Black Birch Lake
Walleye opens Sat, May 16 — it lies 38 km southwest of Deer Lake, and the nearest road is 33 miles off — this is fly-in water.
Black Birch Lake is the 201st-largest of 1,629 named lakes in Ontario Far North, with 63 miles of charted shoreline and 30 islands. Its 75 ft maximum depth is greater than 76% of depth-surveyed lakes in the region.
MNRF aquatic resource surveys
Fish species
Also present: Cisco, Emerald Shiner, Johnny Darter x Tesselated Darter, Spottail Shiner, White Sucker
On this water
Lodges & operators 0
No lodge is based on Black Birch Lake itself. These are the closest that are — each on its own water, with the straight-line distance from here.
- Harrop Lake Wilderness Lodge✓ Verifiedlodgehousekeeping45 mi away
Home water: Harrop Lake
A remote eastern-Manitoba fishing and hunting lodge on Harrop Lake, east of the Berens River and Lake Winnipeg, running two satellite outposts on Whiskeyjack Lake and Head Leaf Lake. It sells guided multi-day trips ranging from three to seven days, plus moose and black bear hunt packages combined with fishing.
- Shining Falls Lodge✓ Verifiedlodgefly-inamerican · housekeeping47 mi away
Home water: Family Lake
A float-plane fly-in fishing lodge set on an island in Family Lake in eastern Manitoba, surrounded by Atikaki wilderness park and a short boat ride below Shining Falls on the Pigeon River. Four lakefront cabins are sold either American plan or housekeeping, with high-volume walleye and trophy-class northern pike as the draw; guests fly in from Bissett.
2026 regulations
Seasons & limitsFMZ 2
- Special limit on this water — : Refer to zone-wide seasons and limits · Refer to zone-wide seasons and limits · Live fish may not be used as bait or possessed for use as bait (All waters north of latitude of the 11th baseline (51°48’11”N.) and west of longitude 89°00’W.)
- Special limit on this water — Lake Sturgeon: Closed all year · Refer to zone-wide seasons and limits (All waters located within the portion of Zone 2 from the Ontario / Manitoba interprovincial boundary east along the line of 52°35’N. latitude, to the intersection with 93°50’W. longitude, thence south to the intersection with 52°10’N. latitude, thence east to the intersection with 92°10’W. longitude, thence south to the Zone 2 boundary, including all of the waters within Woodland Caribou Provincial Park; thence in a westerly direction to the Ontario/Manitoba interprovincial boundary, thence northerly to the intersection with 52°35’N. latitude.)
Ice-out here is typically mid May (modeled from regional ice records).
| Species | Season | Sport licence | Conservation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Pike | Open all year | S - 4, none between 70 - 90 cm (27.6 - 35.4 in.), not more than 1 greater than 90 cm (35.4 in.) | C - 2, none between 70 - 90 cm (27.6 - 35.4 in.), not more than 1 greater than 90 cm (35.4 in.) |
| Walleye and Sauger or any combination | Jan. 1 - Apr. 14 & 3rd Sat. in May - Dec. 31 | S - 4, not more than 1 greater than 46 cm (18.1 in.) | C - 2, not more than 1 greater than 46 cm (18.1 in.) |
| Yellow Perch | Open all year | S - 50 | C - 25 |
Compiled from MNRF Recreational Fishing Regulations open data (2026 season, zone-wide rules shown for this lake's species). Regulations change by variation order — confirm with the official FMZ 2 summary before you fish.
Eating what you catch
Consumption advisories
Recommended meals per month from Ontario's fish contaminant monitoring — ranges span the tested fish sizes.
| Species | General | Sensitive* |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Pike | 4–8 | Do not eat |
| Walleye | 2–8 | 0–4 |
Advisory cause across all species: Mercury.
*Women of child-bearing age and children under 15. Compiled from the MECP Guide to Eating Ontario Fish (2025 guide) — check the guide for size-specific advice before keeping fish.
Comparable trips
Similar water
Same region, overlapping species, comparable size.
- Job Lake8 shared species · 2,455 ac
- Setting Net Lake8 shared species · 3,699 ac
- Pahkayyahkahmahk/Silcox Lake8 shared species · 2,166 ac
- Odlum Lake8 shared species · 2,036 ac
- Madden Lake8 shared species · 2,015 ac
Around this water