Fishing at Side Saddle Lake, Manitoba, Manitoba

• Overview

  Manitoba holds Side Saddle Lake, in Manitoba. The setting is pine and birch. About 2.18 sq km, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. The perimeter runs near 10 km, so plan the walk before you start. Head to Lac du Bonnet, 54 km away, for anything you forgot. Then Kenora, 74 km, and Beausejour, 87 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Side Saddle Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Anyone new to Side Saddle Lake should walk it once before setting up. Timber holds fish long after the weed has died back.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 19°C and January near -19°C. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Side Saddle Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Saddle Lake is 3.1 km off. Check the current arrangement for Side Saddle Lake.