Shore Fishing in Winnipeg

Recently with the heat of the summer and the mounting costs of repairs to the boat, I had to find new ways to sustain my need to fish. After some scouting around in my neighborhood, I was able to find a nice bit of shoreline to fish. After only five minutes, my rod was nearly yanked into the river. After a long fight, I was able to bring in a master angler carp which I spent so much time looking for. All that was only a two minute drive from my house.

The City of Winnipeg has a bunch of hidden gems yet is unpopular. I have yet to explore the whole city’s secrets but I will consider doing more city fishing in the future. In this article I will explain why you should fish in the city, where you can fish and how to fish it.

Why You Should Fish in Winnipeg

For a city, there is a good amount of public waterfront. With two major rivers, creeks and man made lakes, you should rarely have problems finding a place where you can fish. Despite being the population centre of Manitoba, it’s relatively unfished. There are some places that have a bit more traffic than others but I never really had too much competition for shore space unlike places like Lockport. As a bonus, many of the public parks actually have fish around. I wouldn’t say it’s spectacular but there is a good chance someone will catch something.

The main reason though is really the cost for a city dweller. Gas is expensive and will continue to get more expensive. Chances are if you live in the city, you can get a fishing spot within 15 minutes. Plus not needing a boat means you don’t have much to prepare for a quick outing.

In general, sometimes fishing is a good thing to do to de-stress yourself. I personally do things like playing piano or watching shows but recently I started incorporating small fishing trips. It’s pretty great that I can just decide to fish and have a line out in a matter of minutes. Work is stressful and sometimes we can’t wait for the weekend to fish.

In the city, there are many passerbys when fishing so there’s a good chance you can engage in some conversations. Especially in the Forks where there are tons of people to admire your catch. It’s a benefit that isn’t apparent at first but it does make your outing a bit better.

I suppose the only downside is that you have to pick good areas to fish. This is the city after all and there will be sketchy people in some areas. Though there should be plenty of safe areas to fish. Best to use common sense or fish with others.

Where to Fish

The Rivers

Winnipeg, being the junction of two major Manitoban rivers will undoubtedly have good fishing opportunities. The Red and Assiniboine Rivers are world class fisheries. Even though Winnipeg wouldn’t be considered the prime stretches, it’s still very good. Even in the worst case scenario, there likely is some sort of creature that will eat a worm on the bottom of the river.

The rivers are home to many species. There are chances for walleye, sauger, drum, suckers, goldeye, carp, bullheads, stonecats, northern pike, catfish and sturgeon. Probably some others that I’m missing. The rivers are full of these fish and no matter where you are chances are something will be in the area to inspect your bait. You never really know what could be on your line next which makes city fishing exciting.

During high water times though the rivers can be harder to fish with increased current and spots not being viable due to water levels. This is where the next sections will come in handy.

The Streams

With the big rivers, it can be easy to forget that Winnipeg has multiple little streams that feed into the big rivers. There is the saying that big water = big fish but this is not completely true. The smaller bodies of water have their place and time where fishing can be good. Winnipeg has some small rivers like the Seine, Sturgeon and La Salle but also some tiny creeks like Omands, Truro, Bunns and Beaujoulais.

In the high waters of spring, many species of fish need to spawn and they will do so in shallow and calm water. Even tiny creeks will be backed up by the high water and fish will follow. Even after spring, these small bodies of water are still viable. One time, I met a fly fisherman who caught a nearly master angler channel catfish in the La Salle River where the deepest point was knee deep in the middle of summer. I will say by summer, the rivers tend to outproduce the creeks due to sheer numbers of fish but maybe you live near a creek and just want to get out quickly.

Retention Ponds

I have a habit of wanting to explore wacky bodies of water so I’ve spent some time in these retention ponds. They might be a bit unpleasant with all the pollution and goose crap but they are worth a shot at times.

Like the streams, fish may migrate to these ponds during the high water season. I enjoy pike fishing in these ponds in April assuming water levels are high enough. Later in the spring, you probably want to focus your efforts on carp and bullhead. They are considered trash fish by many but if you want a tug on the line, they will give you your fix. It is unlikely these fish will survive the winter due to low oxygen but there are some ponds where the fish survive. I found a goldfish pond where the wild goldfish seem to have thrived for years.

I would probably stay away from the ponds in mid summer. Generally the vegetation gets too thick to fish.

Fort Whyte Alive

This is essentially a category of its own. Fort Whyte Alive has multiple man made lakes that contain pike, walleye, perch and carp.

I would say that if you’re looking for that outdoors feel without having to leave the city, Fort Whyte is for you. It truly does feel like you went on a getaway to nature. Plus there are other things to do should the non-fishers with you get bored. You can see bison, the fish tank and a bunch of waterfowl.

For more information on Fort Whyte’s fishing, check out their website. They have their own regulations and admission fees.

Tackle for the City

I’ll mostly be talking about the rivers since those tend to the primary fisheries in the province.

Since the city waters are murky, most fish rely on scent. As much as I dislike it, the pickerel rig is the most versatile rig for this. Make sure you use enough weight to prevent the rig from rolling into rocks. I like baiting my hooks with worms since most fish love them.

In June, goldeyes get very plentiful. If you find a concentration of goldeye, typically a bobber rig with a tiny hook and worm is the way to go. Cast upstream and let it drift. If you don’t get a bite after a few drifts, you should consider moving somewhere else.

If you are very ambitious, you can use a catfish rig which is a slip sinker rig with a circle hook and big no-roll sinker. Bait with a chunk of goldeye, sucker or a frog. Even though it’s not Lockport, there is still a chance of a big catfish in the city rivers.

If you are going purely for carp, I would suggest looking into hair rigs with canned corn you can buy at the store. Carp are a unique fish that require a special presentation.

Get Out There!

If you are considering fishing in the city limits for the first time, you might want to start packing and heading over to the nearest waterfront park. The fishing may not be world class but it’s just so easy to get to and you should hook into something. Perhaps you will discover some hidden gems within Winnipeg’s waters. Worst case scenario, you’ve spent very little gas money and got to relax a bit.