OC Online - Fishing - Where the big ones are

text by Gord Pyzer
photo by Ted Takasaki
map by Robert Biron
published in May 2006 issue

Where the Big Ones Are (part 4)

Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba
Measuring 425 kilometres long, 110 kilometres wide and covering 15,000 square kilometres, Lake Winnipeg is the world’s seventh largest lake, and second only to Lake Erie in terms of walleye numbers. It’s also relatively shallow, wide open and prone to Perfect Storm-sized waves, so relatively little sportfishing actually occurs out on the main body of water.

But that’s not the case around and in the protected confines of the two major rivers—the Red and Winnipeg—that flow into this great Prairie sea. This is especially so in the fall, when the lake’s unique emerald-coloured walleye, known as greenbacks, visit for the winter. The runs begin in early September and continue building until the rivers freeze in December. Eight-pound walleye barely raise an eyebrow here, while 12- to 15-pound fish are common. And recently, two walleye topping 19 pounds were caught.

PRO TIP

River reaper: Ted Takasaki grips a monster
Takasaki offers a heads-up if you fish with his modified drop-shot rig: the walleye will hit one bait consistently for a period, then start biting the other for a stretch for no apparent reason.

LEARN MORE
• Cat Eye Outfitter, 1-888-228-3933; www.cateyeoutfitter.com • Cats on the Red, (204) 757-9876; www.catsonthered.net

That’s more than enough reason for Minnesota-based walleye pro Ted Takasaki to hitch up the boat and make the pilgrimage north each autumn. “We’re only seeing a smidgen of the potential,” he says, gazing out over the lake from the mouth of the Winnipeg River. “It’s the tip of the iceberg. There has to be some awfully big walleye out there.”

As much as Takasaki says he pines to explore the vast and possibly last great walleye frontier, he’s content for now to ply Lake Winnipeg’s rivers and their outlets. And in the process, he has refined some rather productive strategies. “Everyone has pretty much figured out how to finesse them with a jig,” he says of the greenbacks. “But not everyone is as skilled at locating the big concentrations of fish. The key features to look for are the edges of the river channels where they swing out into the bay, and the current breaks within the rivers themselves.”

Takasaki also points out that even slight changes in the river bottom are important. Delicate twists, turns and bends in the river channels, and subtle structure changes at the outlets—where at first glance the basin appears shallow, flat and featureless—shouldn’t be ignored.

He starts by slowly trolling a spinner rig, which helps him map out the contours and locate isolated rock piles and inside turns. “Most anglers troll crankbaits, but I prefer to run a Red Devil Spinner tipped with an emerald shiner behind a No-Snagg Cent’r Slip Sinker. The sliding sinker keeps the spinner much closer to the bottom than a three-way rig or a bottom bouncer, and when you drag it through the mud, silt and sand, it rolls and imparts additional action.”

Not surprisingly, Takasaki rarely takes his eyes off his sonar unit, hitting the waypoint button whenever he spots something out of the ordinary. Two or three isolated boulders or the twist of a contour line are more than enough to grab his attention.

When he catches a walleye—his biggest greenback so far is a 13-pound-plus behemoth—Takasaki pitches out a marker buoy and drops anchor so that his boat is positioned slightly upwind of the hot spot. He then works the area using a modified drop-shot rig. Basically, he ties a StandOut drop-shot hook a foot from the end of his eight-pound-test main line and, instead of a standard sinker, he attaches a 1/4- to 3/8-ounce (depending on the current) Lindy Max Gap Jig to the end. He then skewers a frozen Lake Winnipeg shiner—sold in every local bait shop—onto each hook.

“As many walleye will hit the StandOut hook as the jig,” boasts Takasaki. “You’ll catch more walleye fishing the two rigs together than you will just jigging or just drop-shotting.”