Moe Lake in Ethelbert: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Ethelbert in Manitoba is where Moe Lake sits. The surface lies 780 metres up. At 5 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Our Ethelbert list holds plenty of bigger water. Some 37 km away sits Swan River, the nearest settlement. Regina sits 307 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Moe Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name Iowa darter, yellow perch and northern pike. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Moe Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 16°C; by January the average is down near -19°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. Look for the thaw near early May; the fishing lifts straight after. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Moe Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records show it does not hold water year-round. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, Shiel Lake is 1.1 km off. Treat access at Moe Lake as something to verify.