Fishing South Loon Lake in Kelsey, Manitoba

• Overview

  Kelsey in Manitoba is where South Loon Lake sits. This is boreal forest ground. Roughly 25 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The bank runs about 2.5 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Kelsey. The nearest place of any size is Flin Flon, 65 km away. It is 497 km to Saskatoon, the nearest city. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on South Loon Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Kelsey include white sucker, johnny darter, northern pike and walleye. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Read South Loon Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -23°C in January and 17°C in July. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near early November in autumn. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. At South Loon Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. If the gate is shut, Ptarmigan Lake at 0.9 km is the nearest alternative. Nothing here settles the position at South Loon Lake for certain.