| Keszler keeps pounding the walleye |
| By craig Stapon |
| The Garry Roach Pro-Am walleye tournament was won by Winnipeg angler, Alex Keszler. He weighed in a two-day total of just more than 40 pounds. Keszler is one of the top anglers in the province and can be seen fishing his huge Lund Energizer boat on Lake of the Woods. Keszler's $10,000 first prize will go a long way to paying entry fees to more tournaments. The top amateur prize of $4,000 went to local restaurant manager Jean-Louis Danguy of 529 Wellington fame. The only boat to beat his weight was Keszler's. Thanks to Danguy for putting me up at his cabin for the weekend. I enjoyed my visit and unbelievable eats everyday. I should have placed no worse than fourth, however I was disqualified as one of the fish I weighed in appeared to be a hair longer than 18 inches. Ricky Loeb placed fifth with a weight of just over 30 pounds. Archie from Minaki placed a solid second. This old-timer can fish with the best and proved it once again. This past week I had the opportunity to guide Roland from Reno, Nev., for muskie. This guy is truly a world-class fly fisherman. He had three takes on the fly. We saw several big muskie each day with the biggest being more than 50 pounds. The big fish population is in excellent shape. I have boated more muskie this year than ever before. The count is at 38 this year and I am hoping to beat my record of 83. The big fish are relating to rock piles, sunken islands and cabbage beds. We raised four different muskie in a 25-yard cabbage bed ranging in size from 16 to 40 pounds. The key baits have been the Jake, Bull Dawg, Crazy Crippler and Bucher Jointed Minnow. Walleye fishing is in high gear and several large fish have been taken on mid-lake humps. Bob Lederman and Lance Denson reported that an eight-pound walleye took both their baits while Lindy rigging. Imagine their surprise when they boated the fish and found both hooks set in the mouth. Just goes to prove that these big boys love Manny's Fat Boys. And yes, worms continue to do the job. Leeches are also working, but they seem to be in short supply everywhere. Reef fishing is producing results. Thanks to the fella in the Lund that lent me a marker buoy on Sunday, it sure made my day. Vaughan Ratti and I caught and released more than 50 walleye in the three to six pound class on Sunday. We were not so lucky on Saturday when we were lake trout fishing. We only managed to scare up two in hours of fishing. The biggest hit a spoon at 100 feet in front of 3 Sisters Island by Sioux Narrows. It tipped the scale at 16 pounds. Update: Pinawa -- Mooneye bite is on. No. 6 hook, crawler and a bobber is the ticket. Cedar Lake -- Big wind, big fish. Neil Glasser reports several walleye on the prowl. Clear Lake -- Big pike are on. Fish the sunken weedbed in the lake. Use a shallow runner Rapala Shad. Falcon -- Mr. Falcon Lake, Roy Howie says fish two to three feet off the bottom for those big walleye. The horns are on! Red River -- Good fishing, use for frogs for cats. Until next week, keep your lines tight! |
| August 30, 2003 |