I cannot think of a better time to be on the ice than March. Most people are getting ready for the open water season, while I and fellow ice heads are searching for the last fishable ice. Sometimes it takes a bit of traveling, such as this case up to Lake Winnipeg in search of Greenbacks…aka Lake Winnipeg walleyes. To some this statement says it all yet to others I might as well be speaking a foreign language. Walleye fishing on the 10th largest fresh water lake in the world may be a bit intimidating but come March these walleyes are predictable as a nasty winter storm rolling through the Midwest. Just like in every other body of water these walleyes are staging to prepare for the spawn and finding that route makes for a very fun ice fishing adventure.
We were greeted with approximately four (4) feet of ice so extensions were a must to get through; we targeted shallow water flats adjacent to those rivers where the walleyes are staging. Shallow flats being about 8-9 feet of water, so that means we only had about 4-5 feet of fishable water! With little fishable water means you need to call these roaming fish into the area; baits of choice were BfishN B3 Blade baits in the ¼ oz size. An aggressive short jigging stroke was all it took to entice these Greenbacks. Marcums were used but some people in the group chose not to use them as the cone angle was super small only fishing in basically 4 feet of water, they were used when we moved to check depth and then most people turned them off. I was using my LX-5 and most of the time I never even seen the fish on the flasher, they were coming in and hitting so quickly and so aggressively it reminding me of fishing many years ago before fishing with a flasher. Once again Thorne Bros rods spooled with 8lb mono were the ticket to landing these greenbacks. The fast action tips of the perch sweeheart or walleye sweetheart was key to fighting and landing these fish in the shallow water.
Lake Winnipeg walleyes are something that everyone should have on their bucket list for sure; these pictures do not do these fish justice. They are freaks, huge belly’s, tremendous coloring, and most important they taste phenomenal. So how does one go about getting started on Lake Winnipeg? I suggest hiring a guide to get you acclimated with this lake, therefore I highly recommend Lee Nolden whom is a local guide and ice fishes Lake Winnipeg almost every day of the season. He is on top of the bite and also is a great stick. Lee can be contacted at [email protected] or 204-485-4691. So I owe Lee a big thanks for helping me organize the timing of the trip…..Thanks Lee.
This will likely be my last ice fishing report unless the weather stays cooler, with that being said I would say the 2010-2011 ice season unfortunately is over for this guy. Here is to a great 2010-2011 ice season, unfortunately it’s time to break out the long rods. Til next time!!!
Well done Calvin. Another great report! Those are some great looking fish.
few more shots
What a blast Cal !!!
That sounds like a blast !!
With a trip like this…Lots of travel…so what form of travel on the ice ? Is a wheeler or snowmobile needed ?
It was snowmobiles only for our group of 13. wheelers were getting stuck as were trucks. I will add a few more pics.
Great job Guys!
Awesome fish guys! Those big-shallow fish sure are fun aren’t they? You set the hook and there they are, but you better have that drag set right because they sure do have energy! Sounds like a fun trip
Awesome fish guys! Those big-shallow fish sure are fun aren’t they? You set the hook and there they are, but you better have that drag set right because they sure do have energy! Sounds like a fun trip
What a GREAT trip Cal. Thanks. We caught some awesome fish, had some great laughs, ate great and had a few cocktails.
Thanks again. 
Dad
Nice job fellows!
Sounds like a good time for sure!
As far as numbers of fish and average size goes… this is the best ice walleye trip I’ve ever been on. The last afternoon we were there was awesome. No super bruisers but a winter’s worth of 3 – 6 lb walleyes in shallow water.
I’ll never miss a march up there again. Thanks for having Mark and I along, Cal.
Cal, I can chip in for gas next year
Great job!!!
AWESOME CAL!!! What a great trip boys!! Congratulations on all the fantastic fish. Catching fish of that magnitude in shallow water would be a blast. I can’t imagine literally……HOW GREEN those big fish must have been at a hook set!!
U……..DA……….MAN!! 
It makes fishing a lot easier with a big group of guys, its cool to see a school of walleyes working through a large group and you can certainly tell when the school has moved. I am getting better at planning big fishing events, so yes more people makes for a great time on the ice.
Can I chip in for gas and go with next year….I’m sure you don’t care who chips in for gas
Those are some tankers, great read and pics
Great fish and report Calvin
I still can’t believe the color’s on these fish.Thanks for putting this trip together Cal had a great time.
Tip of the hat to the group of guys that went along eveyone pitched in! Weather it was something that needed to be done or some BS!! CHEERS
I’m glad everything worked out for you and your crew Calvin.
Lee
Great report and pics guys…. just had a group of buddies from SD get back from there last weekend and they had pretty much the same to say as what you just posted. They said fish were shallow and the bite was on. They fished 3 days with 5 guys and landed 85 eyes. I think they had 9 fish over 28″ with the biggest 2 going right at 12lbs. They said all the fish were really fat and healthy…. saying 1 19″ fish weighted in at 4.3lbs. They also found all their fish in shallow water as you guys mentioned above. I heard there was 50″ of ice in places as well. Looks like that will have to be added on the “to do” list!
Layne Monroe
Wow what that looks like fun. James was in a sweatshirt. Must have been relatively warm!
What a report! Love the photography especially, and thanks for taking the time to describe some of the details. Looks like a blast.
Joel
Nice catch Calvin , its a great big catch for an ice blast. Good luck for some other post….