Cook Lake Fishing in Kelsey, Manitoba

• Overview

  Cook Lake sits in Kelsey, out in Manitoba. The ground around here is lake country bush. This is a pocket water of some 7 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. On size it sits at the modest end of our Kelsey list. Some 45 km away sits Flin Flon, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Saskatoon, 465 km distant. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Cook Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Open biodiversity records for Kelsey list white sucker, johnny darter, northern pike, walleye and silver redhorse. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Take Cook Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -22°C to 17°C. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early May. The lid tends to go about early May and return around early November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan any trip to Cook Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Should this one be busy, Copper Lake is 1.6 km off. Ask locally about Cook Lake if anything is unclear.