This summer drop a line in Souris River

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/07/2022 (1360 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A recent fishing adventure to Rafferty Reservoir in southern Saskatchewan brought back a ton of family memories. My dad had grown up next to the Souris River Valley near Margaret, here in Manitoba. In the summer we made many family camping trips to the area to enjoy this beautiful valley. When I reached teenage years, he and I would head to hunt ducks and upland game in the area. Unfortunately, he didn’t really like to fish, so there was only one time when we tried our luck.

Since that time, I have paid little attention to the Souris River, never realizing how important it was to this part of the world.

If you look on the Souris River drainage basin map you will see the river starts just north of Weyburn, then heads south through the U.S, past Minot, then east and back up to Manitoba. It enters the province again in the southwestern corner to finally meet up with the Assiniboine River, just east of Wawanesa.

There are two dams along the river, and the Rafferty Dam was built on the Souris River and completed in 1991 to help flood control of the basin. It didn’t take long for the reservoir to fill and it now stretches for 50 kilometres.

In 1997 I was invited out to do a couple episodes of my TV show, The Complete Angler. I was amazed how good the fishing was with plenty of nice sized walleye everywhere. Since that time the reservoir has gone through some changes with some down years.

According to Rafferty guide Ralph Smart in recent years the walleye, pike and perch populations have once again exploded. He attributes this to the addition of new weed growth in many sections of the lake. Ralph recently received a guiding license on the reservoir. He then purchased the store at Main Prize Park, which is halfway between Weyburn and Estevan. Ralph needed a home base for his guide business, called Prairie Pro Outfitters, and this was the perfect spot with a marina and good boat launch.

He grew up on a farm near Waskada, Manitoba. He took over the family farm and after 25 years on the land he decided to sell. Since then, he has done a variety of projects. He still loves to play and watch baseball, having been a pitcher on the Canadian National team for two years

He also has a passion for tournament fishing and now lives in Estevan with his family. During the winter he spends his time doing some outstanding taxidermy work.

Friend Kevin Stobbe and I were invited down last weekend to fish with Ralph for a couple of days. We were certainly not disappointed by the fishing. The walleye and pike action was nonstop. The fish were holding along the new vegetation, feeding on the abundant bait fish that were holding there. Ralph has top of the line equipment and we fished out of a 21-foot Nitro fiberglass boat. All our fish were caught on a jig. When the fish were active, we used a ¼ ounce jig with a plastic swimbait. When the action slowed, we added a frozen shiner.

We found the most active walleye in three metres of water on a shallow rock reef that had some scattered weed growth.

I would compare Rafferty to the Lake of the Prairies as far as fishing goes. Main Prize Park also has accommodations available and a links style golf course.

There is also some excellent walleye and pike fishing in certain sections of the Souris River in Manitoba. In the summertime, the walleye will move to the deeper holes in the river. They also love to find moving water, holding on the current breaks.

Many sections of the river are shallow so fishing from shore is the only way to go. Keep moving, fish the pockets and riffles with a swimbait until you find fish. There is a resident population of big walleye in the river that never see a lure.

You will also be surprised by the outstanding scenery and abundant wildlife that lives by this overlooked river.

Anglers Notes:

Water levels continue to be high and dirty in many areas of the province and the fishing has slowed somewhat on Lake Winnipeg for walleye. There are still fish being caught in the seven-metre range but they are a bit more scattered.

Some of the hottest fishing has been for freshwater drum in Delta Marsh and the Whitemud River. Some absolute tanks have been caught. This also includes carp and big mouth buffalo.

On the mighty Red, it is possible to fish out of a boat and the big catfish are raring to go!

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