Canada Fishing Reports by Jason Hamilton Outdoors

[Jason Hamilton]

Hey folks, I will be adding some hunting and fishing reports for Central Canada, the locations and focus will change as the seasons progress and my location changes. Stay tuned for adventures from NWT, Lake Winnipeg, and prairie waterfowl guiding, hunting and fishing.

Currently I am working as a guide at Scott Lake Lodge in northern Saskatchewan and The Northwest Territories. Fishing here is focused on big pike, lake trout and grayling.

Unseasonably warm temperatures in June have moved pike and trout deeper in search of tolerable water temps. We are finding pike in eelgrass and cabbage in 6-10' and having success on flies and a glide baits like the salmo sweeper.

Lakers are being caught in 60-80' of water on big spoons, cranks and oversized plastics.

Lots of fires are burning across the north making for interesting flying and fishing.

Check back soon to see how the trout season progresses.

[prov1900]

Jason,

Great pics! Those fires are looking to be pretty close. That pike is a monster too!

[LeeMB]

Looking forward to your reports

[Jason Hamilton]

Hey folks, its been a while, sorry. Got tied up with guiding fish and birds.

I will try to play catch up with a few photos and videos from the seasons past and add new content as well.

Anyways here is a picture looking out at Lake Winnipeg just north of Chalet Beach. Some ice forming but we need calm winds...with the forcasted lows it should get going soon.

The trout lakes in Manitoba's parkland are showing fishable ice. Reports of 1.5-6" are coming in. I will be out later this week and will report back.

[Jason Hamilton]

Thats right Lake Winnipeg is making ice. Its frozen up about 1-2 miles offshore. The bad news. Its rough ice and ice ridges are already prevalent.

High winds forecasted may compound the issue or break it up and start fresh.

Walked out to check about 100 yds off shore, 3" of ice.

Not yet....but soon!

[Hobey]

How far out in the lake does someone need to travel to get to the fishing spots? It's a really long drive from southern Wisconsin, but the videos make me think about it.

[Jason Hamilton]

You can get fish sometimes a few hundred yards from shore. Count on going out a few miles though. Just have to be mobile to drill and follow the fish.

[Jason Hamilton]

November 30, 2013

The Red River has fishable ice in several locations ranging from the Float Plane Base (4-7") to End of Main (4-10") among other less traveled locations.I have found ice up to 10". Fish in the Red have been hitting early in the morning and the bite has died for my by 10am. Try 15-20'.

Lake Winnipeg out from Matlock has 7-9" of ice fairly consistent out to the first ridge. After that...watch out. NOT SAFE! Spent a couple days scouting around and fishing with limited success, water is very dirty. Access at Chalet Beach could be an issue with ice ridges built up. More fishing to come this week, check back again soon.

[Jason Hamilton]

After a week of being down with some sort of bird, pig or monkey flu it was great to get out onto the lake, put the new ride through the paces and catch a few fish. The morning started out in a whiteout with little to no visibility. We tried a few spots in deeper, clear water and came up empty, with few fish showing on the Vex's. Made a move towards the mouth in 10fow and hunkered down for a bit. As the wind blew itself out and the sun came out so did the fish. Not a big numbers day by any means but the quality could not be beat. We couldn't catch small fish!!

Ice thickness ranged from 12-18" where we drilled. There is some rough ice and some cracks/ridges, however not a pile of snow, travel should not be an issue...however more snow is in the forecast. Gotta love tracks!

[Jason Hamilton]

Time to break out the extensions for Lake Winnipeg. Lots of snow, lots of ice and its been cold.

Been getting into the fish suspended 5 or 6' off the bottom in 12-14'. Lots of bait going through the productive areas.

[Jason Hamilton]

Planning on coming to Lake Winnipeg fishing?? Need a place to stay?? I can set you up in a cabin with full cooking facilities and heated shop. Located 10 miles from Chalet Beach access. Prime base for your greenback hunt.

Send me a message [email protected] or call 204-797-6616.

Will have photos available soon.

[Jason Hamilton]

Pretty well everyone you talk to has the same topic of interest....the dam winter weather. Its getting downright cold! Wind from all directions, fronts, vortices and cold. Any chance of the fish getting into a pattern? Not even close. This winter has even Lake Winnipeg walleye acting like, well, walleye. The arm wrenching strikes on targets have been missing the last few weeks. The fish are still in the area but a lot of lookers are showing up on the Vexilars. Time to downsize. And again. Finally we found what the fish are interested in eating. 1/8oz Clam Blade Spoons in pink/gold with a tailhooked live minnow.

When setting up the shack (because lets be honest there's not a pile of run and gun fishing in -40C) I drill 3 holes and use the center one for ripping a load rattle bait. The fish will still come in on this but want something more snack sized to chew.

Travel is tracks only now and extensions are the norm.

[lungdeflator]

Good reports! I hope march brings some warm weather and less snow.

[Jason Hamilton]

Piles of new snow out on the lake make it a year to love tracks. With all the white stuff its almost time for 2 auger extensions. Fish are shallow in the mornings 7' under 42" of ice and are hitting rattle baits well. Midday sees them slide out deeper this is where my 2014 bait of the year shines. 1/8 oz blade spoon in pink glow. Tipped with a tail hooked live minnow. Rip a rattle bait to bring 'em in then let them eat the snack.

[Jason Hamilton]

What a weekend....whiteouts, wind, deepfreeze and slush.

Full detail on my blog here: Lake Winnipeg conditions

[Jason Hamilton]

In the blink of an eye the lake can go from calm and pleasant to a whiteout and howling winds. The wind whipped snow make the shore line invisible until I was 150 yards from it....a long drive looking at white from 10km out. Be sure you have navigational aids (GPS, compass etc.) make note of the time you start travelling and when you expect to arrive.

Despite the weather there was no other place to be today if you wanted to catch 5-8lb walleye suspended high in the column and chasing baits like lake trout.

More slush spreading around some ridges, all I saw today was visible.

No pics today..weather was too poor to expose fish.

[Jason Hamilton]

Well for a few moments this past weekend, it sure felt like it. No jackets, no gloves and a few greenbacks...man we waited a long time for this March run.

Fishing was nothing short of spectacular

All the details and pics are here:

March 12 L Wpg Report

[Jason Hamilton]

I've been poor at updating this report section over the summer. A new gig as manager of Scott Lake Lodge has pretty much tapped any free time. As the season winds down here are a few tips to key in on lake trout and pike.

Fall has arrived at the 60th parallel, the birch trees show this in a new yellow cloak. Geese are high in the skies riding north winds and water temps are dropping. This is a time of year you can key in on water temps and fish movements to score big time. As temps drop in the 50Fs whitefish and ciscos collect on windy shorelines or inflow/outflow in preparation for the spawn.

A couple days ago we did just this at the outflow of a medium sized lake. Large pike and trout were stacked in 5' of water and looking for big meals. Large herring and whitefish patterned flies (6" or larger) elicited vicious strikes from these predators. Working baits fast was key.

Now thoughts are starting to turn towards predawn vigils in the goose blind and getting on the ice.

[Tolens]

Welcome back Moose Wrangler ( I heard the term from a Mr Jeff Anderson )

Congrats on the new gig , Looks like a great time / Resort.

You mention cooler weather and here it is ... had to turn the heaters on in the cabins and its only August . I look forward to seeing what's happening in Manitoba.

Have a good one

Robert

[Jason Hamilton]

December left us with odd ice conditions on Lake Winnipeg.

No snow, ridges, cracks, open water have made for some tenuous travel. Also large patches of extremely rough ice have left a few areas less than desirable to travel.

A few cms of snow the last couple of days was enough to take the new sled out. (Polaris Voyager 155, which is an icefishing beast)

Jumped some cracks, that were wider than expected but made a full scouting run.

We were rewarded with a good suspended bite on some big fish and lots for the pan.

Even managed to tempt a goldeye on a rattle bait!

Be safe out there, don't assume any ridge or crack is safe, test, travel in pairs, bring safety gear.

[lungdeflator]

Jason, How has it been on Winnipeg lately? How much snow and ice is up there now?

[Jason Hamilton]

Fishing has been very good, very little snow.

Still a number of vehicles having safety issues associated with ice ridges. You'd think after a number of incidents people might wait a bit.

Anyways certainly fish to be caught.

[lungdeflator]

Thanks! I fished a lake for 3 days over by Kenora, ON mid december and wish I would've just gone to winnipeg. Still planning a trip in March though!

[walleye 4 me]

If you were going to head out this weekend with a truck, what area would you hit? Heard east side (Balsam harbor) is easier getting around but havent heard how the fishing is there. any advice is appreciated!

Fishing has been very good, very little snow.

Still a number of vehicles having safety issues associated with ice ridges. You'd think after a number of incidents people might wait a bit.

Anyways certainly fish to be caught.