Fishing Bustard Lake in South Slave Region, Northwest Territories

• Overview

  This water sits in South Slave Region, Northwest Territories. The bank gives way to dry rangeland. Surface area runs to roughly 7.45 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. Some 22 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. It is one of the smaller waters we list in South Slave Region. Yellowknife sits 363 km from here and is the nearest stop. Edmonton sits 1233 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Bustard Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Species logged across South Slave Region include Arctic grayling, lake trout and Arctic charr. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Bustard Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -30°C and July at about 12°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. The lid usually goes in mid June, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Ice usually gives way near mid June, and forms again about mid October. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Bustard Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Sussex Lake sits 12 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Bustard Lake for certain.