Walleye (pickerel)
Excellent
The fall bite: fish move to the rock and the river mouths; jigs and minnows, stickbaits at night.
Lake Winnipeg Fishing Report
Updated Fri, Sep 25, 2026 from live weather and water data
Lake Winnipeg at Gimli: greenback walleye, pike and perch in one of the world’s largest lakes, famous for its ice fishing, with a live level gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
217.66 m
Air / High
15 °C / 19 °C
Wind
S 11 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 05SB006, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake Winnipeg is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. The gauge reads 217.66 m, up 0.14 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 19 °C. Water sits around 16 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Good
The fall feed: big swimbaits and spoons in the shallows where the baitfish gather.
Tie on: Float and roe · Swung fly through the tailout · Jerkbait, long pauses · Hair jig on the rock. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 17 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Manitoba requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$13.65. Manitoba fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing walleye (pickerel) here? Check the size and bag limits with Manitoba before you keep anything; the Walleye (pickerel) page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Lake Winnipeg today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (07:19), sunset (19:19), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 05SB006 (LAKE WINNIPEG AT GIMLI).
Lake level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 05SB006. Latest reading 2026-09-25 06:20.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low19 °C / 14 °C
WindS 11 km/h, gusts 23 km/h
Pressure102.18 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:19 / 19:19
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~16 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake Winnipeg
The best day on Lake Winnipeg this week looks like Tuesday Sep 29, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Tuesday, Sep 29 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Sep 25 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 07:19 to 19:19
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake Winnipeg: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Walleye (pickerel)
Spring opener to fall, and the ice
Called pickerel in much of Ontario and Manitoba. The fish of Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, Lake Diefenbaker, Tobin Lake, Lake Erie and the Bay of Quinte. Most zones close in spring for the spawn. The fall bite: fish move to the rock and the river mouths; jigs and minnows, stickbaits at night.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Spring, fall and the ice
Called jackfish on the prairies. Found in almost every lake and slow river from Ontario to Alberta; big fish in the cold, deep lakes. The fall feed: big swimbaits and spoons in the shallows where the baitfish gather.
Yellow perch
Year-round; the ice season at Lake Simcoe and Long Point
The ice-fishing fish of Lake Simcoe, Long Point Bay and Lake St. Clair, and a summer staple on every Great Lakes shore. Schools move constantly. Schools tighten on the deeper flats; bait near the bottom.
When to come: the Lake Winnipeg calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye (pickerel)
Northern pike (jackfish)
Yellow perch
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 16 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Winnipeg today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at excellent. High of 18 °C, wind to 29 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Manitoba angling licence, from C$13.65 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by Manitoba and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Manitoba licence page before you keep anything.
Access
A Manitoba angling licence is needed, except for exempt Manitoba residents; our Manitoba licence page has the fees, and the rules are linked below..
About this water
Lake Winnipeg is a lake in Manitoba, Canada, covered from the Manitoba reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Lake Winnipeg: the full guide
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is one of the largest lakes in the world, stretching more than four hundred kilometres north from the Red River’s mouth into the boreal forest, with Gimli, Winnipeg Beach and Victoria Beach on the southern basin within an hour of Winnipeg. Its walleye, known as greenbacks for their colour, are famous among ice anglers. The Water Survey of Canada gauge at Gimli supplies the lake level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Walleye and sauger are the main fish, with northern pike, yellow perch, channel catfish near the river mouths and lake whitefish; the southern basin is fished through the ice from winter into March. The Manitoba anglers’ guide sets the limits for the lake.
Where to fish it
In winter, ice anglers travel out from Gimli, Riverton and the south basin beaches to the walleye grounds; in open water, the harbours and the mouths of the Red and Winnipeg rivers are fished from boats. The lake is huge and shallow, and storms raise big waves quickly. The lake is split into a shallow south basin and a much larger, deeper north basin, joined at the narrows by Hecla Island, part of Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park.
Planning a visit
Gimli, the historic Icelandic town on the west shore, is about an hour north of Winnipeg, with a harbour and services. Ice travel on Lake Winnipeg is serious: go with experience or an outfitter.
Ice and seasons
The lake freezes in early winter and the ice season runs into March; no agency certifies the ice, and pressure ridges and open leads form on the big lake. Open water brings the walleye season in spring.
Reading this report here
The gauge at Gimli shows the lake level, which changes with wind setup as well as with inflow; the chart shows the last 30 days. Pressure and sky build the score.
Licence, access and rules
A Manitoba angling licence is needed, except for exempt Manitoba residents; our Manitoba licence page has the fees, and the rules are linked below.
Common questions
What is a greenback walleye?
The name for Lake Winnipeg’s walleye, known for their greenish colour and size.
Where do people ice fish on Lake Winnipeg?
Out from Gimli, Riverton and the south basin beaches, from winter into March.
Is the Lake Winnipeg ice safe?
No agency certifies it; pressure ridges and open leads form on the big lake.
Is fishing good at Lake Winnipeg right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Water level and flow readings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 05SB006 — LAKE WINNIPEG AT GIMLI
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Fish stocking
- Manitoba fish stocking report
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.