Fishing at Brown Lake, Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  The Kenora District entry here is Brown Lake, in Ontario. The setting is lake country bush. At 10 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. It is a small entry by Kenora District standards. Supplies mean a trip to Kenora, 44 km off. It is 149 km to Winnipeg, the nearest city. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Brown Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Kenora District list 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. Brown Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 19°C and January at -19°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near mid November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Brown Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, White Lake is 1.8 km distant. For Brown Lake in particular, ask before you travel.