Butler Lake near Ignace: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  The Kenora District entry here is Butler Lake, in Ontario. Everything around it is pine and birch. With some 28 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The whole outline is near 4.9 km, and most of it is walkable. It is a small entry by Kenora District standards. Ignace lies 15 km from the water. For a city, Thunder Bay is 225 km off. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Butler Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Species logged across Kenora District include northern pike, longnose sucker and white sucker. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Butler Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -18°C in January up to 18°C in July. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. That is the shape of the year on Butler Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Little Butler Lake is 1.3 km distant. Ask locally about Butler Lake if anything is unclear.