Fishing at Sunken Lake, South Slave Region, Northwest Territories

• Overview

  Sunken Lake is one of the South Slave Region listings for Northwest Territories. The surface lies 279 metres up. This is sizeable water at about 1.72 sq km, and a boat opens up most of it. Shoreline length is close to 8.9 km, and each section fishes a little differently. It is one of the smaller waters we list in South Slave Region. Yellowknife is the closest place, 219 km off. Behchokǫ̀ follows at 295 km, then Fort Smith at 343 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Sunken Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across South Slave Region: Arctic grayling, lake trout and Arctic charr. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Sunken Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 14°C; the cold one sits at -27°C. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. After late May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at late May and the freeze at mid October. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Time your trip to Sunken Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Papanakies Lake, 28 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish Sunken Lake.