Fishing at Verrall Lake, Ethelbert, Manitoba

• Overview

  In Manitoba, Verrall Lake belongs to Ethelbert. It stands 719 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 39 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Around 2.7 km of margin, front to back. Compared with other Manitoba water on our list, it sits high. Nearest place of any size is Swan River, 38 km away. The big place round here is Regina, 303 km distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Verrall Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Reported across Ethelbert: Iowa darter, yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker and rainbow trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Verrall Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 16°C and January at -19°C. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about early November in a typical year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. At Verrall Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Halasz Lake, 1.6 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish Verrall Lake.