Fishing at Setting Lake, Kelsey, Manitoba

• Overview

  Setting Lake is one of the Kelsey listings for Manitoba. This is spruce and muskeg ground. Around 129.11 sq km of open water: conditions change from one end to the other. The outline is heavily broken, with arms and bays reaching well back from the main body. On our Kelsey list it sits near the top for size. Head to Cross Lake 19A, 67 km away, for anything you forgot. Winnipeg sits 577 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Setting Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Kelsey cover white sucker, johnny darter and northern pike. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. On Setting Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -24°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. In an average year the thaw lands around mid May and the freeze near early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Setting Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Weimore Lake at 4.1 km is the sensible second choice. Check the position at Setting Lake before loading the car.