Fishing at Badshot Lake, Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Badshot Lake lies in Kenora District, in Ontario. The country round it is pine and birch from end to end. It measures some 1.17 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. The edge covers about 8.3 km, enough to hold several distinct areas. The nearest place of any size is Sioux Lookout, 44 km away. Thunder Bay sits 248 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Badshot Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Kenora District records list northern pike, longnose sucker and white sucker among the fish reported. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The shape of Badshot Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 18°C and January reads -20°C. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Count the season from break-up, usually early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. On Badshot Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Failing this one, try Bungy Lake, 3.1 km away. For Badshot Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.