Fishing Boyce Lake in Rainy River District, Ontario

• Overview

  Rainy River District, Ontario, is where Boyce Lake sits. Height above sea level is 431 metres. The water covers some 43 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Shoreline comes to about 3.9 km, small enough to learn in a day. Some 22 km away sits Atikokan, the nearest settlement. Ignace is 72 km and Ely 107 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Boyce Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on 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. Reported across Rainy River District: northern pike, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Boyce Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -17°C in January up to 18°C in July. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Time your trip to Boyce Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is Hoist Narrows, 1.6 km out. Rules at Boyce Lake are worth checking on the day.