Icefishing Lake Winnipeg Dec. 16, 2013

After a week of being down with some sort of bird, pig or monkey flu it was great to get out onto the lake, put the new ride through the paces and catch a few fish. The morning started out in a whiteout with little to no visibility. We tried a few spots in deeper, clear water and came up empty, with few fish showing on the Vex's. Made a move towards the mouth in 10fow and hunkered down for a bit. As the wind blew itself out and the sun came out so did the fish. Not a big numbers day by any means but the quality could not be beat. We couldn't catch small fish!!


Ice thickness ranged from 12-18" where we drilled. There is some rough ice and some cracks/ridges, however not a pile of snow, travel should not be an issue...however more snow is in the forecast. Gotta love tracks!

Ice Team TV in Manitoba's Parkland

After a whirlwind week of scouting safe ice, traveling, fishing and filming its time to put some of this to the keyboard.

After a quick scouting mission on the Red to secure lunch, I headed west to check the ice on a couple of lakes and see what was biting. Ice conditions showed a fairly uniform 6-9" on the 3 lakes I looked at Sunday. Spent a few hours fishing and got a couple fish....confidence was running pretty high for day 1 with the camera. Fellow Ice Team pro Jeff Andersen and cameraman and theorist extraordinaire Greg U. were coming up to capture the amazing 1st ice bite for stocked trout in Western MB's Parkland Region.

Got the guys, got some sleep and woke up to big south winds, and everyone's friend horizontal snow. We had a few (very few) chances and managed 1 good fish for the show. Wow...are we going to get a show? After some intense discussions it was decided to stick out the trout and try a new lake the next day. Good choice.

In the first 20 mins we had a couple of dandys on the ice.One big hen brown adorned Jeff's Lift Suit with a souvenior.

Our hot baits were small creature baits, this brown's undoing was a deadsticked Maki Maki

Team selfie!

We found fish along edges in 3-8 fow, small plastics were best for us, a mix of jigging and deadsticked presentations work. White seemed to be the colour of preference. We managed a number of fish catches on film and shot some great underwater footage of these gorgeous fish. Keep an eye out for this online and on WFN at a later date. Can't thank Greg and Jeff enough, great team to work with. Working behind the scenes to make this shoot a success were Sandi and Paul....THANKS!


Last, I had a chance to try out the Clam Auger Conversion Kit I had really dismissed it as something for others further south and of little utility for us here in MB. I was pleasantly surprised. With a 7" bit this machine drilled 35 holes through 8" of ice on 1 battery in -20C. For early ice and panfish, this rig is slick. Being able to walk and drill holes carrying half the weight of a conventional auger really facilitates mobility which makes you more succesful. Is this for Lake Wpg in March? Of course not, but when conditions allow it is a great tool.

Stay tuned for ice updates on the conditions sections of the blog....

Why we do what we do - the guide life

This video struck a chord with me, its worth a watch and heeds a listen.

No doubt making some cash is a requsite to enjoying the things we all want to do in this life, but when you commit yourself fully to anything and work your ass off the money will follow. I made a big change in the last year to pursue the outdoors and guiding as a career path, there hasn't been a day that work sucked since. Sure there are days that are more difficult than others, but whats the alternative.

Lake Winnipeg Ice Conditions Nov 21 2013

Took a walk out (thinking thin) to see what ice conditions are looking like on Lake Winnipeg in hopes to get out after some early walleye.

Its frozen 1-2 miles off shore. 100 yards out from my place it was 2.5-3"...calculated risk as wader fishing last week I found this to be 4-5 feet deep with a hard bottom.

Anyways jagged ice has formed from recent winds and it looks like a nice ice ridge forming out from Matlock, right now there is a 1/4 mile of no ridge further south. The next week or 2 will tell the tale on the ice conditions in the southwest part of  basin for the winter.

Stay tuned. And stay off...for now.

Is it frozen yet?

No. But there are signs of freeze up. about 8 hours of calm and cold had about 500 yards of skim ice around Matlock this morning. With a bit of wind alot broke up but there is still a fair bit out there.

Pray for calm and cold.

Getting ready to fish Lake Winnipeg

As the season is on the horizon to chase greenback walleye out on the big lake, there are a few things that need to be consider to improve your odds.

1. Transportation - having a tracked vehicle to venture off the beaten path will up your success as much as a Vexilar. Your are fishing new water, less disturbed. There's also a safety factor coupled with this, getting stuck in trucks can lead to an unexpected stay on the lake. Always have GPS, compass, charged cell phone and means to stay warm should you get stranded. Not to mention means of extracting your vehicle.

2. Augers - early season is forgiving on dull blades and old augers but 4'+ of dirty Lake Wpg ice will limit how many holes you can drill in a day. When the last hole of the day is usually the best...you've spent the whole day working out the puzzle. Consider a tune up or upgrade and new blades.

3. Fitness - icefishing can be a relaxing event, once you are set up. There is no way around it, it's gear intensive. Packing, unpacking, wrestling vehicles and trailers in the cold. Spending a bit of time getting reacquainted with some forgotten muscles will allow you to enjoy the day and season to the fullest.

Check out this piece Brad Dokken wrote last winter about his experience on the ice with me. Its hard work!

Newspaper Article

Lake Winnipeg Primer

A primer for last winter to get ready for those Lake Winnipeg Greenbacks.

The big lake was rolling today. High winds...we needs some calm and cold weather. Not to worry there are other places to ice fish within the week.

Stay tuned, big things afoot this next couple weeks.

With rifle season opening tomorrow morning for deer its time to catch up with some friends and chase whitetails in southern  MB.

Late Season Mallards and looking forward to the ice

After a full season of guiding at Scott Lake Lodge for big pike, lakers and grayling I went straight to waterfowl camp in Western Manitoba's famed prairie pothole region to chase ducks and geese.

It was a great season, learned lots, met great clients and had a bit of fun too. After the guests left we went and jumped a pothole loaded with mallards. This video shows about 1/4 of them....some much needed trigger time.

With the potholes and small lakes starting to freeze the birds out, thoughts turn to icefishing. For us in MB the first crack at hardwater usually is the trout of the Parkland Region.

These browns, 'bows and tigers are a treat to catch, grow to trophy proportions and will test tackle to the limits.

With some hot fishing in the Red and Winnipeg Rivers this fall, Lake Winnipeg should be hot again. Be sure to book your spot soon for this winter. The JH Outdoors ice rig for 2013/2014 is going to be pretty wild.