Cole Lake Fishing in County of St. Paul No. 19, Alberta

• Overview

  This water sits in County of St. Paul No. 19, Alberta. Height above sea level is 599 metres. It measures some 3.13 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. With 12 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. The town to know is Lac La Biche, 43 km out. Smoky Lake lies 54 km off, St. Paul another 56 km. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Cole Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for County of St. Paul No. 19 include yellow perch, Iowa darter and northern pike. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. On Cole Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -15°C in January up to 16°C in July. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Cole Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Tompkins Lake, 3.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Cole Lake is worth confirming on the day.