Ritchey Lake, Manitoba: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Manitoba, Ritchey Lake is a Manitoba water. The surroundings are mixed forest. It measures some 1.48 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. At about 8.4 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Some 62 km away sits Lac du Bonnet, the nearest settlement. Kenora follows at 63 km, then Beausejour at 91 km. Nearby, in order: Sutcliffe Lake 1.9 km away, One Lake 2.4 km off, Two Lake 3.8 km away, Coulombe Lake 4 km off and Hemenway Lake 4 km away. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Ritchey Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Ritchey Lake gives up more to patience than to distance. Overhanging branches shade fish that would otherwise sit deeper.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 19°C, with January the cold end at about -19°C. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Ritchey Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Sutcliffe Lake at 1.9 km is the sensible second choice. Check the current arrangement for Ritchey Lake.