Lake Winnipeg Gear/Tips

Hey guys, a few of my buddies and I are taking a trip to Winnipeg over spring break in March. I have never fished the lake so I’m pretty new to the lake and the gear that it requires. I’m looking for any tips that you may have or experiences on the lake after the greenbacks. I have done some research on the types of lures that are used out there such as rattle baits and others but if you could also tell me what has worked best for you too that would be awesome. I will more than likely have to pick up a few other heavier/longer rods as most of the walleye rods that I have may not hold up to some of those fish up there. I have a few TUCRs and was thinking of picking up a Commander for the trip. If you could also let me know what types of rods you have used on the lake I would greatly appreciate it. I currently have a 12″ auger extension for my Eskimo Z71 shark so I’m also wondering if that will be enough auger for the ice up there in March? Or should I maybe pick up an 18″ extension? Thanks in advance!

There was a post a couple of weeks ago about fishing Lake Winnipeg through the ice. Lots of recommendations on colors and types of lures. Trolling spoons and Live Target baits seemed to be the best bets. Check it out. Best tip was to make sure you are prepared for every thing that can happen!

Bring two of every thing. I have been up there two times in the past two years. A good gps or navionics is a must to track your routes from the landing to your spots. The rods I used were tucr precision rods two 28″ and two 32″ never once did I feel they were under gunned to land the big greenbacks up there. If I were you I would pick up an 18″ extension. Another great trick for up there is to put a barrel swivel about a foot higher then the thickness of the ice. That way you know when it pops out of the water you know the fish is getting close to the bottom of the hole it will save you from loosing fish on the bottom of the ice. For baits I never had a whole lot of luck on the live targets. They seemed to like the # 5 ripping raps in Helsinki color blue and silver black and silver. For spoons gold slender spoons in all sizes and Vmc tumblers and tingler spoons again all sizes the orange tiger striped and pink tiger were the hot color last year. Up grade the hooks to a bigger size and stout hooks. Start with the bigger baits and if you keep getting lookers change out baits and down size..
Don’t waste your time if your not marking fish in the first 20 minutes move and when you move its 3/4 mile moves not 200 yards your just wasting your day on small moves. When you land on the fish you most likely can stay on them all day. If it slows and your with a group of people have one guy stay behind and have the others move a few hundred yards away to try and find the fish. If the group finds them in the move and guy left behinds not getting fish have him move to the group something the guy left has the school come back and then it’s his job to get the group back. My big fish up there is a 29.5″ last year in one day my dad and I put 2-28″ 3-27″ and a dozen fish between 23-26″ on the ice along with the 15-19″ eaters.. A great web site to look at info is the Manitoba fishing forums. If you have any more questions just ask. I will do my best to answer them for you

Good luck

taz wrote:

Bring two of every thing. I have been up there two times in the past two years. A good gps or navionics is a must to track your routes from the landing to your spots. The rods I tucr precision rods two 28″ and two 32″ never once did I feel they were under gunned to land the big greenbacks up there. If I were you I would pick up an 18″ extension. Another great trick for up there is to put a barrel swivel about a foot higher then the thickness of the ice. That way you now when it pops out of the water you now the fish is getting close to the bottom of the hole it will save you from loosing fish on the bottom of the ice. For baits I never had a whole lot of luck on the live targets. They seemed to like the # 5 on ripping raps in Helsinki color blue and silver black and silver. For spoons gold slender spoons in all sizes and Vmc tumblers and tingler spoons again all sizes the orange tiger striped and pink tiger were the hot color last year. Up grade the hooks to a bigger size and stout hooks. Start with the bigger baits and if you keep getting lookers change out baits and down size..
Don’t waste your time if your not marking fish in the first 20 minutes move and when you move its 3/4 mile moves not 200 yards your just wasting your day on small moves. When you land on the fish you most likely can stay on them all day. If it slows and your with a group of people have one guy stay behind and have the others move a few hundred yards away to try and find the fish. If the group finds them in the move and guy left behinds not getting fish have him move to the group something the guy left has the school come back and then it’s his job to get the group back. My big fish up there is a 29.5″ last year in one day my dad and I put 2-28″ 3-27″ and a dozen fish between 23-26″ on the ice along with the 15-19″ eaters.. A great web site to look at info is the Manitoba fishing forums. If you have any more questions just ask. I will do my best to answer them for you

Good luck

Awesome post Taz, thanks for sharing bud. Lots of good information.

I’ve fished Winnipeg the last four years and alway had the best luck on a live targets or Lindy darter using 32-inch MH rods. That’s the easy part. The important stuff up there is for safety. A good GPS unit is an absolute must, when the wind comes up you can’t find your way off without it. We alway travel in a group and have had Rangers freeze up, snowmobiles die, etc. It’s important to have more than one vehicle on the ice so you can help each other get home. That lake is extremely hard on gear, anything not well secured will get torn up. Be sure to have good rod boxes, padded cases for heaters, good covers and tie downs for your fish house, etc. It’s a long and bumpy trip to the fish and we’ve learned all this the hard way. That said, you won’t find a more exciting and fun trip on ice. We’ve caught Giants up there and lots of them. Gear up right and have a blast!