Fishing Little Indian Lake in Ethelbert, Manitoba

• Overview

  Look for Little Indian Lake in the Ethelbert part of Manitoba. Height above sea level is 684 metres. At about 15 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Bank access stretches around 1.9 km in total. It is high ground by Manitoba standards. Roblin lies 61 km from the water. The big place round here is Regina, 300 km distant. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Little Indian Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. County-wide records name Iowa darter, yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker and rainbow trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Little Indian Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -19°C in January and 16°C in July. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about early November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Little Indian Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Blind Lake is 2.7 km distant. Nothing here settles the position at Little Indian Lake for certain.