Wild_Guide_Spring2016

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FISHING ISSUE LAST ICE GREENBACK HUNTING by Craig Stapon Expert fisherman, Craig Stapon takes us out on Lake Winnipeg for some monster walleye during early spawning season. There’s only one thing to do when its 30 below zero and the soft water has turned hard – time to get out and rustle up some big fatties! Lake Winnipeg is one of the premier trophy walleye fisheries in the world. Every time you go out you stand a serious chance of getting a walleye in the teens. Thirteen and fourteen pound fish are caught regularly throughout the system in ice fishing season. December through February can give you some great action, but it is really just a warm up for what the lake has in store for you in March. As spring approaches the big walleyes school up heavy in the shallow sandy bays for the spring spawning ritual. You are often drilling through 6 feet of ice to fish 3 feet of water. This is the time of year that the true giants come down from the north basin to mingle with the local fish. These huge emerald walleye are nicknamed “greenbacks” because of their unique color. A wide variety of presentations work, some traditional and some crazy out of this world methods. I am not sure there is another place on the planet that has made using summer plugs in winter so popular. Bass rattlers and various other crank baits are fine tuned and painted and redesigned for ice action. Extra split rings added, salted minnows wrapped carefully around the rear trebles, and salty baits added on 2 foot trailers attached to mono with Gamakatsu’s Swivel Shot Hook with a built in swivel to prevent line twist. Those that fish the lake regularly understand that noise and scent are the keys to success. Pro-Cure trophy walleye scent is the best on the market and I really like their garlic product. I have had the opportunity to shoot many TV shows on the ice and I would not venture out without it! Hawg calling as we call it involves ripping the traditional lipless bass crank up and down making tons of noise. This method brings in the curious walleyes to check out what’s going on. We have been doing this on the lake for about 10 years now and at first many anglers thought we were nuts until they saw what we were catching. The promotion of this tactic through various local fishing clubs “Hawg Calling” has revolutionized ice fishing as we know it today. We take walleye, pike, lake trout and even musky by using this method! To make this method even more effective, try drilling a second hole a few feet away and placing a live bait rig down it. Watch your flasher for striking fish and be ready on both lines to set the hook. Along with lipless rattle baits like the Yo-Zuri Rattl’n Vibe, we have found a few other very effective baits over the years like the LiveTarget Golden Shiner Rattlebait. Colours vary but I find fire tiger and natural black and silver to be the best. Spoons of any shape and size work well too, like Northland’s Buck Shot Rattle Spoons. I caught my biggest walleye ever 3 years ago on the baby, weighing at 15 pounds 4 oz! She hit like a Mac truck and when I set the hook I could not move her off the bottom! After a 10 minute heart wrenching battle she got stuck in a 10 inch hole 2 feet from the surface. My buddy Jay stuck his arm in the water to bring the monster up for a picture. Nothing like posing with a 34 inch walleye! The fish move with the currents so it is important to be mobile. A great general rule of thumb is to fish shallow, 6-8 feet 15 Wild Guide . Spring 2016
GEAR Guide Rattl’n Vibe Hot Tiger Yo-Zuri www.yo-zuri.com Craig Stapon early in the morning and move to deeper water, 12-16 feet in early afternoon and back to shallow for the evening bite! March full moon will put more fish on the ice than any other time of year! There are many reasons I like fishing Lake Winnipeg but the biggest one is the quality of the fish. Understand that an average 28 inch walleye should tip the scales at 8 pounds. An average 28 inch Lake Winnipeg fish will tip the scale at 10 lbs! And the general rule of thumb is to add a pound for every inch in length after that. That’s how big and fat these tanks get. The average size 22 inch fish will generally tip the scales at 4-5 pounds! I love catching those babies and if you hit the right spot you could easily have a 100 fish day! Buck-Shot Rattler Northland www.northlandtackle.com Swivel Shot Hook Gamakatsu www.gamakatsu.com Golden Shiner Rattlebait LiveTarget www.livetargetlures.com WARNING It’s is essential to be prepared before heading out. The lake can turn nasty quickly at this time of year and days can go from crystal clear conditions to total white out within an hour! It’s imperative to have the right gear and if you are unfamiliar with the area, hire a guide. If you do decide to venture out on your own, always carry a gps to find your way. Gamin eTrex Tough 35t www.garmin.com Wild Guide . Spring 2016 16
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Page 5 and 6: SPRING 2016 CO NT RI BU TO RS Jamie
Page 7 and 8: 13 FISHING INCEPTION The Multi-Mate
Page 9 and 10: LURE Rebel Pop-R. Our favourite col
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Page 15: You are able to find a list of stoc
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Page 21 and 22: FISHING ISSUE SPRING CRAPPIES by Da
Page 23 and 24: When To Fish Let’s start with the
Page 25 and 26: LAKE TROUT Grey trout can be in som
Page 27 and 28: BROOK TROUT The speckled lady, for
Page 29 and 30: WRITE for Wild Guide We always love
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Page 33 and 34: GEAR Guide We tried a few different
Page 35 and 36: Because light absorption is greater
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Page 43 and 44: THE BLACK BEAR, NATURE’S ULTIMATE
Page 45 and 46: BAIT SITE According to Kim Hoffman
Page 47 and 48: SPOT N’ STALK BLACK BEARS by Jaso
Page 49 and 50: FIRST AID When fighting for surviva
Page 51 and 52: Split Single Log Stove- Split an ei
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Page 56 and 57: Prehistoric Hunt by Jason Dyck It w
Page 58 and 59: TAke it alL In When we fill our hea
Page 60 and 61: FIELD TO TABLE
Page 62 and 63: Moose Sirloin Stew 61 Wild Guide .
Page 64 and 65: Moose Burger with Smoked Gouda, Dee
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Moose Sirloin Stew Ingredients 4 po
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Wild_Guide_Spring2016

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