Testimonials
Catfishing in Winnipeg during FIFA!! - Had a blast on the Red River during one of our down days of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. We are visiting from the U.S. and were introduced to... read more some of the biggest catfish we have ever seen! Our guide, Donovan (owner), was fantastic and helped us reel in all the catfish we could handle. Great half day trip. Would definitely recommend...he is a great host and has a fantastic boat that flies on the water.

June 10, 2015
A friend and I spent an 8-hour day on the water with one of Donavon's guides, James. By all accounts, this season has been a bit slow by the usual... read more standards, but James worked hard to find the fish, and we ended up with 37 cats between the two of us. The biggest was over 37", with multiple fish over 34". The smallest we caught was about 28", and it was the smallest by far.
For anyone in Western Canada who enjoys fishing, this trip is something you should experience. And Blackwater Cats is definitely the way to go. Awesome experience.

August 31, 2017
In an 8 hr guided Trophy Greenback Walleye outing on Lake Winnipeg on Oct 1, 2022, We caught +30 plus including 3 Master Angler walleyes. Many were also in... read more the 25 to 27 in. class. Guide Brad was great and had us on good fish all for the day! Dress warm with touque and you will have a great day. Thoroughly enjoyed the trip of a lifetime. Got Fish? No... See Brad at Blackwater Cats.


October 11, 2022
Spent a great morning battling monster cats. Have fished with Blackwater Cats a couple of times and both times we brought in a number of master anglers including a massive... read more 37.75” beast. All tackle is provided. Big thanks to our guide Ken who consistently put us on the fish.

August 11, 2019
Great time!! - My husband and 2 teen boys LOVED this cat-fishing trip! It was the highlight of our Canadian vacation!! Between the 3 of them they caught 10 HUGE catfish!... read more Donovan did a great job answering all of our questions and teaching them the ins and outs of cat- fishing! I didn't fish but, I loved being out on the water and got to take some awesome pictures! My husband and kids can't wait to come back for some ice fishing next!! We would highly recommend this excursion!!

July 30, 2015
Visited Manitoba with a friend of mine, and booked a cat fishing trip on the Red River with these guys. We had a ball, catching lots of really big channel... read more cats...several of Citation Size. The boat is large, stable, and fitted with the latest safety equipment. The supplied fishing tackle is all new, and first rate too. I highly recommend fishing with them. This is a very professional, safety conscious group, and, they'll put you on fish.


April 22, 2016
Great day Cat fishing on the Red River.
Weather was excellent, Donovan was a great fishing guide and he know's the river extemly well. We had a slow... read more start but we ended up catching 18 catfish in 4 hours...wow! I will highly recommend Balckwater Cat's Outfitters.

July 14, 2016
Had a fantastic time. My partner and I had a boat / guide booked for a 6 hr trip, caught over 80 cats over 30”. Absolutely amazing.
James, (Paddy),... read more was our guide, great fellow, he worked his ass off baiting and netting, poor guy. I couldn’t recommend a guide more.
Thanks Donovan for making the arrangements for us. We will definitely return.
Where can you go that in the course of a 6hr trip, between 2 people you can catch in excess of 80 fish all over 15lbs and some exceeding 25lbs??
Contact these guys!!

August 29, 2021
My wife and I booked two mornings to fish with Donovan. We both caught numerous big channel catfish. We were supplied with great rods and reels. Donovan was knowledgeable, extremely... read more hard working, professional, pleasureable, and really put us on the fish. It was a great two mornings. Highly recommend it.

July 23, 2016
Donavan did an amazing job guiding for us. He busted his tail to get us on fish, when the conditions were tough! He is also a really funny and genuine person, who is just a hoot to be around! He even bought me a hot chocolate at Tim Hortons lol! We can't wait to come back and fish with him again, thank you Donavan!


January 21, 2017
We had a great time Walleye fishing Lake Winnipeg with Blackwater Cats outfitters, our guide Brett really put us on the fish. Even with not so great weather, we caught a ton of eaters, a bunch of fish in the 23"-26" range and 4 Masters!


March 20, 2017

January 15, 2019
First Class trip with Donovan. He was on time, had everything we needed to fish and put us on the Cats very quickly. Spent a 1/2 day and caught lots of fish, many masters.
Donovan explained things well and has a great personality. He is well suited for guiding.
Thanks for the awesome experience!


June 29, 2018
Donovan put us on the fish & moved us if the bite died off. He drilled lots of holes to help us follow the fish. Two of the three in our group caught our person best fish! My husband, dad, and I have been on several guided fishing trips to Mexico, Las Vegas, Lake of the Woods, Devil’s Lake, and Montana to name a few. This was by far our best guided trip. We are already looking into booking for next year! Thanks for a great experience on Lake Winnipeg!


April 2, 2018