Fishing near Thompson, Manitoba

Thompson sits in the boreal shield of northern Manitoba, surrounded by Canadian Shield lakes and rivers that hold some of the province's best cold-water fishing. Paint Lake, just south of the city in Paint Lake Provincial Park, is the marquee drive-to destination — a sprawling lake of islands, reefs, and bays renowned for walleye. The Burntwood River runs through the city itself, while waters like Mystery Lake and the Grass River add to a region known for walleye, northern pike, lake trout, and splake in clear, cold boreal water.