Gilbert Lake Fishing Guide, Riding Mountain West, Manitoba

• Overview

  Gilbert Lake is one of the Riding Mountain West waters in Manitoba. This is lake country bush ground. At about 43 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The bank runs about 2.9 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Head to Roblin, 20 km away, for anything you forgot. Langenburg is 57 km and Kamsack 72 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Gilbert Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Riding Mountain West cover white sucker, rock bass, blackside darter, johnny darter and shorthead redhorse. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Gilbert Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 18°C and January near -19°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Gilbert Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Bisgrove Lake, 2.3 km away. Check the position at Gilbert Lake before loading the car.