Little File Lake in Manitoba: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Little File Lake lies within the bounds of Manitoba. Mixed forest runs right down to the water. At about 51 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The edge runs 2.9 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. For supplies, Oxford House is 206 km out. Winnipeg is the closest city, 395 km away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Little File Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. On Little File Lake that means starting tight and working out. Keep back from the edge where the water runs clear.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 17°C and January reads -22°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. On average, early May opens the water and early November closes it again. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. On Little File Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Mair Lake, 5.7 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Little File Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.