Trophy Pike Fishing in Canada When you want to catch big Northern pike, you've gotta go pike fishing in Canada, and the heart of Canada is Manitoba. Manitoba has a huge reputation for producing big Northern pike. With barbless hooks being provincial law since the summer of 1990 and the province's promotion of catch and release being second to none, it's no wonder the fishing just keeps getting better.
Dunlop's Fly-In Fishing Lodge & Outposts is where several 50"+ monster Northern Pike have been caught! We produce hundreds of 41"+ Trophy Northern Pike every year.
The Northern Pike is the most sought-after game fish in this part of the country. With their great strength, they can provide one thrill of a fight, many times ripping apart lures, leaders, line and occasionally even rods and reels get blown apart. The ability to sight-fish these huge Northern pike in shallow water and being able to see the strike on your lure is truly the most exciting part.
Lake Waskaiowaka has no shortage of trophy Northern pike. Here, every time you step into the boat, you have a realistic chance of catching a true trophy fish. In Manitoba, the minimum requirement to qualify a Northern pike in the Master Angler Program is to catch one at least 41 inches in length. At Dunlop's Lodge, we consistently catch Northern pike well over the required length. Every day, there are pike caught that range 42" to 46", even a few 50+" monster Northern pike were caught and released back into the water.
Trophy Pike Fishing Tips1) When casting for pike, keep your eyes on or behind your lure and your lure in the water all the way up to the boat. In the 16 years I've been guiding for pike, I've seen many people lose or miss big fish because they were not paying attention. Pike love to follow, many times striking only a few feet from the boat.
2) Polarized sunglasses, yes that's it. Don't come pike fishing up here without them. These glasses take the glare off the top of the water allowing you to see into the water a lot better. Without them, you miss half of the action as pike tend to follow and often strike within your sight. With polarized glasses you will be able to see the follows better as well as which pike to cast at when you're in a shallow bay full of fish. You will catch more fish and be a better fisherman. As a professional pike fishing guide these kind of glasses are a very important tool, and I would not be as successful without them.
3) The pike fishing tip is pretty simple but very important - keep your hooks sharp. A good sharpening tool should be in your tackle box all the time. The sharper your hooks are the more fish you will catch. It will also be a lot easer to set the hook which puts a lot less stress on your fishing line and rod.
4) Quite often, when sight-fishing for pike you get to see the fish before you cast. When this happens, throw your lure past the fish and when your lure is coming by the pike keep your eyes on the fish to see what the fish's response is. The way it responds plays a big part in how to work your lure. For example, if the fish points straight at the lure and only comes in slow, stop retreating, let the lure drop to the bottom and give it a few twitches. Keep trying different techniques (i.e. changing speeds, action, twitching, S) until the pike starts coming in fast on the lure. When this happens don't stop doing whatever it was that turned the pike onto your lure.
5) Looking for a good pike fishing rod can be a lot of fun and can alsobe a little confusing at times. There are so many different kinds, makes,and sizes to pick from. Which one is the best? Well, you want to match the rod to the size of fish you're going to catch. If you're coming fishing with us, you're going to catch a lot of big pike, so when picking up your rod for the trip you want to make sure of a few things first.
· Medium to heavy with a good back bone. To check the back bone you hold the rod by the handle firmly with one hand and with your other hand push down on the rod between the handle and the first eyelet. It should be solid with only a little bend in it, if it is easy to bend and very flexible at this part I would leave this rod on the shelf.
· The more eyelets the better. Most good rods have at least 7, however 9 or 10 is better.
· A good sensitive tip will help you feel things better.· And the length should be at least 6'6". The longer rods have a few advantages. One being, when the pike runs under the boat you can get the longer rod deeper in the water faster so your line doesn't rub along the bottom of the boat. I've seen hundreds of trophy pike lost because the line gets cut on the boat.
6) When you come fishing in July and August, you will spend some of your time fishing in cabbage weed beds. You can fish these weed beds with regular lures until they become too thick to fish. Then you would need weedless lures like the Johnson Minnow®. When you're going to be fishing these beds, you want to use a fishing rod and line that is a little heavier than you normally would use. Many times when you hook up with a big pike, it will take off under the weeds and turn. If you don't have the heavy equipment to keep the tension on the hook, your hook will come back with nothing but weeds. With a small rod and line it may feel like you have a lot of pressure on the fish but really the weeds will take up the pressure and the hook will become loose and easy for the pike to spit it. Your hook may also catch on the base of the weeds and get pulled out of the fish's mouth, potentially causing you to lose a trophy fish.
7) When you are fishing for the really big pike you need to have the proper sized hook on the back of your lure. This is very important as the wrong size hook can cause you to lose the fish of your dreams. You need a good sized hook that will catch the jawbone, or a larger part of the mouth. The smaller hook will only get a small piece of meat and many times tear the soft tissue when the pike takes a run.
8) Have the tools ready to use. It is essential to get the hook out as fast and as safely as possible to ensure the highest survival rate for the fish. Having the right tool to do a good job and having them ready to go isvery important. When you have a big pike on the line the other person in the boat can start to get things ready to use. Long needle-nose pliers, hook out, measuring tape, camera and the release cradle are the basics.
9) Keeping the fish alive? Once the fish is in the cradle, leave it in the water and have one person hold the cradle open as the other one removes the hook. Once this is done get the camera and make sure it is working before lifting the fish out of the water. After the picture has been taken put the fish back in the water as fast as you can. The fish might be a little tired after the fight and may need a little help to get its strength back. Make sure to take a few minutes to hold the fish upright in the water and move its tail side to side.
Also make sure to get enough water flowing through its gills until it takes off on its own. Most of the fish that die is caused by keeping them out of the water too long after a long fight and not spending the time to revive them. The rewards of seeing that big pikes swim away strong far outweigh the extra minute of fishing you might get by just throwing them back.
This is probably the most commonly-asked question people inquire about when looking at booking a trip for the first time. This is a good question as you are spending a lot of money and don't want to be disappointed with your trip. This far north you get spring fishing, summer fishing and fall fishing all in a three to four month period and the rest of the time the lake is frozen over. With such a short season, the fish are constantly on the move and the hotspots are changing every week.
This little guide might help you see what the fish are doing and what kind of fishing you can expect at different times of year.
As we motored out from the bay, I knew I was in for an adventure. Coming back to Dunlop’s always affords me the opportunities at monster Master Angler northern Pike. I always get excited about coming to the little Churchill River system. Few areas have the topography and forage base to continually produce big pike. Not just 40 inch fish but pike that routinely are caught in the mid to upper forty inch area and beyond. Lake Waskiowaka is one of those areas and Dunlop’s is the only lodge on the lake. With a short ten-week season and only 16 guests per week, this has become prime territory for my quest. Add to it that Jerry Dunlop’s guides know how to care for and release trophy pike to fight another day and continue to grow to be massive fish.
Story writen by Jim Crowley of MidWest Outdoors & www.hookandhunttv.com
You put all that together and you have the ingredients for my latest adventure. Stay with me on this one, it’s about to get real good!
I arrived at camp in the middle of August. Every year people ask me what the best time to come fish for big pike is. Some say June; some say September - here is what I say to all of you. Anytime is good as long as you educate yourself on the tools you’ll will need and pike habits according to where and when you will be fishing. To that I add that August is fast becoming a great time of year for me according to my records. Don’t let that time of year get in the way of your pursuit! We pulled up to a point within sight of the lodge and got ready for the day. You see, you will all be able to see what happened during this trip as accompanying me on this adventure was one of the Midwest Outdoors camera crew, Coulter Mitchell. Jerry Dunlop and I started fan casting a large weed bed off the side of a point that had wind blowing on it. If you’re taking notes, pike love wind! Jerry was throwing a Blue Fox Vibrex and I was throwing a new RAPALA SubWalk. Remember that, you’ll want one after this! The Sub-walk does what its name implies. The six inch lure, on a stout steel leader sinks horizontally and with twitches from the rod tip walks side to side. With a little practice, this bait will glide effortlessly and seductively through the water. On the third cast I made, I saw a large flash beneath the lure. A near miss, however, I was encouraged.
And then... I threw back to the same general area where the miss occurred. The rod surged forward and was almost ripped from my hand. The fish went deep and Jerry yelled, ”it’s pulling the front of the boat around!” This was a BIG fish and it came off! I don’t know what happened, the line just went slack. Ok, so a big fish comes off. I get over it and get back to casting. We come within 50 yards of the point and I decide to work the SubWalk a little deeper. I had one near miss and a big fish slash at the bait, get barely hooked and come off. Apparently I have the action they want, retrieve speed is good but need a minor adjustment. So I try a depth change of about a foot or so deeper on the retrieve. WHAM! “BIG fish” I yell as the rod doubles over and the braided line rips the grass up while the big fish peels line from my reel. I know a big pike when I feel one and I set again opposite the way the fish is headed. Driving those hooks in and making the fish fight my equipment, not me. It’s not over yet as the monster changes direction and tries to head under the boat. I leverage the rod in my gut and strain to head off the fish’s instinctive move. I get the fish to come around the front of the boat and that’s when I see the width of its back. This is no “hammer handle” - it’s the entire tool box! The big pike makes another hard run and as it goes by the side of the boat, I can’t see my lure. That is always a good sign as the massive fish engulfs the entire bait. Note to self, also the right color choice. The fish slows and is ten feet from the boat. I always watch the dorsal to the back tail of a big fish. That area moves first right before a big run. I watched and off she went into the weeds. I was ready and again turned my rod the opposite way of the run. This time, she came easily to the cradle and Jerry brought aboard the 46.5 inch pike for pictures and a quick release. My first fish of the trip. Welcome to Dunlop’s!
The next couple of days went the same way. Numerous Master Angler fish were caught during our short three-day stay by us as well as other guests of the lodge. The meals are delicious as Chef Jim Peters is excellent on choices as well as presentation. He is also a great walleye fisherman. In the past I have failed to mention the walleye fishing at Dunlop’s because of the amazing Pike fishing. So this time around, I’ll get right to the point. 30 walleyes up to 25” easily caught on three inch Storm swim baits in an hour between Chef Jim and me on a quick trip one night after dinner. Now back to the pike fishing, because it ain’t over yet!
During our final day of filming we were pursuing one last fish. (Aren’t we all?) So as we came into this “neck down” area located between two islands, the wind started to blow. That’s always encouraging due to the funneling effect that causes current between narrow areas. Jerry and I were again fan casting the expansive weed bed without lures of choice. Jerry had within the last hour caught another 42 inch Master Angler pike and our numbers of fish in that range and above were quite impressive for just three days of fishing. What was even more enjoyable was the even larger numbers of fish in the upper 30 inch range that I lost count of. We caught a lot of fish over 10 pounds. So anyway we each hooked a couple of decent size pike that we quickly released. I made a cast to the outside edge of the weed bed next to an open lane that separated one patch of weeds and another large area. I remember turning to talk to Jerry. I was working the before mentioned SubWalk with slight downward twitches of the rod. Suddenly I lost contact with the lure. No feeling at all. I reeled up line and nothing. I continued to reel and then noticed the slack line moving off to the side through the weeds. I frantically reeled and then felt pressure. I set the hook hard and the water exploded in teeth-filled fury! The big pike went crazy as weeds flew through the air. Its girth was impressive. The fish had inhaled the lure and swam toward the boat. Once contact was made the big pike let me know his displeasure. With a swipe of his tail, we were soaked and it headed under the boat, and then, I could no longer reel. The reel was in free spool and line was going out that I had no control of. It was chaotic! I thought the reel had broken, so I grabbed the braided line, not a good idea! But I merely kept pressure on the line and hand over hand got the fish closer to the boat. The pike was tiring, but I was weary of his strength. He swam boat side and I decided to try to land him. I tightened my grip on the line and turned him towards the net with a quick driving pull. Jerry was there with the cradle and we landed the massive fish without the luxury of Rod and reel!
After the chaos Jerry pointed out that the reel in fact did NOT break. Here is what happened: with the quick downward pull the pike made so close to the boat, my thumb rested on the thumb spool enough to disengage the spool without my knowing it. The reel worked fine, it was operator error! You will see all of it as it happened on an upcoming segment on the Midwest Outdoors television show and now you know the rest of the story.
I have stated before that Dunlop’s Fly-In Lodge and Outposts is the best destination for your honest shot at a Master Angler Pike and the fish of a lifetime. I not only stand by that statement, I have proven it to myself on numerous different occasions at different times of the year. A family-run resort with guests that continually leave and return as friends. No hype, no fly-outs, no added costs, just consistent fishing, great food and a wonderful place to spend your time with friends and/or family. You can easily contact Jerry and his family at www.dunlopfishing.com . They have different packages that range from secluded outposts to main lodge accommodations all of which offer great opportunities at Master Angler pike and plenty of walleye action. Dunlop’s Fly-In Lodge and Outposts without question gets better every year.
Jerry Dunlop, Lodge Owner/Operator
48 Bluebird Lane, La Broquerie West
Manitoba, Canada R0A 0W1
Office1-204-346 FISH (3474)
Cell 1-204-392-5437
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