There are a lot of compliments you could give to a fishing lodge, but here’s one that’s hard to top: Having one of the biggest fishing influencers on the planet call your lodge “Pike Paradise”.
An even bigger compliment is having that influencer film the entire trip, catch some of the most stunning footage you’ve ever seen, and upload it all to YouTube. You can imagine our delight when Jay Siemens, one of our favourite YouTubers, uploaded Pike Paradise, a film he made right here at Munroe Lake Lodge in Manitoba.
Before you finish reading this article, go watch that video. It’s stunning, with incredible slow-mo shots of Pike striking—huge fish, and mind-boggling cinematography. It's a real treat.
You’ve watched it? Great! Let’s continue.
Who Is Jay Siemens?
Jay Siemens is a legend in the fishing community. Born right here in Manitoba, he takes some of the most stunning fishing videos you‘ll ever see. He’s got over 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, and once you watch one of his videos, we’re pretty sure you’ll become one too.
The Significance Of Jay's Visit
Having a big YouTuber come to fish at your lodge is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We thought of it not only as an opportunity to promote our lodge but as a chance to promote Pike fishing (and fishing in general) in Northern Manitoba. We’ve got some of the most pristine, fish-filled waters you’ll ever see, but we’re still flying under the radar, making Northern Manitoba an angler’s dream.
The visit was also personally significant; we had a ton of fun with Jay and his crew, and it’s an experience none of us will soon forget.
Pike Fishing In Northern Manitoba
Northern Manitoba is one of the premier Pike fishing destinations on the entire planet. Our rivers and lakes are virtually untouched. Our lodge, for example, is only accessible by plane. There’s no one polluting these waters, and there definitely aren’t too many anglers.
Pike around here grow to be massive; anglers have caught Pike over 152 cm / 60” long. There’s plenty for these massive ambush predators to eat, and you can fish for them year-round; they’re plentiful in the spring, summer, and fall, and in the winter, there’s always ice fishing.
The biggest challenge to Pike fishing up here is making your way to the remote lakes and rivers in our area; we help by flying you up from the nearest city, Thompson. We’ve had very few anglers fish these waters, and when Jay heard that, he knew he was in for a great experience. We’re proud to say, we didn’t disappoint.
Jay also took the time to carefully analyze Munroe Lake; he saw a lot of “pikey bays”—that is, bays that looked like they’d be full of Pike. These are bays that warm up quickly; Pike love warm water, and these bays attract them like flies to honey.
Jay's Experience At Munroe Lake Lodge
Jay was with us for 5 days of fishing. Our summers are pretty incredible—when Jay was with us, sunrise was at about 4:30 in the morning, and sunset was at about 10:30 at night. That’s a lot of time you can spend out on the water!
Day 1
The first day was about as good as it gets for fishing in terms of weather—warm air, clear skies, and calm waters. Jay opted to fly fish, and it led to some absolutely incredible shots. The largest fish caught on day one was a 99 cm / 39” Pike (caught by Josh), but you can watch Jay catch huge Pike all day long. Sight fly fishing is a real treat. After dinner, Jay swapped to a Daiwa Steez and caught a few more.
Day 2
The second day was more overcast. Jay started the day by fishing in high water for more Pike—the experience led to some absolutely gorgeous topwater shots that will blow your mind. After that, the group took a break from Pike fishing to go after Arctic Grayling—with a whole lot of success. We’ve got some of the best Grayling fishing in the world, and Jay caught some absolute beauties. Josh caught his first Grayling ever; it was a monster (for a Grayling), and there was a lot of celebrating.
Day 3
On day three, the crew went out to The Slabs to catch some Lake Trout, a slab of rocks in the middle of the lake. Again, they had a ton of success, catching huge, beautiful Trout all day long. From there, they went to another bay to catch Pike. Even at the mouth of the bay, the Pike fishing was insane—”Pike Paradise” is right. They kept catching Pike for the rest of the night; Jay and the crew started picking and choosing their Pike because they were getting nonstop strikes.
Day 4
Day four was all about Pike, and Jay caught an absolute monster; at 109 cm / 43”, it was the biggest Pike of the trip and a Manitoba Master Angler Pike.
Day 5
Day five was the end of the trip; by that time, Jay estimated that the crew had caught over 200 Pike between them (that’s 40 a day, for anyone counting), plus all of the other fish they caught during the trip. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
Why Munroe Lake Lodge Is A Haven for Anglers
How did Jay catch so many fish at our lodge? For starters, he’s really good at this—you don’t make a career out of fishing videos unless you’re an incredible angler and an amazing cinematographer.
We like to think we’ve played our part, too. We don’t bring hundreds of anglers through our waters each year. We go out of our way to keep trips small and infrequent; we want to leave our lakes and rivers untouched, and our fish eager to bite at bait.
Our team’s gone out of our way to make our lodge as comfortable as possible, too. You’ll see tons of shots of Jay and his friends eating, enjoying our amenities, and even watching the Stanley Cup Final. When you’re out on the lake for 12-14 hours each day, you want to come home to comfort.
Our guides are great too; we helped Jay find some amazing spots (though he’d found quite a few real gems on his own).
Most importantly, we’ve got an incredible location. As Jay said: “The action we’ve had is like no Pike fishing I’ve ever experienced.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
The Impact Of The Video On The Fishing Community
Jay’s videos are always a treat. They’re shot with incredible care, and the results are stunning—a real feast for the eyes. You watch fish striking in slow-mo, and topwater fishing lends itself to unbelievable shots of monster Pike striking right at the surface of the water.
Aside from the mind-blowing cinematography, one thing we love about Jay’s videos is how informative and encouraging they are. He tells anglers to try fly fishing for Pike, and his sheer enthusiasm for the sport spurs people to actually go out and do it. When he’s in waders going after Grayling, you want to be right out there with him.
He tells you how he’s doing it, how you can do it, and what equipment he’s doing it with—all without breaking the flow of the video. We hope it encourages people to visit Northern Manitoba to fish; and if you’re interested, our lodge is open.
Plan Your Own Adventure Today
We were thrilled to host Jay at our lodge and we’re excited to host you, too. Visit our website to schedule a fishing trip for some of the best Northern Pike fishing in Canada—and in the world—right here at Munroe Lake Lodge in Manitoba.
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