Cliff Lake Fishing in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Cliff Lake belongs to Thunder Bay District, Ontario. It lies 390 metres above sea level. Surface area is around 41 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. With about 3.2 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Nipigon sits 37 km from here and is the nearest stop. Thunder Bay sits 81 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Cliff Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. On Cliff Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 17°C, while January sits near -18°C. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Expect the water usable from around early May until roughly mid November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Cliff Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Failing this one, try Pringle Lake, 1.4 km away. Check the position on Cliff Lake before loading the car.