Manitoba ice fishing gets off to hot start after warm weather delays

It took a while, but the recent cold snap to hit southern Manitoba has finally made it possible for avid winter anglers to safely get out onto the ice.

Warm weather in November and early December meant premier fishing spots, like Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, stayed open later into the season than usual. 

When things started to cool off around the middle of the month, waters got a little chillier and the first signs of ice started forming along banks and shorelines.

Now that the ice is thick enough in some places, Stu McKay, owner and operator of Cats on the Red outfitters, said people are heading out in droves — especially on the Red River in Selkirk and near Lockport.

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'Tonnes of guys fishing'

Within the city of Selkirk, "there's tonnes of guys fishing" right now, McKay said.

"I'll guarantee you there's 200 to 300 guys and gals fishing toward the north end of Selkirk by the Float Plane Base," McKay said Tuesday.

Bob Kardynal was out in that area Tuesday. He goes ice fishing on the Red River with his son and friends every winter.

"This is my second week, but people have been coming out here for, oh gosh, three weeks now," he said. "They came out here when there was six inches of ice, just sitting on here. Nobody is driving out, but people have been coming out with snowmobiles and quads — there's lots of ice for that."

The annual KidFish Ice Derby in Selkirk, which was scheduled to take place on the river at the Float Plane Base on Dec. 27, was rescheduled for Jan. 10 out of safety concerns due to thin ice.

By McKay's estimations, there were another 30 or so shacks on the ice at Lockport over the weekend and about 15 vehicles parked out on the ice north of the dam.

Too thin to take big trucks on river, McKay says

The ice is about 10 inches thick on Lake Winnipeg and the Red River near Selkirk right now — safe for fishing but not thick enough to be taking bigger vehicles onto the ice just yet, McKay said.

"Right now if you said to me, 'Can we cross the river right now in a vehicle?' I would say, 'Yeah, we could,' but it would be doors open … idling across," he said. "You could probably do it, but why take the chance?"

That note of caution doesn't only apply to rivers.

"It's just too early to be driving trucks on Lake Winnipeg right now," McKay said. "To drive a truck out there right now, that's just begging for trouble."

Over at the Miracle Mile, a stretch of the Red River between Lockport and the south end of Selkirk, the story is much the same.

The area is an ice fisherman-favourite and has produced loads of record walleye over the years. But the ice is probably still a little on the thin side.

"There was, in the centre of the Miracle Mile, a stretch of wide open river running at least the size and length of a football field last week," McKay said. "That was last week, and there's just no way in a week's time [it's thick enough to drive a truck on]."

So, the takeaway is clear: fish away, McKay says — just be safe and don't let your eager inner-angler get the best of you.

Stu McKay's ice fishing tips:

McKay, who has been in the fishing guide business for almost 30 years, shared some icy wisdom about how, where and when to go for the best results this winter:

• "The month of December is traditionally the month to fish the Red, into the early part of January, and then the patterns start to become a little more sporadic. The fish become a little harder to find; they have a tendency to suspend more.
• "It's then time to start venturing out onto Lake Winnipeg, providing the conditions are adequate and safe."

Tale of 2 fisheries

• "The Red is a fishery where you don't want to move around: you want to get to a location and put your time in.
• "Lake Winnipeg is the opposite: you get onto the lake, such a massive expanse of water, you set up, you start fishing. If you don't catch any fish, the clocks running. About every 30 minutes, you're relocating."