MacGuire Lake in Turnor Lake: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  MacGuire Lake lies in Turnor Lake, in Saskatchewan. It stands 521 metres above sea level. The water covers around 2.79 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. Some 20 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. On size it sits at the modest end of our Turnor Lake list. Nearest place of any size is Buffalo Narrows, 171 km away. After that come La Ronge at 229 km and Fort McMurray at 290 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on MacGuire Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Turnor Lake include walleye and spottail shiner. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Work MacGuire Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -22°C at the bottom of winter. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Open water usually runs from early May until about early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Anyone fishing MacGuire Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Walleye come to jigs worked slow near bottom, and to trolled crankbaits along the drops at dusk. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Failing this one, try Desnomie Lakes, 9.8 km away. Check the current arrangement for MacGuire Lake.