Fishing at Martin Lake, Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan

• Overview

  The Stony Rapids end of Saskatchewan holds Martin Lake. The bank gives way to northern bush. This is big water, about 10.06 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. The perimeter is close to 39 km, and wind can be flat in one arm and rough in the next. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Saskatchewan listings. Fort Smith lies 192 km from the water. For a city, Edmonton is 731 km off. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Martin Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish documented in Stony Rapids include cisco, northern pike, round whitefish, lake chub and slimy sculpin. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Martin Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 16°C and January near -25°C. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at mid May and the freeze at early November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It sets the rhythm of the year at Martin Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. A pier 910 m from here gives a platform over deeper water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Melville Lake at 2.1 km is the nearest alternative. Nothing on Martin Lake should be assumed from this page alone.