Fishing Mary Lake in Manitoba, Manitoba

• Overview

  Mary Lake sits in in Manitoba. What surrounds it is spruce and muskeg. The water covers some 25 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. A shoreline of some 2.0 km keeps the choices simple. The town to know is Thompson, 216 km out. Saskatoon is the closest city, 640 km away. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Mary Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Read Mary Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out. Marks on the bank tell you where others have fished.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 16°C and January at -25°C. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. Break-up comes around mid May, and the run that follows is short and strong. The lid tends to go about mid May and return around early November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Plan any trip to Mary Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. 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. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Failing this one, try Moses Lake, 1.5 km away. Where Mary Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.