Flin Flon Report

[Bigfishhunter]

Just thought I would give a report from a part of the country that does not receive as much attention. Recently my family, from southern Manitoba came up to visit and fish. We had a great four days. We boated well over 400 eyes, nothing big but great fishing. We also caught many many many pike with the biggest measuring at 43" caught by my little brother.
We focused on three lakes, Neso, Naosap, and Athapapaskow. The weather ranged from cold and rainy to hot and sunny, the wind did not get too strong which was good, as that can make fishing tough.
Here are some pics for you to look at.

[gapr]

hello bigfishunter
we were up to big athapap in early june and caught some lakers, iceout was quite late this year. have you been out on athapap for lake trout lately and do you spend much time looking for the big trout the lake has to offer.

[Bigfishhunter]

yeah, I am a die hard trout freak. My dad is not set up to fish for them with his boat, (not enough anchor rope, or weight, lift, rods, etc.) I was out on the big lake 3 times last week and will be out there probably twice this week. Have done well for the trout, but nothing big this year. Biggest has been a 34" which was caught by my buddies wife while trolling a reef early in the season.

[gapr]

Bigfishunter
what is your theory on big lakers? sit and wait in a spot, invest a half day or more in one spot that marks fish and let them come to you, or trolling, or keep moving trying different places for short periods of time and coming upon them.
do you fish the cranberries through the summer at all?
lots of questions but like you said in the original post, not much discussion about northern manitoba on this board.

[Bigfishhunter]

If you want to get the big ones the best technique is going to be to sit in a spot and work them hard. Now, the key here is to mark fish first. I have spent up to two hours moving along at 4-5 mph looking for bait fish, big arcs, and active fish just off the bottom. Then I set anchor up wind, drift back down close to the spot, (can't ever seem to hit it bang on) but at least I know I am in the right area. Then I chum the heck out of the area, with chunks of sucker fillets that I catch in the spring. I then take my time and bait up a well designed piece of sucker belly with another little piece to hide the hook tip on a 3/4-1 oz jig. Sit this right on the bottom with a tight line, don't lift it off the bottom or bounce it. Let the fish pick it up. This is hard to do and requires a keen eye for line movement rod movement and a good feel for what is going on. Sometimes if they get on a feeding frenzy one can start reeling up quikly and they will chase it.

Now, this technique is what I primarily use for Athapap, I know that it does work on other lakes but I prefer, when possible to fish more aggressively. Yes I fish the cranberries, and I have used that technique, but I also like to use jigging spoons and buzz bombs, Tube jigs etc. on other lakes and even at times on athapap, when they are more aggressive. But when I am hooking up with big ones it is on the technique that I described at the beginning. The guys around here who are considered premier trout fisherman use that approach and I know that it works.
I fish second cranberry, clearwater and Reed also for lakers and like to troll a lot more on those lakes, but it is because I don't know them as well as the big lake.

Good luck, let me know when you are coming up again and I will put my ear to the ground to see if I can give you any advice or hot spots before you get up here.

[gapr]

that is how i like to fish for them as well, jigging or even deadsticking with them. let me be clear i am still a rookie at the lake trout game. i usually spend the first day and a half or 2 days trolling and marking fish and locations then i start checking out some spots but my success has been chumming and committing to one location for a long time before moving on. the anchor lift buoy is a lifesaver if you want to move frequently. we have been coming up for about 5 days at a time. we always plan to make more frequent trips up there but it is hard to get the group together to make it. i will get a hold of you for some advanced info when i am coming back up there.