Fishing at Fowel Lake, County of Grande Prairie No. 1, Alberta

• Overview

  This water sits in County of Grande Prairie No. 1, Alberta. The bank is 803 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 25 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 2.4 km, small enough to learn in a day. The closest town, Beaverlodge, is 14 km away. The big place round here is Edmonton, 440 km distant. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Fowel Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in County of Grande Prairie No. 1 include longnose sucker, white sucker, largescale sucker and Arctic grayling. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Fowel Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 15°C; the cold one sits at -12°C. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. On Fowel Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Failing this one, try Lowen Lake, 1.9 km away. For Fowel Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.