Ross Lake, Northwest Territories: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  You will find Ross Lake in North Slave Region, Northwest Territories. The bank is 273 metres above sea level. This is big water, about 16.33 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. Yellowknife at 63 km is the nearest place to stop. Behchokǫ̀ lies 143 km off, Hay River another 247 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Ross Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for North Slave Region list Arctic grayling, lake trout and slimy sculpin. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. At Ross Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -27°C in January and 16°C in July. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Winter locks it down, and late May brings it back. The lid tends to go about late May and return around late October. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan any trip to Ross Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. For a change of water, Upper Ross Lake is 7 km distant. Treat access at Ross Lake as something to verify.