Fishing Shepton Lake in Riding Mountain West, Manitoba

• Overview

  Look for Shepton Lake in the Riding Mountain West part of Manitoba. The setting is pine and birch on every side. At roughly 8 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. For a base, Roblin sits 12 km out. After that come Kamsack at 57 km and Langenburg at 60 km. Within easy reach: Holm Lake at 1.2 km, Jackfish Lake just 2.6 km, Sjolin Lake at 2.7 km, Beven Lake just 2.9 km and Johnson Lake at 3.1 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Shepton Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Riding Mountain West, recorded fish include white sucker, rock bass, blackside darter and johnny darter. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Shepton Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 18°C in July and bottom out at -20°C in January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Time your trip to Shepton Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Records show it does not hold water year-round. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Holm Lake is 1.2 km off. Nothing here settles the position at Shepton Lake for certain.