Fishing Spur Lake in Improvement District No. 24, Alberta

• Overview

  Set in Improvement District No. 24, Spur Lake is an Alberta water. Elevation runs to 355 metres. The water covers some 33 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. There is roughly 5.1 km of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. The town to know is Fort Smith, 95 km out. Beyond it, Hay River at 323 km and Yellowknife at 358 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Spur Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Public occurrence data for Improvement District No. 24 names goldeye, northern pike and walleye. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Spur Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 16°C, the coldest about -25°C. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. The lid usually goes in mid May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Climate figures give an open season running mid May to late October. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Spur Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Bailey Lake sits 1.5 km off and takes the overflow. Treat Spur Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.