Waters of the giant walleye

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/08/2003 (8255 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CROSS BAY is legendary among many walleye anglers in Manitoba, but lodge owners don’t publicize the fishery; nor do the anglers who head up there every year.

A couple of weeks ago I made my first trip to this fishery in quite some time, an event I had been planning for the past two years. As I drove the 400 kilometres north on Highway 6 from Winnipeg to the town of Grand Rapids, memories came flooding back of one my first fishing trips to this area in 1984.

Camped on the shores of the Saskatchewan River below the massive Grand Rapids Generating Station, I remember tremendous walleye fishing from a run of fish that came in off of Lake Winnipeg; attracted by the current flow generated from dam itself.

This past June, the walleye run in this river was as strong as ever, matching the fishing of 20 years ago.

Built between 1960 and 1968, this huge structure was the first major hydroelectric project in Northern Manitoba and is the only dam on the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba.

The fourth largest river in Canada, the Saskatchewan derives its name from the Cree word Kisiskatchewan meaning swift current. The river’s origin is in the Rocky Mountains. It flows for more than 1,900 kilometres before it enters Lake Winnipeg at Grand Rapids, draining an area of almost 340,000 square kilometres.

Grand Rapids was for many years the gateway to the vast northwest region, part of the water highway that took explorers, fur traders and settlers past this very difficult set of rapids as they headed west up the Saskatchewan River

In 1877 the Hudson’s Bay Co. built a tramway to move horse-drawn cargo cars from below to above the rapids. Vestiges of that tramway can still be seen along the river as you head up towards the dam.

A series of natural waterfalls along this stretch of river that formed a total drop of 35.6 metres made Grand Rapids the logical spot to put the dam.

Alexander Mackenzie first travelled this route in July 1793. His journal described the area as abundant with wildlife and its waters rich with fish, especially sturgeon.

As the dam was built, a large reservoir was created upstream at Cedar Lake. The water level was raised 3.5 metres, flooding a large tract of land covering an area of close to 3,500 kilometres.

Cross Bay is on the east end of the lake where the reservoir drains into Lake Winnipeg. It is closed to commercial fishing activity and produces huge walleye and pike.

A few years ago conservation officers found an illegal net on the far end of Cross Bay. As they lifted it, Manitoba Conservation fisheries technician Walt Lysack documented the fish caught in the net. Lysack, who has been test netting the lake since 1979, says the smallest walleye weighed in at 5.4 kilograms, the largest almost seven kilograms.

As we pulled into the community of Grand Rapids we turned right along the river and pulled into the Pine Grove Cabins just up from the shore of the Saskatchewan River. Gary Hobbs and his family run this operation, a place where fisherman headquarter.

Hobbs says his clientele is made up of anglers from across North America, many whom have been coming to stay at his cabins for years. Most will make the 15-kilometre trek from town up to his dad and brothers’ other resort located on the shores of Cross Bay itself.

Hobbs’ son, T.J., is an avid fisherman and last fall he witnessed a walleye that still has a lot of people shaking their heads.

T.J and a friend were contracted to remove fish guts from area resorts. As they headed up a short distance from his dad’s place to Hillside Resort, they ran into a group of bear hunters from South Dakota who had also been doing some fishing on Cross Bay.

One of the hunters told T.J. to check out the cheeks he had just removed from a huge walleye. T.J. said the cheeks were so big they looked like small plates.

He then dug the carcass of the walleye out of the fish barrel and measured it with his friend as a witness. T.J swears the fish was more than 100 centimetres, by far the biggest walleye he had ever seen in his life.

Lysack said by using a conversion chart and given the growth rate of fish in Cedar Lake and Cross Bay, the walleye could have weighed more than 11 kilograms. A walleye that big is not farfetched in these waters, he said. It nearly matches the huge pike that was commercially caught on Cedar Lake a few years ago: Biologists estimated it was more than 166 centimetres in length.

T.J. never kept the carcass of the huge walleye, a fact many of the lodge operators in the area rue. Lysack said the walleye in Cedar have the second highest growth rate in Manitoba. A 43-54 centimetre walleye would be about eight years old and weigh 2-2.5 kilograms.

Part of the reason the fish grow so fast is the size and abundance of forage in this huge reservoir. Lysack said there are tullibee that are more than 35 centimetres in length. Anglers mistake them for whitefish. The walleyes have suckers and perch to feast on as well as spot tail shiners.

Next week, more of my experience at Cross Bay.

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Anglers Notes: Crappie fishing has been tremendous on Lake Minnewasta at Morden and Caddy Lake in the Whiteshell. Catfishing remains strong on the Red River, especially early and late in the day with the hot weather. Some greenback walleye are also being caught in the Red at Lockport by catfish anglers.

dlamont@mts.net

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