It's been a busy summer targeting different species of fish in Manitoba. First it was lake trout in north-central Manitoba then southern Manitoba in June for catfish on the mighty Red River. Then in August we ventured to the Whiteshell area to target sturgeon on Nutimik Lake, part of the Winnipeg River system and a Cree word meaning (up the river).
Nutimik is only just an hour out of Winnipeg and this would be our first time fishing sturgeon and we were excited. It's something that has been on my to do list for a few years now and the opportunity was here, so our plan was two days of fishing and we had an advantage as we would hook up with girlfriend Kerry Anderson's cousin, Bob Caithness, who has a seasonal campsite on Nutimik Lake and targets sturgeon most of the summer.
We arrived late in the day and after quickly setting up camp and organizing the boat we were ready to hit the water. A quick drive to the boat launch and we were on our way.
Bob, along with his wife, Gaye, would direct us to Sturgeon Falls, only minutes away from the boat launch. Watching my electronics we would set anchor in around 35 feet of water. Time to drop our lines, as Kerry and I would use our eight-foot lake trout rods with bait casting reels spooled with 50-pound power pro line, a simple catfish rig baited with two large night crawlers, and a salted minnow for extra scent.
Casting our lines out into the current edge and leaving our lines sitting on bottom we would now sit and wait.
Sturgeon fishing finally!
Weather conditions were great and Caithness told us about the fish he had recently been catching in this location; not only will you get a chance to hook into huge sturgeon but there are other species as well, he said. During the two days we would hook into walleye, pike, smallmouth bass and goldeye in this location. I was surprised to see smallmouth bass coming out of 40 feet of water. Our first day, we would hook into four sturgeons, along with a few other species, added into the mix.
Once hooked, sturgeon can put on an incredible fight, taking long runs and even jumping out of the water. I was also surprised how lightly they bite for such large fish. You have to be careful of the younger fish as they have some real sharp edges on them and can easily cut you. They are a real interesting fish and live many years but take many years before they spawn, so conservation is important. It is illegal to keep sturgeon but you can angle for them; some fish will be tagged, none we caught had tags.
Our second day we continued to fish around the same area, and it was a more productive day landing six more sturgeon. Caithness would land the largest sturgeon of the trip at just over 45 inches. If you ever get the opportunity to target sturgeon then I would highly recommend it. I have already booked my trip for next year; this time it will be longer.
ANGLERS' EDGE: With summer now gone its time to start thinking about the fall pike, trout and walleye fishing, I started early this fall and got into some decent walleye fishing on both the Odei and the Burntwood river systems. Recently we were out and saw one fish at over 29 inches come out of the Odei by local angler Jeff Stanick. Girlfriend Kerry caught the largest goldeye I have ever seen at 17 inches and recently I hooked into a walleye just over 27 inches at 10 pounds-plus. The bite has been spotty as of late, although all species are biting and some good size freshwater drum have been caught also. Water temps are still warm and need to come down a few degrees yet before the big bite happens.
Looking for some local fishing updates? Have any great local fishing stories or photos? You can get in touch with Dave Colibaba by e-mail at: colibaba@mts.net
