Second Cranberry Lake in Kelsey: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Kelsey, Manitoba, is where Second Cranberry Lake sits. It sits at 294 metres above sea level. This is big water, about 24.79 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. Few waters listed in Kelsey are bigger. Flin Flon is the closest place, 46 km off. Saskatoon is the closest city, 459 km away. In the same area: Otaskawetawin Lake lies 5 km on, Wedge Lake at 7.1 km, Election Lake lies 7.6 km on, Brunne Lake at 8 km and Anvil Lake lies 8.1 km on. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Second Cranberry Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name white sucker, johnny darter and northern pike. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. At Second Cranberry Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 17°C and January at -22°C. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about early November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. It holds true on Second Cranberry Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Otaskawetawin Lake, 5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing on Second Cranberry Lake should be assumed from this page alone.