Fishing Stuart Lake in Kelsey, Manitoba

• Overview

  Within Kelsey, Manitoba, you have Stuart Lake. The surface lies 267 metres up. Roughly 1.29 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. The outline measures near 11 km, so local knowledge counts. For supplies, Snow Lake is 24 km out. After that come Cross Lake 19A at 125 km and Flin Flon at 139 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Stuart 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. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Kelsey records list white sucker, johnny darter, northern pike, walleye and silver redhorse among the fish reported. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. On Stuart Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 17°C and January reads -23°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early May. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near early November in autumn. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It holds true on Stuart Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Chickadee Lake at 2.1 km is the sensible second choice. Ask locally about Stuart Lake if anything is unclear.