Fishing at Costello Lake, Nunavut, Nunavut

• Overview

  In Nunavut, Costello Lake belongs to Nunavut. The country round it is spruce and muskeg from end to end. At some 8.08 sq km it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. There is roughly 32 km of bank, and each arm behaves like its own water. Ground here is low by Nunavut standards. For supplies, Sanikiluaq is 37 km out. Inukjuak is 237 km and Chisasibi 286 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Costello Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Salt or brackish and tidal: fish the flow, rest at slack, and watch the mud on a falling tide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Costello Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put August at about 11°C and February near -23°C. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early June. The season between ice runs from about early June to early November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Costello Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Failing this one, try Little Costello Lake, 4.2 km away. Nothing on Costello Lake should be assumed from this page alone.