Fall in the Interlake is the beginning of the best-kept secret. Fewer people, bigger & hungrier fish, and a landscape that has to be seen and experienced by all the senses to be believed.
In early October, somewhere between the last warm day of summer and the first frost of winter, the Interlake goes perfectly still. This quiet isn’t exactly a lack of noise; rather, it’s a feeling.
Not empty, alone, or closed. Just quiet.
The parking lots of Gimli Harbour that were full in July are now emptier. The boat launches along the Silver Harbour have no lineup. The trails through Spruce Sands are lined with a beautiful mixture of gold and red, and the only sound is wind and the crunch of leaves underfoot.
This is Interlake’s hidden season, and most people drive right past on their way to pack up for winter. But for those who know, this is when fishing and the outdoors come to life.
See, while the crowds might have left, the walleye and pike are still here. And they are hungrier than ever.
The Season Between Seasons
Fall fishing in Manitoba is widely considered one of the best fishing windows of the year. The water temperature has dropped, but walleye and northern pike shift into a pre-winter feeding frenzy to fatten up on bait and critters before the ice slows them down. The fish are heavier and more aggressive, but the best part about it is that they are stacked in predictable spots. Walleyes stay in deep structure while northern pike hang out in dying weedbeds and rocky points.
The Interlake lies between massive lake waters and is the ground zero for all of it.
However, here’s the thing about fall here: the fishing is only part of the story.
The colours, the sounds, the atmosphere. Golden and fiery red tree leaves turning the drive into something out of a painting. It’s also the cold, comforting air coupled with the stillness of a morning on the water when the lake goes glass-calm. And sometimes the mist sits perfectly for a few minutes and it feels like you’re the only person on the planet.
The Greenbacks are Running
If you fish Lake Winnipeg, or rather, if you are a Manitoban fisher, then you already know the notorious name of the greenback walleye. These heavy, emerald-backed giants make the province famous, and they are feeding hard through October. They’re moving off the shallow summer flats and stacking up on reefs, humps, and drop-offs in deeper water.
The fishing is straightforward because all you have to do is jig vertically with ⅛-⅜ oz jigs tipped with salted minnows. If you want to cover more water, tie on a lipless crankbait or a jigging rap and work the edges where underwater structures slope into the deep. Dawn and dusk are clearly prime, but during the fall frenzy, the bite can stay hot literally all day.
Then there is pike. In late September, when cabbage weedbeds die off, northern pike push out to rocky saddles and narrows near deeper water. You’ll want to bring big spoons, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and a steel leader.
Guided by the Locals
You don’t need a massive rig or a lifetime of experience to get in on the action. The Interlake is home to a passionate community of independent guides who know exactly where the fish are moving when the seasons change.
Take Ian Prise of Prise Fishing. Operating out of the Gimli area, Ian’s open-water charters put you right on top of the greenback run without the hassle of bringing your own boat. Or consider outfits like Greenback Guiding, a team that specializes in tracking the movements of these trophy walleye as the water cools.
And if you’ve never fished before? Fall is actually the perfect time to start. Roselle Turenne of Prairie Gal Fishing has built an incredible local business around introducing women and beginners to the sport in a relaxed, welcoming environment. When the summer rush is over, learning to drop a line becomes a peaceful experience, free of intimidation and crowding.
Lake Winnipeg is the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world, and there is room for everyone.
KALS Vacation Rentals – Your Fall Basecamp
If the Interlake’s fall season has a home base, it might just be a stretch of shoreline north of Gimli called Spruce Sands. That’s where KALS Vacation Rentals operates four cottages (plus a fifth at The Links), each one designed to feel less like a rental and more like the lake house you wish you owned.
Lisa, who owns and manages KALS with her family, thinks of her job as more expansive than a 9-5. “We aren’t just building our business here; we are building our lives,” she says. “Couldn’t be more proud of being a part of this community. We are real, live people.”
And it shows. Lisa takes guests down to the harbour herself, shows them how to navigate Silver Harbour and Gimli Harbour, and points them toward the fish and the trails. After a full day chasing greenbacks, you’re coming back to properties that are brilliantly stocked.
Think Nespresso machines, air fryers, extra beer fridges, and high-speed WiFi. Everything you need to cook the day’s catch like you’re in your own kitchen.
If you’re new to the area, she’ll give dinner recommendations.
And once dinner’s done, you step outside, look up, and there it is: auroras.
“In the fall, we see so many northern lights,” Lisa says. “Like a stretch of seven days in a row. And a sunrise on Lake Winnipeg. It’s never the same sunrise. It’s never the same.”
The Interlake’s Hidden Gems Beyond the Rod
Fall in the Interlake isn’t only about what’s under the water. The region between the lakes is full of trails, ranches, and surprises that most visitors never find.
Lisa rattles them off like she’s reading a treasure map: buffalo ranches, hidden cows behind tree lines, nothing but trails for off-roading through the changing leaves.
Drive through the RM of Gimli and you’ll find a community that doesn’t shut down when summer tourists leave. The brewery taps are still pouring at Interlake Brewing Co. The pizza oven at Brennivins Pizza Hus is still hot. The Ship & Plough has a place to swap fish stories with strangers and walk out with new friends.
These independent local spots are the region’s heartbeat in the off-season.
And if you keep going north, north/west to The Narrows on Lake Manitoba, you’ll find one of the Interlake’s best-kept fishing secrets. Narrows Sunset Lodge sits right on a natural bottleneck where the lake’s two basins meet, funnelling walleye and pike directly past the shore. You’ll find well-kept fish cleaning stations right next to the water.
Fall’s Double Feature
Here’s the thing about October in the Interlake that most regions can’t match: this is the only time of year when world-class fishing and world-class hunting overlap.
While walleye stack up on structure, the skies above the southern Interlake’s prairie fields fill with Canada geese, snow geese, and ducks staging for their migration south. The cast-and-blast weekend practically writes itself: walleye in the morning from a boat, waterfowl in the afternoon, and a cold beer at the cottage by evening.
Outfitters like Interlake Safaris – Hunts from the Heart specialize in guided bear, deer, and waterfowl hunts across the Interlake. And Stanley’s Goose Camp is a go-to for waterfowl hunters who want to be in the heart of the migration corridor.
The Clock is Ticking
Unfortunately, by November, the bite slows. The lakes begin their slow transformation from open water to ice. The boat launches close. The docks come in.
By December, the ice sets in. Gimli and Lockport’s famous Ice Fishing Villages pop up. The hardhouses go out. The augers start spinning. And the same walleye that were feeding on deep structure in October are now sitting beneath the ice, waiting for your jig to drop through.
