Imaqtuuq Lake, Nunavut: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Out in Nunavut, sits Imaqtuuq Lake. Around the bank it is open dry country. It measures some 7.87 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. At about 29 km of edge, most people fish a single area and learn it well. Naujaat is the closest place, 74 km off. Saskatoon sits 1954 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Imaqtuuq Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read Imaqtuuq Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out. Fish the water in front of you before wading further out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -31°C in February to roughly 9°C in July. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late June. Ice clears near late June and comes back about early October in a typical year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. The season on Imaqtuuq Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Usiariaq Lake at 28 km is the sensible second choice. Where Imaqtuuq Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.