Lake Winnipeg

[LeeMB]

Bite is good on the big lake and will get better. Lots of nice 20"-25" fish with fish up to 32" being caught. Lake conditions are tough with deep snow, but will change as it settles and starts to melt(hopefully). Was out on Sat afternoon, 2 guys 4 hours 22 fish, 3 over 28". Jigging spoons and jigs tipped with minnows was the ticket. Dead sticking was no good for us. Most of our fish were coming thru at or near bottom. We were fishing 11.5ft. from the top of ice. I'm sure I will be talking to some of you this month on the lake!

Lee

[fish_on]

How thick is the ice? Auger extensions needed?

[LeeMB]

Ice is over 40" in most spots on Lake Winnipeg. Bring the "big" extention. I was fishing Lakers on Gods Lake last week and the ice was 48"-52" thick.

[fish_on]

Oh my

[fish_on]

Heading up in less than two weeks. How is the bite? Any thing working better than others? Getting real anxious!!

[LeeMB]

Fished lake Winnipeg on Tues. 2 guys, 2 trucks, (so we could pull one out if we got stuck) fished 7 hours out near the mouth of the Red. Only Caught 16 walleye, biggest only 25". Jigging spoons, and lead heads worked best. Fish were not to aggresive. Fished 16' to 10'. Had a small run around 6:30. Hopefully they will turn on by the end of the season for you guys.

There are some big fish being caught. Saw a 13.5lb'er caught on Sat. and have caught 5 over 28" in the last few outings. No 50-100 fish days yet though. I think we need some increased water flow, ie: warmer weather.

There are some ridges forming at the landing on Chalet beach, don't know if the landing will last till end of the season.

[Ray1]

Thanks for the report. We will see you Thursday night at Stus for a beverage maybe.

[minneman]

Lee or anyone in the know, I'm planning on comming up on the 21 for the weekend, if Chalet rd ends up going bad for access, and Warner is also a no go, what do people do for parking since the areas are so small at the shorline? assuming people come with trailers and snowmobiles to get on the lake. Park allong the road? Thanks

[LeeMB]

usually parking on the road is ok. You should be able to park on the ice at the entrance to chalet as well. there is a small parking area at Warner road to.

There is a active ice ridge at Chalet now. It was getting bigger when I was there on Wed. It could cause problems even for snowmobiles or quads. I will try to keep you posted. There are a number of roads in matlock you can access from as well. It will be a bit further ride though.

[fish_on]

Well the time is approaching for the great journey north. Will be heading up sunday the 23rd and arriving around noon or so. If anyone wants to share a cocktail and some stories we will be staying at Stu's. Keep the reports coming boys

[LeeMB]

Should be a good time to be here. I think we need some warmer weather to get some water moving to increase oxygen levels to make fish more active. Just my opinion......

[fish_on]

IT hit the 50's here in central MN the last couple days. What has the weather been like up there?

[LeeMB]

It is still cool here. We have had 1 day above freezing this year. This morning it is 4*F. I think the high should be in the 20's.

Ran into some boys from the States yesterday on the lake. They were catching some. Fishing was not great though.

[Dock Boy]

Hello Guys, A couple of us are coming up on the 18th and this will be our first time up thier. We will be fishing the lake. I have stocked up on Jigging spoons, Raps and Chubbys. We are bringing snowmobiles and otter tow sleds. I'm going to run our setups for you and please let me know if they sound good. We have good medium walleye rods made by Thorne Bros. I have 10lb test on all rods. Then a swivel with a 12lb leader on each rod. I also have a couple of rods I normally use for Lake Trout Dave Genz predator rods with bait casting reels on them. Both again have 10lb test with a swivel and 12lb leaders. Any suggestions would be great. Can you use two rods in Manitoba? Also you are barbless right? If so can you have jigs and spoons in your tackle box that are not crimpped. I would hate to have to crimp every lure that I'm going to have because I may not use them. Can we keep a few smaller fish for shorelunch and if so how many and is thier any slot limit on them? How do you guys bait with the salted minnow ie how do you bait them on spoons, raps and Chubbys. I'm sure I will have a few more questions, but I just want to make sure we are fully prepared for our trip that we hope to make any annual thing. I appreciate all info that will help us have a great trip. Thanks guys!!

[gatorhunter]

Any type of walleye rod and reel is fine. Your higher end gear will obviously do you right. Buckshot spoons, thumpers, anything that flashes or rattles a little will do the trick. Hook a salty on the barbless hook and use a maggot gulp or power bait to hold the minnow. Snowmobiles are definitely the way to travel. Your houses are great too. Might not even need them if the weather keeps going the way it is. BRING AUGER EXTENSIONS as the ice is 4 feet thick.

The limit is 4 or 6 walleyes depending on which licence you buy. An angler is allowed to keep only 1 walleye over 22 inches per day. No slot, minimum or maximum size limit. Shore lunch those eater sized walleye to your hearts content but remember that you must include those fish in your daily limit.

[Dock Boy]

Thanks Gator for the help!! I think we will just purchase the 4 fish licence. Can you have hooks in your tackle box that have barbs. Just the one your using needs to be barbless right? Can you use two rods? I never even thought about something to hold the bait on thanks for that tip. I'm sure it would be pretty frustrating losing your bait constantly. Do you fish the Lake often?

[gatorhunter]

Two rods, barbless hooks on the line, barbed until attached to a line. Haven't fished the lake too much this winter yet but am up to date on the results. Like every other fishery, some days some people smack em and others don't. Lee's been out there lots. The key to the big lake is keep moving. When you find walleyes hammer them until they stop then move over in any direction until you find more. Good luck.

[Dock Boy]

Thanks Gator for all of your help. This stuff really helps out. It's nice to have this forum where people can find info on areas they are not familiar with. Also the info is coming from sportsmans themselves. Thanks again!! Maybe Lee will have a chance to chime in about the big lake. How do you narrow down places to fish. I've heard their is not much structure, so you just head out and start moving all over the place. Lee have you been out lately and whats the report??

[LeeMB]

I was out Friday afternoon for a while. It was cold and windy. I only moved 3 times. I caught 3 fish all eaters. smow machines with your houses are the ticket. Best bite has been a early morning bite. There is usually a evening bite as well. If it ever warms up and we get some flow they should go all day.

The few fish I'm catching now are caught with a very subtle jigging and let sit approach. The fish are not aggresive now. That could change at any time. I'm sure you will have flashers to catch fish off the bottom. It has been necesary to "tease" them into biting. They have not benn slaming the lures lately.

Don't be afraid to try spots where no is fishing. Also don't discount the shallow water, especially at dusk. You can catch fish with as little as 2 ft. below the ice. Make sure your auger has a 12" extention and is sharp! You will need to punch lots of holes and as gatorhunter said the ice is 48" thick. If it warms up you will be able to fish old holes.

Your right there is not much structure on the south end. There is no wrong place to fish, only places with no fish. If you don't catch move. If you catch some and they quit move, and come back later.

I would use one rod with a jigging spoon and one with a jig and a minnow on it. Jig the jig and minnow rod slowly and let it sit still for a few minutes then jig again. The rod with the jigging spoon vary your jigging to see what they want. Even with a slow bite, you will catch 8-10 fish per day, and about 1 out of 20 will be a master (28") These fish are quite a bit heavier than most walleye you catch other places. I saw a 29"er that weighed 13.5lb's last weekend.

I noticed you are using leaders. I hope they are not steel! I seldom get bit off there. You may have to go lighter if the fish are not going strong.

bottom line, stick and move, there are no hot spots, try different things,I don't have all the answers, and have fun!

See you out there!

Lee

[fish_on]

Thanks for the great tips. All of it helps! Cannot wait. Hopefully we run in to you guys to share some info. We will be hitting the ice on the 23rd.

[LeeMB]

the way the weather is shaping up, that should be the week to be here.

[Dock Boy]

I hope they turn on. We are headed up early tommarrow morning. Any word on how the boys did yesterday?

[LeeMB]

mixed reports. I don't think anyones tearing um up. They are catching some fish though. I may head out tonight for a while.

Maybe I will see you out there this week.

Have a great trip!

[Dock Boy]

Lee, We will be their tomarrow. I hope we can run into each other out their, but not literally!! We will be fishing 18,19,20 on the big lake. Two sleds and a couple of otters towed behind. Stop by if you see us!! Thanks for all the help we are looking forward to our trip.

[LeeMB]

I will be going out tomorrow as well. i will look for you. I usually drive a dark blue GMC long bed.