Lake Winnipeg waters pushed out by wind

Recent weather has caused the water levels of Lake Winnipeg to drop, concerning those who fish for a living. CTV’s Harrison Shin explains.

Strong winds have pushed water away from the Lake Winnipeg shoreline and while that offers onlookers more beach to walk on, it is not a welcome sight for fishers.

Joel Greenberg has weathered a lot of different winds in while fishing the lake, but the wind has been acting up lately and exposing a lot more shoreline.

“The strong south winds push the water north and drops the water levels. Normally this time of year, the prevailing winds would be north,” Greenberg explained.

On Monday, a video appeared in social media platform, showing the unusually extended sandy shore.

Greenberg said low water level affects his livelihood and wallet.

“(The strong south wind) is pushing the water to the north and keeping the fish to the north … I’m not making as much money as I normally would this time of year, because there’s not a lot of fish around.”

Lake Winnipeg Report administrator Rick Gergatz monitors the lake frequently, and he explains the wind is not the only factor for the low water level.

“We didn’t have much snowfall last winter, and a very dry spring and summer. So this results in the lake levels dropping … it’s just nature cycles,” Gergatz explained.

He added that the lake level fluctuates throughout the year, and it can be hard to identify a single major reason.

Greenberg said the forecast shows south and westerly winds for the next two weeks – but as the season comes to an end, he is hoping for a shift.

“We have 20 days left of fishing,” he said, “Hopefully, something happens and the forecast change, and we get the north winds and then the lake levels will come back up.”