Francois Lake Fishing Guide, North Slave Region, Northwest Territories

• Overview

  Francois Lake stands in North Slave Region, Northwest Territories. Elevation runs to 296 metres. It covers about 24.36 sq km, which means weather matters as much as tactics. With about 49 km of shoreline, local advice saves a lot of walking. Yellowknife is the closest town at 103 km. Behchokǫ̀ follows at 192 km, then Hay River at 257 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Francois Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show 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. Public occurrence data for North Slave Region names Arctic grayling, lake trout and slimy sculpin. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Read Francois Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -27°C to 15°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. Winter locks it down, and late May brings it back. Break-up sits around late May on average, with the water closing again about late October. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Francois Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Tanco Lake at 7.8 km is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at Francois Lake for certain.