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Fishing Cooking Lake: what the data says
8,994-acre lake near Collingwood Cove. The lake tops out around 15 ft. The depth chart is built from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the humps, channels and drop-offs you see are measured, not guessed. Below is the species-by-species picture, pulled from the same data the map uses.
Yellow Perch fishing at Cooking Lake
Spring yellow perch on Cooking Lake hold shallow, usually 3 to 12 ft. They move out to 5 to 15 ft in summer and finish the year down in 5 to 15 ft. The spot to know is Back-bay flat, a weed flat in about 3 ft of water that rates prime for yellow perch in spring. Plan around early morning in the warm months. Summer baits: a drop-shot micro plastics or a small spoon tipped with worm gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | midday & dawn | Small jig + curly tail, Perch-pattern micro crank |
| Summer | 5 to 15 ft | dawn | Drop-shot micro plastics, Small spoon tipped with worm |
| Fall | 5 to 15 ft | midday | Jigging spoon (small), Perch rig / spreader |
| Winter | 5 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Tungsten jig + spikes, Rattle spoon (small) |
Notable structure
- Deep basin: deep basin, around 15 ft
- Break off the point: drop-off, around 10 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 5 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 4 ft
- Secondary point: point, around 3 ft
- Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 3 ft
- Gravel shoal: gravel shoal, around 3 ft
- Gravel shoal: gravel shoal, around 3 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 3 ft
- Main-lake point: point, around 2 ft
- Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
- Weed flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
Common questions
How deep is Cooking Lake?
Cooking Lake is about 15 ft at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.
What fish are in Cooking Lake?
Anglers target yellow perch on Cooking Lake.
Where is the best fishing spot on Cooking Lake?
Back-bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 3 ft of water that rates prime for yellow perch in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
When is the best time to fish Cooking Lake?
For yellow perch, the summer bite is best in early morning. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Nearby waters
Antler Lake · Hastings Lake · Oliver Lake · Joseph Lake · Miquelon Lakes · Astotin Lake
See how Cooking Lake stacks up: best yellow perch lakes in Alberta
Browse all Alberta fishing maps or every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.