Lake Wpg

[bottlebass]

Is mid march a good time to be up there? There is some talk of moving our LOTW trip in mid march to a bucket list trip and hitting winnipeg… Never been, need to do some research.

[gmeabrake]

Another great report. Thanks Canuck.

Jim " title="" class="bbcode_smiley" />

[sundie23]

Bottlebass yes it’s a good time. Alot of people go then. I’ll be there then also

[bottlebass]

sundie23 wrote:
Bottlebass yes it’s a good time. Alot of people go then. I’ll be there then also

Where on the south end is the easiest to go out of? Is it a lot like LOTW as in there are places to stay and we can fish on our own? Or do you recommend going through a guide for first timers?

[Canuck]

The big girls are the fattest in March as they get closer to spawing. Their length does not change.

Another reason people like March is the weather is warmer and allowing easier movement. This winter so far the temps have been quite nice and travel very easy due to the limited amount of snow.

If I was pick a time I would suggest MID week and watch the weather. IF you can get away with a couple days notice and the weather looks good, GRAB the chance and go.

Access to Lake Winnipeg is not as good as LOTW but still there is access at: Road 103, Road 100 (Balsalm Harbour) Beconnia, Patricia Beach (all these are the east side) There are a few even farther north of Road 100 at Grand Beach and the Yellow Brick road.

South end is Pruden Creek

West side, Warner, Chalet, Winnipeg Beach and Gimli.

Do not expect to haul a crank down out on plowed roads but sleds and quads and right now vehicles allow for the best travel.

Accommodations, well, March usually is booked up early. Most have been staying at the Casino in Brokenhead but there are others and a few Bed and Breakfast or cottages are opening up for fishermen.

GUIDES: What do I say, NO I am not a guide. There are a few and if interested pm and I can suggest some, there are others I would not. Lake Winnpeg is a big lake and most feel there is NO structure but look closely and you can find it.

Do not think you are going to be pulling in masters every hour. They are there and this year I am finding the year class of 22 to 25s in large numbers. A few masters have also come through the hole but nothing over 30 YET.

[Canuck]

Forgot, Chubby darter still hot yesterday.

Perch and lime green colour. Talking with a commercial fisherman and he is see small perch in the bellies of his catch.

[bottlebass]

Canuck wrote:
The big girls are the fattest in March as they get closer to spawing. Their length does not change.

Another reason people like March is the weather is warmer and allowing easier movement. This winter so far the temps have been quite nice and travel very easy due to the limited amount of snow.

If I was pick a time I would suggest MID week and watch the weather. IF you can get away with a couple days notice and the weather looks good, GRAB the chance and go.

Access to Lake Winnipeg is not as good as LOTW but still there is access at: Road 103, Road 100 (Balsalm Harbour) Beconnia, Patricia Beach (all these are the east side) There are a few even farther north of Road 100 at Grand Beach and the Yellow Brick road.

South end is Pruden Creek

West side, Warner, Chalet, Winnipeg Beach and Gimli.

Do not expect to haul a crank down out on plowed roads but sleds and quads and right now vehicles allow for the best travel.

Accommodations, well, March usually is booked up early. Most have been staying at the Casino in Brokenhead but there are others and a few Bed and Breakfast or cottages are opening up for fishermen.

GUIDES: What do I say, NO I am not a guide. There are a few and if interested pm and I can suggest some, there are others I would not. Lake Winnpeg is a big lake and most feel there is NO structure but look closely and you can find it.

Do not think you are going to be pulling in masters every hour. They are there and this year I am finding the year class of 22 to 25s in large numbers. A few masters have also come through the hole but nothing over 30 YET.

Great info and thanks for your help Canuck! We’d be using sleds and pulling portables out. If and when you get a chance if you could forward me the guides you would recommend I’d love to tkae a look!

[Canuck]

Fished the lake today but went north off of Rd 103. A new pressure ridge has opened up at the 10 ft mark. This limited a lot of vehicle travel but some guys finally found a way across.

With my sled NO problem and able to hit the 18 ft depths.
NO masters but 26 myself with most in the mid 20 inch range. Did loose a heavy fish at the bottom of the 8 inch hole as I just could not get her turned, but that is fishing.

LOTS of ice over 24 inches at the 18 ft range. Plenty of snow for sleds to travel and in my opinion the best way to travel right now.

[bottlebass]

Well it’s official. We are booked and will be up there in march. Buying new lures then pinching the barbs will be fun!

Still willing to listen and learn from any advice about how to rig up for those 16lbers

[Ret-ro]

I returned from a great trip to Lake Winnipeg last night. I was fortunate to be able to fish with my great friend Canuck for a couple days. We had a slow day up north by Sunset beach on the first day, jumped around a few spots near where he had success with only a few fish to show for it. Word of advice this year if you are going to fish near the early ice heaves you will want to probe after you drill a hole. We found multiple places with a second layer of ice under the top sheet. Our second day we put in on Pruden creek and went back to an old spot. Well that spot paid off with my biggest greenback to date at 30.75″ and a plump 18″ girth! After measurements and photos I sent her back to grow and possibly be caught again! We fished two other spots, one was pretty slow and the last one pretty consistently had hungry fish coming in. We ended the day with over 25 fish. On our third day we went back to where we left them on day 2 and Canuck had one before I even got a line down! We jumped around to three other spots and only found one or two fish. I had a great time getting to spend time fishing with Canuck again. Looking forward to getting back up there in February with the big crew to do some serious hunting!

LSF Staff http://www.lakestatefishing.com

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[Canuck]

I had a BLAST. It was nice having somebody do all the work, THANKS.

Seriously, if fishing near a push up check and make sure you are totally through. The ice is piled up and having 2nd layers.

I have fished Lake Winnipeg for several years and continue to be amazed at the lake, one day can not hardly find a fish, next day POW can hardly keep them off the hook then the next they vanish. I am still learning and by the way enjoying it, THANKS.

The big girls are still there but probably not in the numbers they were 5 years ago. Put in your time and be willing to move and you may be rewarded.

ENJOY.

[Canuck]

If you blow up the picture of the tiny fish I caught, (ha ha) you may notice the belly hook. I had been experiencing several fish smashing the bait only to amazingly not getting hooked up. Once I made the hook larger than the body this stopped. I feel the large girls are so strong they clamp down on the bait and you can not set the hook, once they feel something is wrong they simply open their mouth and gone. That bait has been smashed more than once and the body shows the results.

[Joehere]

Nice catch! Thanks for sharing

[bottlebass]

Wow that is a great fish!

[bottlebass]

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