The Ultimate Lake Winnipeg Accommodation - Canalta Selkirk
It’s not often at a hotel that you walk downstairs for the continental breakfast and see the entire lobby full of ice fisherman.
However, at the Canalta Hotel in Selkirk, Manitoba, that’s exactly what you’ll see for much of the winter months. Selkirk has been a fishing city forever. With the legendary Red River running straight through it, Selkirk is known as the ‘Channel Catfish Capital of the World’, so Selkirk knows it’s fishing. Although there’s fantastic fishing right in the city, the Canalta really shines in the winter when the monstrous Lake Winnipeg freezes up.
An Ice Anglers Hotel
I wasn’t kidding when I said that you walk into the lobby at the Canalta in the winter, the entire continental breakfast is full of ice anglers in their bibs. Sonars, boots, and coolers stacked at the door and bacon and waffles going down the hatch, it’s a pretty ideal and unique start to the morning. The breakfast area is spacious with lots of seating and plenty of options of food from waffles, bacon, bagels, yogurt, you name it. The convenience of having coffee and breakfast downstairs ready to go on early winter mornings is ideal.
There are Many Ways to Fish Lake Winnipeg
There’s many different ways to tackle Lake Winnipeg on the ice fishing front - no pun intended. Many go for the do-it-yourself route, hauling up their own machines and gear and finding their own fish. Although the DIY option is available, many travelers elect to book a guide. The value of a guide on Lake Winnipeg is immense. Lake conditions alone make having an expert to navigate the lake in sometimes subpar weather and/or ice conditions is invaluable. Not to mention, you’ll catch a lot more and much bigger fish with a guide.
Lake Winnipeg has a large range of guided options. You can book one of the longtime guided options such as Blackwater Cats or Bruin Outfitting where they can either supply as little or as much gear as you want and they’ll chase fish all day for you, getting you on the best bites. There’s also guided SnoBear options with Icebound Excursions which are both highly effective and very comfortable. Not to mention, SnoBears are awesome options for families, small groups, or new anglers.
On The Lake
We got to the first spot, drilled a hole and as soon as we dropped the livescope, we saw tons of fish in every direction. We popped a bunch of holes, spread out, and hunkered down to hopefully put a smackdown on them. There were 5 of us in our group, and it wasn’t more than a few minutes before we had all hooked up. Spoons were definitely the hot lure of the morning as left, right, and centre we were crushing eater-size walleye.
The Legendary Greenback Walleyes
For people that have never fished on Lake Winnipeg, the first time you catch a Lake Winnipeg walleye, you’re going to be a bit shocked in the best of ways. Walleyes in Lake Winnipeg are known as Greenback Walleye, or Greenbacks for short. They have this name due to their distinct green hue rather than the typical gold colour of walleyes. The colour comes from the limestone in the lake and they are one of a kind in the world and breathtakingly beautiful.
Greenbacks Walleyes Never Get Old
We fished the same spot for a few hours and those who wanted to keep fish, filled their limits very quickly. We caught a bunch of fish, but couldn’t quite find a giant. We caught a handful of 24’’ greenbacks which was awesome, but couldn’t quite find anything bigger than that. That being said, they’re out there and it’s just a matter of if you stumble into one. Catching any size greenback walleye is just so much fun and every single time they look incredible. The green just never gets old.
At the end of the day, we finished an amazing day of fishing filled with lots of fish and just as many laughs under a beautiful sunset. Once dark fell, we headed back to the Canalta hotel.
A Fish Filleting Shack and More!
After a day of ice fishing on Lake Winnipeg, Canalta has all the necessary things to finish off the day and get you prepared for the next. When you get back, if you kept fish, that’s when you see one of Canalta’s party pieces; their own fish cleaning shack. Fitted with a sink, plenty of table space, TV, and more, attached to the hotel is everything you need to clean fish whether you are eating them that night or saving them to take home.
Every Amenity You Could Ask For
Once you’re back in your room, you change clothes, hang up your gear to dry, charge batteries, and then within sight just down the road is a Boston Pizza ready to accommodate the evening angling rush. After some delicious pizza, you can either call it a night or take advantage of some of the Canalta’s many amenities from pool, hot tub, steam room, fitness room, guest laundry, or just enjoy your room. We had one of the nicest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in so it was a fantastic place to wind down, watch the hockey game, and have some laughs with the fellas.
An Ice Anglers Hotel
One of my favourite parts about the Canalta is that you can feel that they are accommodating to ice anglers on Lake Winnipeg. All of the things that you need in order to have a successful, seamless, comfortable fishing trip to Lake Winnipeg are there at your disposal. 30 minutes from the lake you have a super comfortable clean room, continental breakfast, and everything in between. It’s not just a hotel near the lake, they’ve thought things through from the fish cleaning shack to having a large parking lot with lots of parking for long trailers and turn around areas that are incredibly appreciated.
Convenience and Comfort
The Canalta's location is ideal. You’re close to the lake, but you’re also close to amenities such as fuel, food, Canadian Tire if something breaks, and Smoke N Fish, the local bait and tackle store in Selkirk. Smoke N Fish has everything you need for fishing greenbacks. Regardless of what you need, it’s all right there.
From start to finish, if you’re fishing the south basin of Lake Winnipeg, whether you’re going to do-it-yourself or book a guide, Canalta is the place to stay.
To book your stay at the Canalta Hotel in Selkirk, Manitoba, visit the Canalta Hotel website.
