A JEWEL ON THE PRAIRIES

Last Mountain Lake, I'm not sure why, because if there is a mountain around it must be about 1000 miles to the west. I do know one thing though, it is full of big walleye, pike and carp.

In past years, I have spent a heck of a lot of time pursuing the walleye of Last Mountain Lake in south central Saskatchewan. This large lake has held a particular fascination for me because of both its size and the numbers of truly large walleye that swim in its fertile water. But it does not end there. In recent years I have come to appreciate both the massive carp and pike that also share this resource with the walleye, not to mention some pretty good perch fishing.

Since the inception of The Complete Angler television series I have done a number of television shows highlighting this fishery and it keeps just getting better.

I first met Rob Schulz some 12 years ago while fishing a walleye tournament on Last Mountain and ever since we have been friends.

Since that time Rob has become a full-time hunting and fishing guide, one of the best multi-species anglers I have ever had the opportunity to fish with.

Rob operates G & S Marina and Guide Service, which specializes in carp, pike and walleye as well as some of the hottest goose hunting in the world.

I did a show with Rob a couple of years ago on the great carp fishing in the lake but we had never teamed up on the walleye in Last Mountain Lake.

LAST MOUNTAIN WALLEYE

A sunny, windy, middle of September day changed all of that and garnered a new respect for just how good an angler Rob Schulz really is. Early in the morning after a couple of cups of coffee and a donut we launched the boat and headed south out of Rowans Ravine Marina down to a main lake point we knew was likely to hold fish at this time of year. Using jigging spoons like a huge glow Jig-A-Whopper and a chartreuse Zzinger we hooked up with some nice walleye and bonus pike in about 21 feet of water.

After a couple hours of catching fish using this method, we headed down the lake to try the more conventional approach. rigging up a live-bait setup with a walking sinker and # 6 live-bait hook, we started out by drifting and backtrolling a big sunken island connected to a shoreline point by a gravel bar. We soon discovered, that by backing the boat into the wind, we had much better control of our lures, keeping in them in the hot zone for much longer! Boy, did it pay off!

As good as the walleye fishing was that particular day, it might not have matched the carp fishing I had with Rob a year earlier. In six hours fishing we landed close to 30 fish, the biggest almost tipping the scales at 30 pounds!

Since that time, Rob has fine tuned his carp expertise to the point were people all over the world are clamoring for his expertise.

As a bonus, the northern pike fishing on this 60 mile long lake is pretty darn good, just nobody bothers about it. Rob does, and he will keep you on fish.

For more information about the fishing on Last Mountain Lake visit Rob at his website at www.gsmarina.com

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