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

• Overview

  North Slave Region, Northwest Territories, is where Hidden Lake sits. Height above sea level is 237 metres. Surface area runs to some 20.45 sq km, so a boat and a plan are both worth having. The perimeter is close to 75 km, and wind can be flat in one arm and rough in the next. Yellowknife is the closest place, 44 km off. Edmonton sits 1001 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Hidden Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across North Slave Region: Arctic grayling, lake trout and slimy sculpin. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Anyone new to Hidden Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -26°C in January and 16°C in July. Long winters and short summers set the pattern. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late May. Break-up near late May, freeze-up near late October: that is the shape of an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Hidden Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping shows no built access close by; expect to walk in from wherever you can leave the car. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Thompson Lake, 7.8 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Hidden Lake as something to verify.