Fishing Maude Lake in Kelsey, Manitoba

• Overview

  Maude Lake is set in Kelsey, Manitoba. The ground round it is spruce and muskeg. This is sizeable water at about 2.63 sq km, and a boat opens up most of it. The perimeter runs near 12 km, so plan the walk before you start. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Manitoba listings. Start from Thompson, 41 km down the road. Cross Lake 19A follows at 95 km, then Oxford House at 147 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Maude Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Kelsey list white sucker, johnny darter, northern pike, walleye and silver redhorse. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Maude Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 16°C and January near -24°C on the long-run figures. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid May. Climate averages put the opening at about mid May and the closing near early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Maude Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. A phone call first saves an afternoon. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Clausen Lake, 2.6 km out. Treat Maude Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.