Opegano Lake in Kelsey: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Opegano Lake is a Kelsey water, in Manitoba. The land about it is northern bush. At 7.56 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. You are looking at roughly 18 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Size puts it in the front rank of our Kelsey list. Start from Thompson, 33 km down the road. The big place round here is Winnipeg, 640 km distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Opegano Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. County-wide records name white sucker, johnny darter and northern pike. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. At Opegano Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -25°C in January. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid May. On average, mid May opens the water and early November closes it again. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Plan around that when you fish Opegano Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Burr Lake, 9.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Opegano Lake carry more weight than any list.