Messner Lake in Lorne: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Lorne end of Manitoba holds Messner Lake. The country round it is mixed forest from end to end. At about 70 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Shoreline comes to about 3.2 km, small enough to learn in a day. For a base, Morden sits 41 km out. The big place round here is Winnipeg, 114 km distant. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Messner Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish Messner Lake to its features, not to its size. Look for colour changes in the water and fish the seam between them.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 18°C, with January the cold end at about -18°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate figures give an open season running late April to mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. At Messner Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping flags this water as intermittent: it can be dry for part of the year, so check before travelling. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Lac Monseigneur is 3 km off. Nothing on Messner Lake should be assumed from this page alone.