Bishop Lake in Thunder Bay District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Bishop Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, Ontario side. The ground around here is northern bush. Surface area is around 59 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Roughly 3.5 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. The nearest place of any size is Manitouwadge, 37 km away. Longlac lies 60 km off, Geraldton another 83 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Bishop Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Survey and observation records for Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Bishop Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 16°C and January about -18°C. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. Climate figures give an open season running early May to mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Anyone fishing Bishop Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Faber Lake sits 3.8 km off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Bishop Lake in what we hold.