Bishop Lake in North Slave Region: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Bishop Lake is one of the North Slave Region listings for Northwest Territories. It sits in dry rangeland. At roughly 37.22 sq km it ranks among the larger waters in the region. The outline measures near 53 km, so a boat opens up water the bank never reaches. Kugluktuk lies 261 km from the water. Behchokǫ̀ follows at 302 km, then Yellowknife at 351 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Bishop Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for North Slave Region names Arctic grayling, lake trout and slimy sculpin. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Bishop Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 13°C; by January the average is down near -29°C. Long winters and short summers set the pattern. Break-up comes around early June, and the run that follows is short and strong. Break-up near early June, freeze-up near mid October: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That is the shape of the year on Bishop Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Ardent Lake is 24 km off. Treat access at Bishop Lake as something to verify.