minaki area

[roscoe2669]

hello,

looking at a trip on the winnipeg river system. Never fished this area before. maybe tetu lake area. Would like to hear about how the fishing is on these waters,what time of summer is the best. Pike would be the main focus of this trip.

Thanks for any info.

[MuskyBrian]

made my first trip up there last September in the middle of the month. I fish muskies 95% of the time, but pike are everywhere out there...You can catch them shallow and troll the bigger ones going depper, or fish the reefs.

But I am sure if you like Pike you wouldn't be against catching a musky or two..Caught the fish of my lifetime, 52.5" beast with girth like a truck, also caught a 47" as well, boated a few smaller fish near 40" and had strikes from 2-3 other fish around 45"...Needless to say I am sold, there's huge fish in there and awesome structure in terms of depth, reefs, humps, points, islands, etc..

[Brett Erickson]

If big pike are what you are after, Tetu has a much larger population of trophy pike than does the Kenora to Whitedog Dam section. I spend most of my summer at Rough Rock Lodge which is south of the Whitedog Dam (as I prefer muskies). Muskie fishing is much better, but most of the pike you run into are of the 'hammerhandle' variety.

Friends of mine run Tetu Island Lodge (north of the Whitedog Dam) and they land a lot of pike over 40" each year and usually get some around 50", but they catch very few muskies--probably due to the more dramatic water fluctuations/spawning success in the Tetu section of the river. They catch big pike all season, but early and late in the year seems to be a little more consistant. I've always done better in the fall (late August-October) as it is a little more predictable and not so dependent on the water levels or water temps. Just bring warm clothes and a bunch of gloves with. Muskie-size jerkbaits (Phantoms, Hellhounds, Manta, etch) are usually their best producers for big pike at Tetu.

Both sections of river have excellent walleye fishing and the smallmouth bass are untouched, big and numerous. Definitely spend an afternoon smallie fishing!

[roscoe2669]

Hello,

Thanks for the info. Do you know if that section of the river has sturgeon in it? Would like to try for them if there is some.

[DeBo101]

I can tell the stretch from Minaki to Whitedog has sturgeon. I have seen one breach each of my last two trips to the area. The first one was a very large fish that breached within 25ft of the boat near the Roughrock narrows. Last time we saw one at the south end of little sand.

No idea if they have a season for them or anything so you may want to check the regs first.