Fishing at McKay Lake, Oakview, Manitoba

• Overview

  McKay Lake sits in Oakview, out in Manitoba. The water sits 593 metres up. It covers about 5 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Oakview. Supplies mean a trip to Minnedosa, 15 km off. The big place round here is Winnipeg, 210 km distant. Others worth noting: Firby Lake lies 2.4 km on, Evans Lake (2.4 km), Basswood Lake lies 2.9 km on, Gourlay Lake (3.3 km) and Potts Lake lies 5.3 km on. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on McKay Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Species logged across Oakview include northern pike, walleye, johnny darter and white sucker. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. At McKay Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -19°C at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. On McKay Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Mapped as intermittent, it fills after rain and shrinks between. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Firby Lake at 2.4 km is the sensible second choice. Signs at McKay Lake carry more weight than any list.