Best burbot lakes in Manitoba
11 Manitoba waters list burbot (official records or labelled estimates), 9 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The freshwater cod that feeds at night under the ice — ugly, delicious and wildly underrated.
- Lake Manitoba — 21 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike, Yellow PerchWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- Lake of the Woods — 36 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern PikeWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 9 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Falcon Lake — 79 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 4 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Wanipigow Lake — 16 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike, Yellow PerchWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- West Hawk Lake — 394 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow TroutWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Black Lake — 20 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow PerchWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Jessica Lake — 10 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow PerchWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Booster Lake — 39 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, BurbotWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Whitefish Lake — 59 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake TroutWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Neso Lake — 39 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, BurbotWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
…plus 1 more Manitoba waters holding burbot.
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How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See Manitoba waters with public access data
When to fish burbot in Manitoba
- Spring 25–70 ft — Post-spawn burbot slide back toward deep basins but still run shallow rock after dark.
- Summer 50–120 ft — Deep and sluggish in warm months — mostly a bycatch while jigging deep structure for lake trout.
- Fall 30–80 ft — Feeding picks up hard as the water cools — dead bait or glow spoons on deep rock at night.
- Winter 15–60 ft — Late-winter spawners stack on rock humps and shoals — glow jigs pounded on bottom after dark.
Also in Manitoba: best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best cisco (lake herring) lakes
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