Botsford Lake Fishing in Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Within Kenora District, Ontario, you have Botsford Lake. This is mixed forest ground. This is big water, about 15.21 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. There is roughly 63 km of bank, and each arm behaves like its own water. Few waters listed in Kenora District are bigger. Head to Sioux Lookout, 19 km away, for anything you forgot. It is 262 km to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Botsford Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Kenora District names northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. On Botsford Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 18°C, the coldest about -19°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The season between ice runs from about late April to mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Anyone fishing Botsford Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Out Lake is 3.3 km distant. The position on Botsford Lake is worth confirming on the day.