The Bombardier rumbled onto the ice bouncing and swaying as Jim Price struggled to keep it on
course. It was to be our source of transportation this fine January day as we ventured across the
frozen, jagged surface of mighty Lake Manitoba.
Huge chunks of ice, caused by a poor freeze-up due to windy weather and uneven temperatures,
dotted the southern end of this massive body of water near the resort community of Delta. Large
snowdrifts added to the chaos and the only feasible method of getting out on this portion of the
lake was either snowmachine or the one we had chosen, the venerable Bombardier, the vehicle
that has been touring this and other Manitoba lakes since the Second World War.
We ventured about 10 kilmetres west of Delta until we found a spot Jim Price and a group of
fellow ice angler from Portage had fished the week before. It was pressure ridge break in the ice
that was attracting baitfish and thus massive schools of perch and tullibee. As the lake ice
separates from shifting, a thin layer of ice forms in the one metre crack. It is here that Jim drills a series of holes and we drop our lines.
In the first area we try we catch a few nice sized perch but
Jim knows its not a major concentration of fish. Back in the Bombardier we go heading back east
a kilometre and on the second try, bingo; it's perch bonanza! A stream of brilliantly striped Lake
Manitoba perch come through our ice holes, aggressively attacking a variety of different lures that
we've offered down near the bottom of the three metres of water.
In a normal year, which starts in early December, we fish just a half kilometer out in front of the
floodway exit west of Delta Beach. This area is accessed by driving north of Portage la Prairie on
Highway 240, then turning left on Highway 227 and traveling west for five kilometers to you come
to the Portage floodway diversion bridge. Just across the bridge you turn north on the gravel road
beside the floodway ditch itself and travel about 3 kilometers to you hit the lake. In a normal year
there is a road down on the ice but a four wheel drive vehicle is a must. If you don't have one of
those or a snowmobile just park alongside the road and walk out the short distance needed to
start catching some nice sized yellow perch. As the season gets into February the fish in this
section of the lake start to migrate west to their spawning beds near the Whitemud River and you
have to travel at least five kilmetres west of Delta. To the north and east, off of Highway # 6,
Twin Beaches is also a popular access point to this great perch fishery. Pressure ridges formed by
movement of ice, attract baitfish which try to hide in the jumble of ice forced down below the
surface of the lake. This also attracts predators like perch, burbot and walleye and is a good
starting point in your ice fishing search on a big shallow lake like Lake Manitoba.
We found a 1/8 ounce ball head jig in yellow or pink the best tipped with a half shiner minnow,
perch ice, Berkley one inch power grubs or power wigglers.
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We ventured about 10 kilmetres west of Delta until we found a spot Jim Price and a group of
fellow ice angler from Portage had fished the week before. It was pressure ridge break in the ice
that was attracting baitfish and thus massive schools of perch and tullibee. As the lake ice
separates from shifting, a thin layer of ice forms in the one metre crack. It is here that Jim drills a series of holes and we drop our lines.
In a normal year, which starts in early December, we fish just a half kilometer out in front of the
floodway exit west of Delta Beach. This area is accessed by driving north of Portage la Prairie on
Highway 240, then turning left on Highway 227 and traveling west for five kilometers to you come
to the Portage floodway diversion bridge. Just across the bridge you turn north on the gravel road
beside the floodway ditch itself and travel about 3 kilometers to you hit the lake. In a normal year
there is a road down on the ice but a four wheel drive vehicle is a must. If you don't have one of
those or a snowmobile just park alongside the road and walk out the short distance needed to
start catching some nice sized yellow perch. As the season gets into February the fish in this
section of the lake start to migrate west to their spawning beds near the Whitemud River and you
have to travel at least five kilmetres west of Delta. To the north and east, off of Highway # 6,
Twin Beaches is also a popular access point to this great perch fishery. Pressure ridges formed by
movement of ice, attract baitfish which try to hide in the jumble of ice forced down below the
surface of the lake. This also attracts predators like perch, burbot and walleye and is a good
starting point in your ice fishing search on a big shallow lake like Lake Manitoba.
