Manitoba’s New Largemouth Regulations – Good or Bad?

With the release of the2026 Angler’s Guide (which I highly recommend you read), the most notable thing that stands out is that largemouth bass can be kept province wide with the exception of certain bodies of water. It caused a bit of discussion within the Manitoba angling community and has even made the news outside the Manitoba angling community. I have personally fished for largemouth a few times and I thought I would throw in my two cents regarding these regulations. Some of you may disagree and you are free to do so.

The Regulations

For the most part it’s pretty straightforward. The only protected lake is Mary Jane Reservoir while Hunt Lake is aiming for an extermination policy. Reynolds Ponds has some tighter restrictions.

The History of Largemouth Bass in Manitoba

Largemouth bass are not native to Manitoba but as far as I could remember, it was a catchable species and eligible for the master angler program. They aren’t widespread due to our cold climate. Limit on them was zero. When I tried for the master angler program, largemouth were an enigma compared to most species. They have been introduced to some bodies of water but the only main fisheries were Mary Jane Reservoir and Barren Lake. I guess the Manitoba portion of Shoal Lake somewhat counts. Without a boat, it was going to be a challenge to figure them out.

There were also the gravel pits of Lafarge Pits and Reynolds Ponds which at the time I started fishing were rumoured to have master angler largemouth but seemed like an enigma. These are very clear pits and our knowledge of bass wasn’t so great. Though it was close to Winnipeg so we could afford to spend many outings there until we started to catch big largemouth. These largemouth likely grew fat on a diet of stocked trout. Though eventually those fisheries somewhat declined from pressure and all those crazy hillbilly campers who would actually illegally keep largemouth. There was even the incident where a spear fisherman was illegally spearing largemouth. I stopped going to those pits years ago as it was way too much of a free for all.

Gradually there have been introductions of largemouth to other fisheries. A largemouth was caught in Falcon Lake. Largemouth were eventually found in Hunt Lake which is a stocked trout lake. I suppose there were growing concerns that largemouth were spreading via illegal stocking and there was a motion to start curbing their spread.

What the Regulations Will Actually Do

If I’m going to be completely honest, I don’t think regulations will do a whole lot to eliminate bass and slow their spread. There are many people, myself included, who see largemouth as a sport fish that should be preserved and there is not a whole lot of perceived table-fare for these fish. We like catching them without having to travel all the way to Ontario, which doesn’t allow for us to get our Master Angler Award pins anyways. I personally don’t see reasons for myself to keep a largemouth unless it was mortally wounded.

The regulations on Reynolds Ponds is interesting as there is somewhat of an attempt to preserve the fishery. I think it can only work with law enforcement. While the spear fishing incident was a notable event of largemouth being kept, it’s likely it’s not the only time. People there camp there for free and they tend to not be the most law abiding people. Some people may be reigned in with the threat of fines but if you ever visit that area, you probably would think most people will not care. Perhaps if they can find a way to eliminate the crazy campers, there might be a chance for the fishery to flourish. It’s sort of nice to have a fishery where people can catch them from shore, just like I did years ago.

Hunt Lake is going for an extermination policy. As the largemouth there are fairly new, it’s hard to say what will happen to the bass in the future. Hunt Lake is a stocked trout lake that has not been doing extremely well in recent years with tiny perch competing with the trout. My speculation is that without a good reason to fish the lake, anglers will likely not flock there in masses. Ironically, there may be more anglers who would like to try it out if there was a good largemouth fishery. I’m sure some largemouth will be taken but the largemouth are there to stay.

The Future

This is mostly speculation based on current trends but I think we’ll see them spread further. Lots of bait bucket biologists are taking Ontario bass and illegally stocking other bodies of water. With how connected most Whiteshell lakes are, we could see them in other lakes. It happened with smallmouth and crappies so it’s not impossible for them to move around.

People will largely not regard largemouth as a food fish, especially with the easy availability of other tastier fish like walleye, perch and pike. I can’t see people (aside from the Reynolds hillbillies) really keeping them often. Perhaps a bounty system could help but it would have to be a pretty good incentive.

So far every introduced species has never really been exterminated so I think we’re going to need to live with them. Perhaps it’s not too bad though I’m not a biologist so I don’t know everything. I’m just a guy who likes to fish a lot.