Fishing at Tanco Lake, North Slave Region, Northwest Territories

• Overview

  Tanco Lake falls in North Slave Region, part of Northwest Territories. It lies 304 metres above sea level. It measures some 3.95 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. You have roughly 31 km of edge to choose from, which rewards a scouting trip. You are 110 km from Yellowknife. Further out sit Behchokǫ̀ (200 km) and Hay River (259 km). The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Tanco Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for North Slave Region cover Arctic grayling, lake trout and slimy sculpin. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Work Tanco Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -27°C in January to roughly 15°C in July. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. Break-up comes around late May, and the run that follows is short and strong. On average, late May opens the water and late October closes it again. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan any trip to Tanco Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Francois Lake at 7.8 km is the nearest alternative. Where Tanco Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.