Fishing at Moosonees Lake, Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan

• Overview

  Moosonees Lake falls in Stony Rapids, part of Saskatchewan. The country here is northern bush. At some 8.37 sq km it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. With about 25 km of shoreline, local advice saves a lot of walking. Supplies mean a trip to Pelican Narrows, 436 km off. Then Buffalo Narrows, 438 km, and La Ronge, 443 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Moosonees Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Public occurrence data for Stony Rapids names cisco, northern pike, round whitefish and lake chub. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Moosonees Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 15°C in July and bottom out at -26°C in January. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late May. Ice clears near late May and comes back about late October in a typical year. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. It sets the rhythm of the year at Moosonees Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Cyprian Lake sits 19 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Moosonees Lake for certain.