Barrington Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Barrington Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, in Ontario. It lies 410 metres above sea level. It covers about 12.09 sq km, which means weather matters as much as tactics. Some 70 km of shoreline means conditions can differ from one end to the other. Size puts it in the front rank of our Thunder Bay District list. Sioux Lookout sits 118 km from here and is the nearest stop. For a city, Thunder Bay is 224 km off. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Barrington Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Thunder Bay District cover cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Barrington Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -20°C in January and 17°C in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early May. Climate averages put the opening at about early May and the closing near mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Barrington Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Foam Lake at 4.6 km is the sensible second choice. Ask locally about Barrington Lake if anything is unclear.