Leadley Lake Fishing in Timber Bay, Saskatchewan

• Overview

  In Saskatchewan, Leadley Lake falls inside Timber Bay. It sits in northern bush. With some 66 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The shoreline runs about 5.9 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. It is a small entry by Timber Bay standards. Head to La Ronge, 97 km away, for anything you forgot. Shellbrook lies 128 km off, Prince Albert another 129 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Leadley Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Timber Bay cover northern pike, yellow perch, white sucker, walleye and brook trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Treat Leadley Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 16°C and January reads -18°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. The water is typically free of ice between late April and early November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan around that when you fish Leadley Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Cheeyas Lake is 3.7 km distant. For Leadley Lake in particular, ask before you travel.