Stag Lake in Manitoba: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Stag Lake is one of the Manitoba waters in Manitoba. The country round it is spruce and muskeg from end to end. At 15.16 sq km you are fishing a fraction of it whatever you do. At about 78 km of edge, most people fish a single area and learn it well. On our Manitoba list it sits near the top for size. The nearest place of any size is Thompson, 180 km away. Snow Lake follows at 180 km, then Flin Flon at 211 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Stag Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish Stag Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep. Keep your shadow off the water when the bank is high.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 16°C and January near -25°C. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid May. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Time your trip to Stag Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Marshall Lake sits 7.3 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Stag Lake for certain.