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

• Overview

  Sphinx Lake is set in North Slave Region, Northwest Territories. The ground around here is dry rangeland. At 1.56 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. The perimeter runs near 9.7 km, so plan the walk before you start. Our North Slave Region list holds plenty of bigger water. 188 km away sits Behchokǫ̀, the nearest town. The big place round here is Edmonton, 1219 km distant. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Sphinx Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for North Slave Region include Arctic grayling, lake trout and slimy sculpin. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Sphinx Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -30°C and July at about 14°C, the water has a wide range to work through. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late May. Climate averages put the opening at about late May and the closing near mid October. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Sphinx Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Savoy Lake is 4.9 km distant. Nothing here settles the position at Sphinx Lake for certain.