Catfish & Musky

RavYak · #1 08-04-2020, 11:25 PM

This summer I have been working on some projects out in Manitoba. I knew I would be out here for a while so packed a bit of fishing gear and planned on trying for catfish and then maybe some other fish in the area.

On my first couple weekends I hit up Lockport. First trip the water was high and it took me a few tries to find a decent spot but I ended up with my first channel catfish and then caught a couple more. Next trip I caught around 10 more, most were pretty similar size but I didn't get any great pictures and only have these ones of my first channel catfish.

Once I knew I was going to be out here for a while longer I decided to message a few lodges in the Kenora region as I was curious about how covid was affecting prices. Sure enough they are hurting as 95% of their customers are Americans. Some lodges aren't even planning on opening this year and others are offering some deep discounts to try and gain new Canadian customers. I ended up booking with Tamarack Wilderness Lodge and hit it up this past long weekend. It was a beautiful long weekend but the lodge wasn't even half full, if anyone is interested in trying out musky fishing I would highly recommending hitting them up while things are slow as the current rates are extremely reasonable and they could use some support to try to break even this year.

Anyways once I showed up at the lodge I discussed things with the owner and guide. I told them musky was my primary target and that after I caught one of them I might want to try for crappie. They explained that both species are hard to catch but I should be able to get a musky with some effort and might get lucky and jig up a crappie when fishing for walleye.

I started out the weekend with a day of guided musky fishing on Friday. We started the day off hot with a high 40s pushing 50 inch musky follow less than half an hour in then a second smaller follow shortly after. I was thinking this was going to be easy, then things dried up... It was a hot day and the fish were lethargic and we ended up only seeing 4 more follows the rest of the day.

On Saturday I was on my own and the wind was blowing so fishable spots were limited. I put in a long day but only managed a few more follows and a nice 40 inch pike.

Then on Sunday the wind was still blowing a bit but there were a few more options to fish. In the morning I hooked into a fish and once I saw it I thought I had hooked a musky. It ended up being a half discolored 41 inch pike though.

The rest of the day I was unable to find fish yet again and after ~ 36 hrs of fishing I was still musky skunked and heading into my final day of fishing. I wasn't going down without a fight so I woke up at the crack of dawn and hit the water. I figured I could fish till around 2 before I would have to head back to camp to start the trip back to Winnipeg. The weather was finally ideal with a calm day and temperatures in the low to mid 20s. I hit all the fishing spots I had found in the previous days bouncing from island to point to bay in search of fish. Around 11 AM I had my 3rd follow and was able to get the fish to figure 8. After a few figure 8's I was able to coax a strike but unfortunately she only glanced the lure and didn't get hooked but realized she didn't want to eat the lure and swam away.

I kept on fishing and had a couple more follows but still couldn't catch a musky. It was 1 PM and I was running out of time, I decided to go try a new island and a new unproven lure (Rapala Super Shadow Rap) in the hopes it would elicit a strike with its action and rattle. I had worked my way half way around the island when I made another cast and could see a fish come screaming up and slam my lure. Once I got a good look I confirmed it was a musky and my heart rate spiked as I tried to fight the fish one handed and wrestle to get the musky net ready with my other hand. A few moments later I had my first musky in the net and was able to breath a huge sigh of relief. It was a nice 45.75 inch musky and worth the ~43 hours of effort through the weekend.

It was 1:45 and I figure I better head back to camp. While on the way I decided to hit up a reef to use up my last 4 minnows and hopefully get a couple walleye to bring back. First minnow down I caught a small walleye then second minnow down what do you know I caught my first crappie!

In all it was a great weekend. Extremely tiring and frustrating at times but worth it. I caught musky, pike, walleye, perch, sauger, saugeye, crappie, smallmouth bass and rock bass. Kind of neat fishing the reefs and not having any idea what you might reel up next.

catnthehat · #2 08-04-2020, 11:37 PM

GREAT PICS! I miss my home Province so much it hurts sometimes!

Cat

Red Bullets · #3 08-04-2020, 11:43 PM

Great story and great pics. Nice variety too. A nice musky in less than 50 hours is a treat too. And it's only a 20something hour drive away.

58thecat · #4 08-05-2020, 12:28 AM

One word....stellar.....well done!!!!!

Weavster · #5 08-05-2020, 02:49 AM

awesome stuff! I will never forget my first musky as it is such a grind but it is well worth it when you finally get that bite you work all day for.

Reeves1 · #6 08-05-2020, 05:11 AM

Thanks for posting !

Great pictures & write up !

pikergolf · #7 08-05-2020, 05:18 AM

Nice write up, congrats for hitting your targets at the lodge.

Osky · #8 08-05-2020, 05:48 AM

Terrific pictures and fishing.
Northwestern Ontario is a too lightly enjoyed area by other Canadians.
I cut my eye teeth in that country back in the 60’s and the fishing has gotten even better with so many going to catch and release.
I had a guy in on a hop lake out of Nestor Falls 20 some years ago and late morning we could see a wicked black storm line coming lightning and all. It came slow and we fished to the last safe (unsafe) minute and put 11 really big muskies in the boat in under2 hours. It got better with the coming.
Super area of your country.

Osky

HuyFishin · #9 08-05-2020, 07:34 AM

Did you eat the crappie??

Fishwhere · #10 08-05-2020, 09:31 AM

Awesome pics, write up, and overall story. A few of those species are high on my list to get into!

Nice job!

Smoky buck · #11 08-05-2020, 09:41 AM

What was the cost?

I really want a musky so kinda jealous but still enjoy the report lol

HuyFishin · #12 08-05-2020, 09:44 AM

Also on my bucketlist.

Smoky buck · #13 08-05-2020, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuyFishin

Also on my bucketlist.

You pay for the trip and I will go deal?

58thecat · #14 08-05-2020, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

You pay for the trip and I will go deal?

you two will need a chaperone....acting up on the lake...high fiving and hooting and hollering and all....

RavYak · #15 08-05-2020, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuyFishin

Did you eat the crappie??

It's in the fridge, maybe tonight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

What was the cost?

I really want a musky so kinda jealous but still enjoy the report lol

Cheap. 4 days cabin, nice boat rental (115 hp tiller dual fish finders and ipilot terova with musky net and bump board etc), 115 liters boat fuel, musky rods and lures rental, 1 day guiding, a couple other odds and ends and taxes all just over 1200 bucks and no solo supplement etc. They are trying to break even and get word out so figured I would share info. If in the area or could be then this is the year to book and try musky fishing out and it is worth every penny. Pricing works by person so best to contact to figure out what it would be for your group.

You could book with them for tomorrow or the weekend. Availability is wide open.

Tell them Tyler sent you.

Smoky buck · #16 08-05-2020, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavYak

It's in the fridge, maybe tonight.

Cheap. 4 days cabin, nice boat rental (115 hp tiller dual fish finders and ipilot terova with musky net and bump board etc), 115 liters boat fuel, musky rods and lures rental, 1 day guiding, a couple other odds and ends and taxes all just over 1200 bucks and no solo supplement etc. They are trying to break even and get word out so figured I would share info. If in the area or could be then this is the year to book and try musky fishing out and it is worth every penny. Pricing works by person so best to contact to figure out what it would be for your group.

You could book with them for tomorrow or the weekend. Availability is wide open.

Tell them Tyler sent you.

That is a wicked deal thanks for the reply

It is unfortunate so many businesses are hurting at this time

Wes_G · #17 08-05-2020, 07:33 PM

Sounds like a great trip. We were out there 2 weeks ago and had a blast, I got my first musky although not nearly as nice as yours!. Also Got my first large mouth brought home our limits of walleye and had some absolutely ridiculous days of smallie fishing. Might go back out again in Sept!!

HuyFishin · #18 08-05-2020, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

You pay for the trip and I will go deal?

Sounds like a plan lol

RavYak · #19 08-05-2020, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavYak

It's in the fridge, maybe tonight.

And it was. The last 4 minnows caught me a walleye, saugeye, crappie and rock bass but all small so I just ate all 4 for supper lol. All were pretty similar, all white flesh and texture only differed slightly. I would eat all of them again. Thought maybe the rock bass wouldn't be that great but nothing wrong with the one I ate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wes_G

Sounds like a great trip. We were out there 2 weeks ago and had a blast, I got my first musky although not nearly as nice as yours!. Also Got my first large mouth brought home our limits of walleye and had some absolutely ridiculous days of smallie fishing. Might go back out again in Sept!!

Interesting. I spent all my time musky fishing and the odd half hour or hour each day to get a feed of walleye so I didn't get to test out the walleye and smallie fishing like I would have liked to.

I had trouble finding decent sized walleye but other groups were catching better size so it was just me not having the time to hunt them down. Usually I would just hit up the closest reef and keep the first couple fish I caught (only purchased a conservation license).

Poppa · #20 08-06-2020, 02:46 PM

posts like these are why fishing in Alberta makes me so sad. There is absolutely nothing like EastMan and Sunset Country, ONT. I've got two weeks back home in September and I'm planning on fishing every single day....

gman1978 · #21 08-06-2020, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppa

posts like these are why fishing in Alberta makes me so sad. There is absolutely nothing like EastMan and Sunset Country, ONT. I've got two weeks back home in September and I'm planning on fishing every single day....

Sad is right and crowded in my home province of Alberta. I get out to Manitoba once a year and make the best of it. When it comes to fishing overall we have it bad lol! Sure some ok spots but..,,,

Great fish by the way!

Wes_G · #22 08-06-2020, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavYak

And it was. The last 4 minnows caught me a walleye, saugeye, crappie and rock bass but all small so I just ate all 4 for supper lol. All were pretty similar, all white flesh and texture only differed slightly. I would eat all of them again. Thought maybe the rock bass wouldn't be that great but nothing wrong with the one I ate.

Interesting. I spent all my time musky fishing and the odd half hour or hour each day to get a feed of walleye so I didn't get to test out the walleye and smallie fishing like I would have liked to.

I had trouble finding decent sized walleye but other groups were catching better size so it was just me not having the time to hunt them down. Usually I would just hit up the closest reef and keep the first couple fish I caught (only purchased a conservation license).

The 2 days we specifically fished for them for shore lunch they were incredible hard to find. We fished everywhere, shallow, deep, reefs, points, humps between islands, weeds, just could find them. Who would have thought the Winnipeg River would be such a tough walleye bite, maybe it was just the day we were there, It took 4 of us 4 hours to find lunch! Even then we brought in more bass then walleye!. I actually got my musky on a jig looking for walleye for lunch. We went to a good spot on a small river one day to get our fish to bring home and it took 3 of us about 10 minutes. Took longer to drive there!.

RavYak · #23 08-06-2020, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wes_G

The 2 days we specifically fished for them for shore lunch they were incredible hard to find. We fished everywhere, shallow, deep, reefs, points, humps between islands, weeds, just could find them. Who would have thought the Winnipeg River would be such a tough walleye bite, maybe it was just the day we were there, It took 4 of us 4 hours to find lunch! Even then we brought in more bass then walleye!. I actually got my musky on a jig looking for walleye for lunch. We went to a good spot on a small river one day to get our fish to bring home and it took 3 of us about 10 minutes. Took longer to drive there!.

The lodge owner was saying walleye fishing seems to be changing a bit. Used to be that you would find them on reefs easy now it seems like you have to try harder to find them and not always relating to obvious points and reefs like most guys would think to target. Maybe just the food source has changed or something, he isn't sure. Once you find some it sounds like you can do really well, I always caught some each time I tried but most were just little 13-15 inchers and would usually only catch a few then spot would dry up.

Kings · #24 08-06-2020, 08:20 PM

Awesome trip and Nice photos. Thanks for sharing RavYak.

MountainTi · #25 08-06-2020, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavYak

It's in the fridge, maybe tonight.

Cheap. 4 days cabin, nice boat rental (115 hp tiller dual fish finders and ipilot terova with musky net and bump board etc), 115 liters boat fuel, musky rods and lures rental, 1 day guiding, a couple other odds and ends and taxes all just over 1200 bucks and no solo supplement etc. They are trying to break even and get word out so figured I would share info. If in the area or could be then this is the year to book and try musky fishing out and it is worth every penny. Pricing works by person so best to contact to figure out what it would be for your group.

You could book with them for tomorrow or the weekend. Availability is wide open.

Tell them Tyler sent you.

Sounds like quite a trip and a heck of a price.
I remember driving thru lake of the woods country about 30 years ago on my way to a drilling job by Peterborough. Was amazing country and always thought I should go back.
Have heard they are, but why are musky so hard to catch? Low numbers or just more cagey than a pike?

RavYak · #26 08-07-2020, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MountainTi

Have heard they are, but why are musky so hard to catch? Low numbers or just more cagey than a pike?

I think lower numbers, definitely in fewer water bodies, and they also seem like they either aren't as aggressive or are smarter as the majority of them have to be coaxed to bite in a figure eight whereas pike seem to be more willing to bite with wreckless abandon.

It also seems from what guide was explaining to me the active musky just cruise shallows and can be almost anywhere in them whereas pike maybe are more tied to structure and hang out a bit deeper off weeds and drop offs making them a bit easier to target. That may or may not be true though, just a thought.

OL_JR · #27 08-07-2020, 10:38 PM

Awesome looks like a great trip with lots of variety. A musky would be especially cool.

EZM · #28 08-07-2020, 11:11 PM

Cool .................... sounds like a great experience. Love to get out that way sometime and try and hook one.

WayneChristie · #29 08-08-2020, 09:46 PM

Always great to hit new species, looks like quite the experience ! Those cats are fun

JohninAB · #30 08-10-2020, 03:33 AM

Great report and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Miss fishing NW Ontario a lot. So much so that come May 2022, my truck, followed closely by my fifth wheel and boat will be heading that way for 3 plus months of fishing bliss!