Buck Lake Fishing near Lappe, Ontario

• Overview

  Buck Lake sits within Thunder Bay District in Ontario. The bank gives way to taiga. It measures some 4.71 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. At about 14 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. On our Thunder Bay District list it sits near the top for size. Nearest town is Lappe, 79 km off. County Park lies 94 km off, Shuniah Township another 94 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Buck Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Thunder Bay District: cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Buck Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 17°C; by January the average is down near -20°C. The year here is short and sharp: a long lid, then a burst of open water. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Buck Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Creppy Lake is 4.2 km distant. Nothing on Buck Lake should be assumed from this page alone.