Fishing Kaufmann Lake in Improvement District No. 9, Alberta

• Overview

  Kaufmann Lake lies within the bounds of Improvement District No. 9, Alberta. The surroundings are pine and birch. This is a pocket water of some 2 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. For supplies, Lake Louise is 65 km out. Golden follows at 68 km, then Banff at 113 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Kaufmann Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Across Improvement District No. 9, recorded fish include brook trout, bull trout, cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. The shape of Kaufmann Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August runs about 10°C on average, January about -13°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late May. Break-up near late May, freeze-up near late October: that is the shape of an average year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Kaufmann Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Failing this one, try David Lake, 8.6 km away. For Kaufmann Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.