Sinkhole Lake in Brazeau County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Brazeau County, Alberta, this is Sinkhole Lake. The surface lies 840 metres up. Surface area runs to roughly 2.10 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. At about 7.1 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Drayton Valley sits 23 km from the bank. Mayerthorpe lies 70 km off, Edson another 82 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Sinkhole Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Species logged across Brazeau County include longnose sucker, mountain whitefish and northern pike. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. The near bank of Sinkhole Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -13°C in January and 15°C in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Sinkhole Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Eta Lake, 25 km away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Sinkhole Lake in what we hold.