Fishing Devils Lake in Ethelbert, Manitoba

• Overview

  Devils Lake is an Ethelbert water, Manitoba side. It stands 734 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 12 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Around 1.8 km of margin, front to back. It sits higher than most water we list in Manitoba. Swan River sits 53 km from here and is the nearest stop. It is 299 km to Regina, the nearest city. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Devils Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name Iowa darter, yellow perch and northern pike. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Devils Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 16°C, while January sits near -19°C. This far north the hard season runs and runs. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Time your trip to Devils Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. East Shell Lake, 1.9 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Devils Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.