Fishing Arethusa Lake in Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Arethusa Lake sits in Kenora District, out in Ontario. The setting is lake country bush on every side. The water covers around 7.72 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. Around 40 km of margin, so directions matter more than a general plan. Few waters listed in Kenora District are bigger. Nearest place of any size is Ignace, 37 km away. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 241 km distant. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Arethusa Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Kenora District records list northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch among the fish reported. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Fish Arethusa Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -18°C at the bottom of winter. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. On average, late April opens the water and mid November closes it again. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. At Arethusa Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Should this one be busy, Dollar Lake is 6 km off. Check the current arrangement for Arethusa Lake.