Birston Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  In Ontario, Birston Lake falls inside Thunder Bay District. The ground around here is boreal forest. The water covers some 46 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Shoreline comes to about 4.6 km, small enough to learn in a day. The nearest place of any size is Manitouwadge, 30 km away. Beyond it, Terrace Bay at 72 km and Schreiber at 84 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Birston Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. County-wide records name cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. At Birston Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 16°C in July and bottom out at -16°C in January. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early May. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. On Birston Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Cirrus Lake is 2.7 km distant. Check the current arrangement for Birston Lake.