Manitoba Monster Catfish

It was a beautiful evening with a light south wind blowing. Friends Steven Wintemute, Scott Sime and I were anchored just a half mile south of Lockport on the mighty Red River. What had a been a late spring had finally turned to summer and the waters of the Red River were finally starting to warm up, a surface temperatures reading of 70 F on Stevens' Humminbird deptfinder. We had already landed a bunch of huge catfish, the largest over forty inches, just a massive fish caught by Scott on a large prawn impaled on a circle hook.

While getting ready to help Scott land this monster, my rod had buckled in half from a savage take. Dropping the net, I managed to lift the rod out of the holder as line dissappeared from my Abu Garcia 5500. As I fought this catfish Steven hauled in Scotts monster. Talk about action, this trend was continue the whole evening long. Still we weren't prepared for what was to happen next. My catfish had decided to head upstream right toward the anchor rope. Leaning as hard as I could on my rod, the thirty pound test Berkley Big Game started to protest. Finally I convinced this big fish to head back downstream right under the boat. Extending my flippin stick over the side of the boat and down into the murky water of the Red, I was able to keep the line under the prop as the fish surged away. Ten minutes later I finally could see the 2 ounce sinker appear at the back of the boat. All of a sudden the fish appeared, a jet black catfish the likes of which I had never seen. Yes that is right jet black! Finally Steven slipped a net under this unique specimen. While not as large as some catfish we caught and released this evening the color was incredible!

Now is the time to get out to the Red and Assiniboine Rivers if you want to catch a trophy catfish. Water levels have dropped and current has slowed to a managable flow. The area from Lockport to Selkirk is producing the best fishing.

Day Five at Big Sand Lake Lodge

Day Five:
Most anglers don’t come to Big Sand Lake for the walleye fishing but for the massive lake trout and pike that swim in its pristine water. On this day Edward and Mark believe the ice has moved out enough for us to access the north end of the Big Sand and the massive bays there that hold some real trophy pike, one called Buskers Bay.
8:05 A.M. As we leave the main dock in front of the lodge, the sun is shining and optimism high. We know if we can get past the ice to the north end we will probably be in for some spectacular fishing. Edward decides that he and the other guide boat will stop at the rapids near the lodge to catch some walleye before heading north. As we are to find out later, this strategy is to cost us dearly. Mark, meantime has pulled into a bay before the rapids and asks if we want to try for pike. I am up for that and on my first three casts with the fly rod, I hook and land three pike. Nice way to start the day. After the action slows, we head around the corner and join the other boats in front of the fast water. I get Mark to situate the boat so I can take some action shots of Larry and his group catching walleye. We then drop back to the end of the pool where we have caught walleye in the past. Mark has a depth finder on this boat and it pays dividends.
9:00 A.M. With our walleye lunch guaranteed, we head north. As we swing out in the main lake, the water looks good. After about ten minutes we turn a corner of the lake and are confronted once again with ice. Oh no! is the collective thought. Mark takes the south side of the shoreline to see if we can get through. Another guide boat is trapped in a bay around the corner, the ice having moved in after a change in wind direction. Since the boats were equipped with two way radios, we checked to see if they were all right. No problem, said the guide, they would wait it out. Another guide boat then pulled in beside us, also extremely disappointed that we were to be denied this section of the lake once again. As we were to find out later, the boats that had headed straight north right away in the morning had hammered big fish in the Busters Bay all day long. Our guides were also extremely frustrated at this turn of events. Cutting our losses we started fishing for lake trout along another sand beach, the boat behind us hooking and landing a thirty eight inch laker. Our luck or lack of continued as we could not get a lake trout to hit one of our baits.
12 Noon It is a subdued crew that gets together for our last shore lunch. We were all bummed out not to get to the famous Buskers Bay. In talking to another guest that had been to the lodge three previous times, he related a day in Buskers when he caught and released seven pike over forty one inches. Watching a couple seagulls balance on a spruce tree perked me up a bit. Then of course we had as much walleye as we could handle, the conversation becoming less animated as we sat content in the boats with bellies full. Life wasn’t so bad after all.
1 P.M. Back on the water we tried trolling for trout for another hour and half with the same result NADA! What do we do now, was the question. We decided to head back and fish around the lodge for pike
4:30 P.M. Enough is enough for the day. Mark steers the boat back towards the main lodge and guess what? The wind has switched back the south blocking our access once again. Yikes what else could go wrong. So it’s back to Airport Bay and another long trek back to the lodge. This time though we take the sand esker ridge trail that overlooks the lake. A spectacular view and good conversation make it all worthwhile.
7 P.M. Steak is on the menu tonight and it is cooked to perfection. Everyone is in a great mood as we all head out together for one last evening of walleye fishing on Katimiwi. As we crowd in the three boats I take the opportunity to go with Edward to find out more about this quiet man who has been such a tremendous guide. Edward had been guiding on the lake for fourteen years while Mark was in his third season. This night Edward recounts the story of a forty eight inch lake trout one of his guests had caught a few years previous. Edwards’s guest fought the fish for forty five minutes and when it was finally boated, this behemoth weighed almost sixty pounds. On a normal year at Big Sand the trophy board is jammed full of trophy size fish. This year is anything but normal for Big Sand with only three weeks booked for fishing guests with a summer that is three weeks late in arriving. Owned by the South Indian Band this lodge provides vital employment for the community. Edward Soulier is concerned for his livelihood. He has a large family and though he traps in the winter, he relies on his guiding to provide part of the income. There is no doubt times are changing in the lodge industry in Manitoba and across the country. A global recession combined with a weakening U.S. dollar has contributed to the decline. All I know is that this is one incredible facility, built atop a huge sand esker overlooking a lake that stretches for seventy miles; big water with big fish. The large spacious cabins stretch on either side of the massive main lodge, built of logs with a deck that snakes down the lake itself. This lodge has a long history of success with the guests like former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. We hope it will be around for another twenty years.
THE END

Big Sand Lake, Day Four

Day Four:
8 A.M It’s our turn for Katimiwi Lake again but the weather is not the best. Rain and a cold north wind greet us as we head across the lake this time up a set of rapids that the jet drive has no problem with. Mark wants to try another set of rapids for walleye to get the shore lunch out of the way. While we catch two we can’t seem to find a good school of fish. The real reason we are here though, is to catch a master angler pike. Mark is confident that the two bays in this section of the lake will produce. As we drift into the first, I hook a small pike immediately on my fly rod. One more cast and one more small pike. That’s not really a good sign as small fish usually don’t hang around BIG fish. As we work the whole bay, my prediction is correct, no big fish are in the bay right now. The wind direction though was piling cold water in that bay, a sure kiss of death at this time of the year.
11 A.M With the wind picking up in intensity, I ask Mark if we can troll the rapids that were a little further down. Without a depthfinder on this boat, it was guesswork as to what trolling run to use. We did start catching fish right away but these were really small pike, in the hammer handle category!
11:30 A.M My friend Pete is cold and miserable and tired so we head back to the lodge for lunch. This proves to be a bit of miscommunication as the other boats head to an island and cook up a big shore lunch despite the miserable conditions.
1 P.M. After warming up in the lodge with hot soup and a big sandwich Peter decides to pack it in. Mark asks me if I want to head back to Katimiwi for a little walleye action. I lend Mark a rod and we head east once again to another shallow mud bottom bay, one other guide boat there before us. We started to fan cast the bay and with overcast conditions the walleye were up and cruising. Using a small Northland Thumper jig with a double tail, the action was hot and heavy. In the three hours we stayed we must have caught thirty walleye, most in the three to four pound range, just a whole lot of fun. By four thirty we decided to head back, finally tired of the weather but not of the outstanding fishing.

Day Three at Big Sand Lake Lodge

Day Three
8 A.M After talking with our guides we learn the ice has once again encircled the bay in front of the lodge. This means we are back down to airport bay and the cache of boats. The good news is that Edward thinks we should be able to make it down to the south end of the lake, about a forty minute boat ride. He plans to do that after our shore lunch of sandwiches.
9 A.M. We head to shallowest end of the bay and find a weed bed with some active pike. Peter lands the biggest fish of the trip, a thirty nine incher that Mark lets go before we get any pictures. Peter once again catches the fish on orange Mepps Aglia. I, meantime continue to throw out some streamers, a red and white bunny having produced a forty five and forty four inch pike from this same bay the day before from a guest from Wyoming. I do land quite a few fish but nothing better that Peters. Conditions are just not right for the pike to be too active.
12:00 Noon We head to shore to meet up with our other two boats for a quick lunch of sandwiches. So far the day has been okay but we are tired of fishing the same water.
1 P.M. As we head out of the bay, we are suddenly confronted with ice and fog. Edward leads the way, cautiously. After some turns around a couple of islands along with the busting of some black ice we break free of the main lake ice pack.
2 P.M. We have been trolling a sand esker for lake trout. I have brought along three boxes strictly dedicated for this species but so far it has not made a difference. Mark says we should follow his dad further south to fish some shallow bays and a river at the south end of the lake. Off we go for a thirty minute drive
3 P.M After casting in a couple of shallow bays we don’t catch a fish of any species. I convince Mark that we should try trolling the river. After two minutes we catch our first fish, a decent pike. We end up catching five nice pike with this technique, not bad considering one of the other boats doesn’t catch one.

4:30 P.M. As we head north back to the lodge we are all of sudden trapped by ice. Edward in the lead boat, had managed to sneak through the jam by going along shore. By the time we arrived just five minutes later the ice had moved tight to shore , knocking trees down in the process. After trying a couple different seams in the ice, we knew we only had one option left, skidding the boat across the ice. Luckily the ice was still very solid and we managed to pull the boat to the other side. Our last boat, was not doing quite as well, but with the little help from the first two boats we all made it through safely. From here we decided to see if we could make it back to the main lodge. With one point to go, we were stopped dead. Finally admitting defeat we headed back to airport bay and the long hike back to the lodge. While the fishing had been pretty slow for the most part on Day Three there had been no shortage of adventure.

Day Two Big Sand Lake Lodge

Day Two: Big Sand Lake Lodge
8 A.M. After a hearty breakfast of Red River cereal followed by bacon and eggs it was time to head out on a different lake. As it turned out the lodge had five boats on a smaller lake next to Big Sand. Called Katimiwi, this shallow lake was considerably warmer than the main lake. This was also to supply the best fishing of the trip.
9:30 A.M. Mark had the 30 h.p. Yamaha jet drive at full throttle as we headed to the east end of the lake. This day we found a bunch of hungry pike in a back bay which probably had the warmest water in the lake. It was a long finger which made fly fishing difficult with another angler in the boat. So instead Peter and I cast out different shallow running baits. I had on a swim bait, a hollow belly shad from Berkley. Rigged on Eagle Claw 5/0 3/16 ounce swim bait hook, it drove the pike crazy. This small bay, as it turns out, supplied the best pike action of the trip with one fish after another whacking our lures. Peter landed the biggest pike, a nice thirty nine inch fish from on a orange Mepps Aglia.
11:00 A.M In fact on day two of our visit I hooked a Master Angler walleye on my fly rod while fishing in a shallow bay for pike. This big walleye had my ten weight fly rod bent to the water. In fact it was one of the best battles I had ever had with this species. It measured slightly over twenty eight inches, a big walleye for this far north. Casting out my small brown streamer fly I immediately hooked another walleye. As far as I could tell, the fish were feeding off of blood worms judging by the number attached to the outside of the fish. In fact this was to be the pattern for the walleye on this particular trip. Loads and loads of walleye in less than three feet of water in mud bottom bays.
12:00 Noon We met up with the other two boats for a shore lunch on one of the many sandy beaches in this part of the world. As the guides prepared the fish, Larry spotted a timber wolf lurking through the trees. Unfortunately too many trees were in the way to get a good picture but this was not the last wolf we would see on this trip. When the fish was finally ready, it was gone in a millisecond. There is nothing like fresh walleye in the outdoors especially on a day that was a little cool around the edges. We made sure to tell the guides to cook more fish next time!
1:30 P.M Mark headed the boat north to series of rapids just a short drive from the shore lunch area. Fishing a small back eddie we hooked both pike and walleye, the action very steady.
3:00 P.M Mark decides to see if we can catch a big pike again in a large shallow bay off the main lake separated by a small channel. As we motor through the channel we hook two nice pike, one of the fly rod. With a medium wind blowing from the northeast, Mark shuts off the big motor in the shallow bay we start to drift. Casting a small shallow running crankbait, I get a vicious strike by a nice fat walleye. Mark then points over to a boil on the surface just a short distance away. Peter makes a cast over to the spot with the Mepps with no luck. I follow up with my crankbait and solid twenty five inch walleye engulfs the lure. After catching another dozen healthy walleye it is almost five p.m and time to head back for supper, a great day of fishing had in our boat.

Don and Friends excellent fishing adventure!

Don and Friends excellent fishing adventure!

It slightly overcast with a brisk northeast wind blowing when we arrived to launch the boat at Mary Jane Reservoir.
It had been a couple of years since my last visit to Mary Jane but reports indicated that both the largemouth bass and crappies were on the bite.
As we headed towards the east end were a small creek entered the reservoir we noticed that the water was heavily stained from all the runoff. Hooked Magazine (wwwhookedmagazine.ca) owner publisher Steven Wintemute dropped the front troll motor on his boat and we started working slowly up the creek, the water finally started to clear the further back we got. That’s when friend Darrin Bohonis got the first bite, a chunky largemouth slamming a swim bait he had just thrown out. After some high fives, it was back to business, this time Wintemute landing a bass on a bait the resembled a Cuban cigar. What about me? I was stuck in the back of the boat, content to dabble with some new swim baits I had bought and take pictures of these two highly competent anglers working the water. Not to worry, I decided to hop boats, checking in with long time friend and area resident Dino Branfield. Dino had a young friend and neighbor along by the name of Ryan Funk, a WHL hockey player and fellow who just liked to fish. Ryan was heading out the west coast, having been traded to Vancouver for his last year of Junior Hockey. This was to be his last fishing adventure before he got on the plane.

While luck would have it, the largies stopped biting as the sun set but the crappies went crazy. I caught all mine on small crankbaits while Ryan was whacking them on a jig rigged with yellow tail. While not monsters it sure made for a fun day with a couple of bonus walleye thrown in.
Located in southwest Manitoba near the community of Manitou, heavy rains from the week previous had not only rutted the boat launch but raised the level of this small reservoir substantially.
RECORD MANITOBA LARGEMOUTH
It was the third week in June in 2007 when Dino Branfield established the new Manitoba length record for largemouth in the province. On June 18th just before dark and right after an intense lightning storm, Dino hooked, landed and released a huge twenty-one point two-five inch jumbo largemouth. That is why this small reservoir is so unique. It supplies one of the only largemouth fisheries in Manitoba and that is why this fishery is catch and release only for the bass.
Mary Jane is a very small body of water but supplies a valuable sport fishery for anglers in this part of the world, with a small private campground on the lake, great for a little family adventure in southern Manitoba. You can find the reservoir by heading six kilometres west of Manitou until you come to a sign advertising the Archibald Museum. Turn north on the grid road for three kilometres and you will see a sign on your right hand side pointing out the reservoir. If you want to camp, you have to go over and get the keys to the campground at the Archibald Museum.

Big Sand Lake Lodge- The Adventure- Day One

MY ADVENTURE TO BIG SAND LAKE LODGE: DAY ONE!
7A.M. It was seven in the morning when my wife dropped friend Peter H and I off at the Calm Air terminal in Winnipeg. Upon arrival I was met by Fred, the guy who makes this operation run smooth as silk. Since our bags were already tagged, straight to the scale they went, the last we were to see them until our cabin at the resort.
8 A.M It was time to hop on the ATR 42 – 300, one of a fleet of four brand new state of the art planes that Calm Air has purchased in the last couple of years.

With plenty of leg room and reclining leather seats it made for comfortable flight the 525 air miles to the lodge with a refueling stop in Thompson.
9:45 A.M.
As the ATR -300 circled Big Sand Lake, huge stretches of ice could be seen clogging the main lake. Most of the smaller bodies of water in the area were ice free but not the main lake. Seventy miles of this incredible fishery were going to be off limits to us on our five day trip to Big Sand Lake Lodge. In talking to camp manager Rick Bohna the ice was at least three weeks behind a normal year, this the latest year on record. As the plane touched on the long sand strip thirty seven guests filed off the plane wondering what was going to be in store for them.
10:15
After a pleasant walk from the landing strip to the lodge we entered the main lodge, a huge building sitting atop a sand esker. Here we were introduced to our guides for the trip and served breakfast. I was to be hosting as part of a Fish Futures trip auction. Larry Dewar from Winnipeg had brought three friends with him and we were to have plenty of fun with this group over the five days!

11:30 After assembling all our fishing gear we met our guides at the lodge for our first day adventure. Since the ice was clogging most of the main lake, we were headed back to the landing strip to a cache of boats the lodge had at airport bay. After a ten minute walk down the hill, we headed out to fish pike. Mark was to be our guide this trip, a young man full of energy and ideas. He had been guiding at the lodge three years under the tutelage of his dad, Edward, a veteran of fourteen years at Big Sand. The sun was shining and the temperature was a lot warmer than we had predicted, perfect spring pike conditions. As we fished a couple of different bays, I caught a few small pike on the red and white streamer that I was casting with my ten weight fly rod. Pete was chucking spoons and small spinners and was to hook the first larger pike, only to loose him.
2p.m. After flogging the back bays, Mark decided to head out to the main lake to meet up with his dad and the other two boats. That’s when things got a bit crazy. Ice was blocking access but with a little bit of hard work and ingenuity we were able to slide our boats over a small patch of ice and access a couple more bays .

5 p.m It was time to head back in for dinner, with some more ice flows to be negotiated. We had caught some more pike but nothing really large had been landed.
8p.m After supper Mark asked if I wanted to head out around the corner from the lodge and fish a set of rapids that was holding walleye. Yes, of course was the answer. As we motored up to the rapids one other boat was positioned up in the faster water. Mark decided to take us further back to the end of the pool where the river channel turned back out to the lake. Marking the break on his Humminbird, we fished fourteen feet of water with small jigs tipped with Berkley Power Grubs. It didn’t take long for us to land the first walleye of the trip.

10:30 Time to get ready for bed and after a quick night cap we were soon asleep in a very comfortable bed in a very spacious cabin overlooking the lake. Wow, it doesn’t get much better than this….