Lure choices for Lake Winnipeg are often bigger and bolder than anything you’ll use on inland water, especially in the States. Loud rattle baits like Rippin’ Raps and Live Targets, or big flutter spoons tipped with a full minnow, are some of the most popular options. If the bite is off a little bit, a pinhead minnow can also work. Glide baits like the Tikka Mino can be great as well.
When you’re fishing in Manitoba, you have to remember to pinch down the barbs due to the barbless hook requirement. Because of this, it’s good practice to upsize the hooks on any of these lures, especially in shallow water to help keep the fish pinned up.
When you’re tipping your lures with bait on Lake Winnipeg, especially spoons, use the whole minnow. The idea is to use big profiles and fish them aggressively. The jigging cadence on Winnipeg is a lot wilder and more aggressive to catch these fish considering that they are always on the move wandering across the abyss of this big water and they can’t be timid to get a meal with so much competition and large predators.
Fishing big, bold, and aggressively is usually the key to catching more fish on Lake Winnipeg.
