Birch Lake Fishing near Kenora, Ontario

• Overview

  Out in Kenora District, Ontario, sits Birch Lake. It sits at 351 metres above sea level. Roughly 13 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The full circuit measures close to 1.6 km on foot. On size it sits at the modest end of our Kenora District list. 17 km away sits Kenora, the nearest town. Winnipeg sits 175 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Birch Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Kenora District cover northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. At Birch Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 19°C in July and bottoms out near -18°C in January. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late April. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. That is the shape of the year on Birch Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Inglis Lake, 1.9 km away. What applies at Birch Lake may have changed since it was mapped.