Little Manitou Lake Fishing Guide, Senlac No. 411, Saskatchewan

• Overview

  Within Senlac No. 411, Saskatchewan, you have Little Manitou Lake. The land about it is mixed forest. Surface area runs to roughly 6.66 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. Shoreline length is close to 19 km, and each section fishes a little differently. The town to know is Unity, 36 km out. For a city, Saskatoon is 207 km off. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Little Manitou Lake

  This is salt or soda water, not a conventional fishery: do not expect the usual freshwater species here. Expect a pan of salt and mud most years; water arrives rarely and leaves fast. If you are set on fishing this area, look to the rivers and fresh waters nearby instead. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The near bank of Little Manitou Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -15°C in January up to 17°C in July. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Ice clears near late April and comes back about mid November in a typical year. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Time your trip to Little Manitou Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. It is recorded as intermittent, which means the basin empties in dry spells. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Caldron Lake is 5.6 km distant. Check the position at Little Manitou Lake before loading the car.