / Red River and tributaries.

[perch-man]

Welcome to Ice shanty Bolderds and Manitoba. South Thomas closest and best perch and walleye.Stuart being second best. No white Bass anywhere near you.Childs lake is probably your best bet for Lakers Duck Mt Prov park. We are barbless. Special lic needed to fish in Clear Lake it is a Federal Park.There are so many lakes at your back door you wont believe it.

[big walleye]

Wow Robert welcome to Manitoba. How do you know about Stuart? I have heard nothing os far however Sandy has been very consistent for very nice Northerns along with some keeper perch with the odd walleye. Look forward to meeting you when you come this way.

 Big walleye

[lilchief]

welcome to the wonderful Manitoba and the home of some wonderful fishing!!!!....lilchief

[Josh]

Thomas lake has been ok  for pike and small perch but not really any walleye

[WALLYWHACKER]

Welcome to Manitoba Bolderds.You'll be within 2 hrs of just about any species that swims in Manitoba and very close to some of the best trout waters to be had.Tightlines.

[FishFrier]

....i have never heard of land locked salmon in manitoba
i gotta hear more on this one SK justin

[TogoJeff]

....i have never heard of land locked salmon in manitoba
i gotta hear more on this one SK justin

Landlocked salmon(kokanee) used to be in several lakes in the ducks years ago. They are not stocked
anymore, last one I heard of being caught was in Shilliday Lake about 5 years ago.

[scottymac]

Welcome to Mb.  You'll have to post how you are making that transferance of locations.as everyone is wondering.  so many lakes so little time to fish them all.  I spend a lot of time at Clear Lake, we'll have to get together for a fish or 10.  lots of walleye there, large pike, whitefish, and some perch. there is Lakers in it (large ones i'm told), but i haven't hooked one yet. Won't stop me from trying though.  summer fishing has been a lot better than winter.  there is several lakes close that have pearch and a couple great ones within an hour and a half to stock up on the tastt jumbos.  You'll have fun discovering the many lakes around your new location

Mac

[blue igloo]

Welcome to Friendly Manitoba Bolderds 
I too, am a transplanted Easterner (Ontario/Quebec/New york border area).
Iceshanty members here are always willing to help anyone as I discovered a few years ago. Great place and great people 
Don't forget to pack a warm parka and insulated pak boots. 
My igloo is not blue for nothing 
Blue Igloo 

[Thriller]

Welcome.  Generally, most information about Manitoba Fisheries can be found here - http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/fish/index.html - that includes the PDF of the 2006 Fishing Guide as Skiff posted earlier.  You may also want to check out the online map at http://www.gov.mb.ca/tgs/map/index.html if you haven't already.  Another place to check out is the Manitoba Master Angler program - http://www.travelmanitoba.com/default.asp?page=145&node=445&menu=436 - on that page is a link to a searchable database of fish caught and registered in the program, which will give you an idea about where some species are caught.

I had a blast opening weekend last year catching white bass on the Red River system north of Winnipeg.  They school in Lake Winnipeg, but it may be tough to find them there.

Of course, you'll also want to check out our channel catfish...catching these 3 foot brutes is quite a bit of exercise.

[grumpymoe]

hey bolderds....quite the move to say the least....for anyone frequenting this board over the past few years, it has been interesting to see you popping in occassionally to ask about how fishing is at Stuart and a couple of nearby lakes....no doubt everyone here is wondering on your connection to this neck of the woods and your move....Grump 

[powderburns]

We used to catch kokanee in Gull Lake about 20 years ago. Caught lots too. We could never find a way to cook them without them tasteing muddy. This was in the Duck Mtn's.
 Bolderds-- Welcome to sunny manitoba, don't forget to bring your longjohns.

[Bolderds]

Landlocked salmon(kokanee) used to be in several lakes in the ducks years ago. They are not stocked
anymore, last one I heard of being caught was in Shilliday Lake about 5 years ago.

[Bolderds]

We used to catch kokanee in Gull Lake about 20 years ago. Caught lots too. We could never find a way to cook them without them tasteing muddy. This was in the Duck Mtn's.
 Bolderds-- Welcome to sunny manitoba, don't forget to bring your longjohns.

powderburns:
    Thank you for the information about the kokanee.  I have caught them in Maine, and always found them to be a very sporting fish, sometimes jumping out of the water up to 3 meters!!!  I have found them to be delicious to eat, with pink flesh.  I never encountered a muddy taste.  Perhaps they were feeding on some sort of baitfish in Gull Lake which gave them a muddy taste.  I believe the kokanee I caught in Maine were feeding on landlocked smelt. Bolderds   

[Bolderds]

hey bolderds....quite the move to say the least....for anyone frequenting this board over the past few years, it has been interesting to see you popping in occassionally to ask about how fishing is at Stuart and a couple of nearby lakes....no doubt everyone here is wondering on your connection to this neck of the woods and your move....Grump 

Grump:
   Goodbye New Jersey, and hello, Manitoba!!!  I bought a quarter-section wheat farm on Stuart Lake.  The farm has a 10-acre slough.  I have seen fresh-water shrimp in the slough, but no fish.  I have seen a few pelicans on the slough, and I thought they were feeding on fish of some variety, but perhaps they were feeding on the shrimp.  Once I move up permanently, I hope to stock the slough with Rainbow trout or kokanee, and turbot and/or drum and/or smallmouth bass.  It's all kind of up in the air, but I understand Rainbow trout will survive pretty well.  Then, all my new fishing buddies can come fish!!!
   New Jersey has some pretty good fishing, both fresh water and salt water.  Most folks prefer salt water fishing, but I have always liked freshwater fishing a little better.  I have to get used to different species and fishing techniques.  I am looking forward to catching a walleye and  sauger, as I have never caught these fish before.  I hope to catch a Northern Pike, too, as I have never caught one of these, either. 
   Well, I'll be retiring with a pension in a few days, and I really have to move out of New Jersey.  It's just too expensive to live here on a pension.  My property taxes are over $4000. per year for a postage-stamp sized property and a modest house.
Once I move up to Manitoba, I will either farm the property myself, or lease it out, so I can devote nearly all my time to fishing. Bolderds

[Flagtailhunter]

Welcome to Manitoba Bolderds!
Beware...walleye and northern pike fishing is very addictive.  But you are already a fisherman, so you know all about addiction already.

[perch-man]

Rent the farm out buddy there is no money in farming and it will take up all time which you could be fishing!!!

[grumpymoe]

some darn nice walleye to be had on Stuart in the spring....last year was no exception....but once June hit, they were almost impossible to find on a regular basis......thought I would throw this old pic of Stuart from 3 springs ago.....just east of the private campground.....Grump                                                               

[big walleye]

grump makes you wonder about all that netting a few years ago on Stuart .I wish someone would come forward and say if that was true or not. Thanks for posting that pic grump. Brings back memories.  Bolderd I would love to join you on an outing this year. Drop me a line when you are all settled in.

[Thriller]

   Goodbye New Jersey, and hello, Manitoba!!!  I bought a quarter-section wheat farm on Stuart Lake. 

Congrats.  Unless you got equipment with the land, the capital cost of starting to farm will definitely run you into the poor house.  A 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile chunk of land in NJ may be big, but with grain, it won't make any kind of a living.

That being said, going organic can bring in a few more dollars.  Perhaps even better as a steward of the land may be to convert at least some of it back to natural prairie / parkland.

Before you think about stocking, you'll want to verify the depth of that pond...it may not be sufficient to support a significant fish population.  If it is close enough to the lake and connects to it in the spring, it may serve as a spawning ground.  As far as I know, pelicans would just be after fish, so unless they were resting, something should be in there.  Of course, it may just be a population of minnow-type fish too.

Good luck with the move and welcome to Manitoba.

[ickirby]

That being said, going organic can bring in a few more dollars.  Perhaps even better as a steward of the land may be to convert at least some of it back to natural prairie / parkland.

I'm a forester, I say plant it all to trees.

[Bolderds]

I'm a forester, I say plant it all to trees.

Ickirby:
   Yes, I thought I would plant weeping willow trees around the slough to shade the fish in the summer.  I thought perhaps I would create a ten-acre woodlot by planting black walnut trees and oaks, and a few acres with filbert hazelnut) nut trees.   Maybe a few acres in balsam fir.  Perhaps you can suggest other species?  I agree that grain farming may not be that profitable....It just seems that everybody and their brother is growing wheat or some other grain crop....all across the middle west of the U.S., and on up through Manitoba.  Bolderds

[Bolderds]

Congrats.  Unless you got equipment with the land, the capital cost of starting to farm will definitely run you into the poor house.  A 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile chunk of land in NJ may be big, but with grain, it won't make any kind of a living.

That being said, going organic can bring in a few more dollars.  Perhaps even better as a steward of the land may be to convert at least some of it back to natural prairie / parkland.

Before you think about stocking, you'll want to verify the depth of that pond...it may not be sufficient to support a significant fish population.  If it is close enough to the lake and connects to it in the spring, it may serve as a spawning ground.  As far as I know, pelicans would just be after fish, so unless they were resting, something should be in there.  Of course, it may just be a population of minnow-type fish too.

Thriller:
    Thank you for the information.  The fella I bought the farm from had previously stocked Rainbow Trout which he obtained in Manitoba from the Trout Fisheries Association?  The trout survived well enough after being stocked around the first of April.  They fed on the freshwater shrimp and grew very rapidly from April 1st until around October when they were all netted out of the slough, gutted, and put up for food.  It is my understanding that the fingerling trout grew to good table size for eating in just six months.  I would like to have them live over the winter, but I don't know if they will withstand the low oxygen levels of the winter.  I don't know the depth of the slough, but when I tried fishing it, it appeared to be around 10 meters deep out in the center of the slough.  The slough is not close to Stuart Lake, and does not mix with Stuart Lake during high water in the Spring.  I would love to stock kokanee, but I don't know if they would survive, or where to get them.  I would also love to stock some sort of bottom fish such as Drum or Turbot, but I don't know if they would survive.  Walleye?  Sauger?  Yellow perch?  I just don't think I would want to stock Jacks, because I noticed plenty of ducklings on the slough in the Spring, and I'm sure big jacks would eat them.  There are beaver living in the slough.  Do you think smallmouth bass would survive?  What type of baitfish should I stock for the gamefish to feed on?  Bolderds     

ood luck with the move and welcome to Manitoba.

[grumpymoe]

you'll have to get friendly with the retired fellow that runs the private campground at Stuart.....he plants at least one tree per day or more.....alot of spruce...let us know when you plan on settling into your new home bolderds.....Grump 

[Bolderds]

you'll have to get friendly with the retired fellow that runs the private campground at Stuart.....he plants at least one tree per day or more.....alot of spruce...let us know when you plan on settling into your new home bolderds.....Grump 

Grump:
    I believe I know where the campground is located.  I think he built a small sandy beach on the lake there.  He's only a couple of hundred meters from where the farm fronts on Stuart Lake.  As I stand on the shore facing the lake, the campground is on my left.  Bolderds 

[grumpymoe]

that would be very close to the picture I posted of early april 2004.....the campground is also to the left.....Grump