OC Online - Fishing - Where the big ones are

text by Gord Pyzer
photo by Andrew Klopak
map by Robert Biron
published in May 2006 issue

Where the Big Ones Are (part 5)

Lake of the Prairies, Manitoba
Andrew Klopak owns western Manitoba’s Lake of the Prairies. Well, not literally, but having won the Prairie Classic walleye tournament on the 48-kilometre-long reservoir numerous times, it’s fair to say few anglers know the lake any better.

Created in 1968 when engineers dammed the Assiniboine River near the town of Shellmouth, Lake of the Prairies covers 15,000 acres. It’s not a lot of water as far as reservoirs go, but the rich prairie soils nourish an extraordinary walleye population. How extraordinary? A 1984 Manitoba Conservation creel survey determined that anglers were harvesting 120,000 pounds of walleye each year, a whopping eight pounds per acre, or about five times the provincial average. A slot limit was implemented the following year requiring that all walleye between 18 and 28 inches be released.

PRO TIP

Prairie pro: Andrew Klopak lands a lunker
Klopak says the early-season, knee-deep walleye bite is totally overlooked not just on Lake of the Prairies, but also on scores of other lakes across the country.

LEARN MORE
• Cor Your Walleyes Only, (204) 638-8659; www.foryourwalleyesonly.com • Lake of the Prairies/Prairie Classic, lakeoftheprairies.com

Since then, the fishery has not only maintained itself, it’s become even better. According to Klopak, who’s also the president of Lund Boats Canada, there are few places in North America where you can catch as many quality-sized walleye so easily. “The post-spawn, spring period is a good time to fish for walleye on Lake of the Prairies,” he says. “The June bite finds a lot of female fish up shallow, and when I say shallow, I mean really shallow. In water as skinny as three feet deep.”

Klopak says most anglers on Lake of the Prairies fish the edges in 25 to 30 feet of water during the spring. And while he admits there are fish at that depth, he says the shallow ’eyes are much easier to catch. Simply pitch a 1/16- to 1/8-ounce jig tipped with a lively leech into flooded willow bushes to seal the deal. “You can’t go right in on top of the fish,” Klopak cautions, “or you’ll spook them. You have to stay back and pitch the jig.”

Although it doesn’t matter what colour jig you start fishing with, Klopak says it’s important to regularly change hues. “I might catch 10 walleye right away using a chartreuse jig,” he says, “but when the action slows down I’ll change to a green or a red or a multicoloured one, and it’ll pick up again. Eventually, I’ll go back to chartreuse.”

Having lively bait is also vital. Klopak calls himself “crazy” in his frenetic search for the freshest, liveliest bait. And to prove the point, he rhymes off one top finish and big-fish prize after the other that has resulted from his passion for vivacious bait.

Something else that Klopak is certain about: If you want to catch a double-digit walleye in Lake of the Prairies, forget about looking for secret spots harbouring one or two monsters. Instead, search through the scores of slightly smaller fish. “If you get on a school of 24- to 26-inch walleye, you may catch as many as 50 fish before you hit a 28- or 30-incher,” he says. “I’ve weeded through far more walleye than that a number of times.”

According to Klopak, the best place to launch a boat is at the dam at the south end of the reservoir. But remember, Lake of the Prairies is part of a river system and it can muddy up after a heavy rain, so it pays to search for clear water. Klopak recalls winning the Prairie Classic two years ago because he and his partner, his son Stephen, fished a transition where the muddy water cleared. “The walleye were relating to the clear-water edge and that’s where we pitched our jigs,” he says. “There wasn’t another person fishing within sight of us.”

Bet that won’t be the case this year.