Fishing at Clod Lake, Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  You will find Clod Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario. This is spruce and muskeg country. Roughly 2.15 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. The perimeter runs near 13 km, so plan the walk before you start. It ranks high for size among our Thunder Bay District listings. Greenstone at 84 km is the nearest place to stop. Beyond it, Geraldton at 96 km and Longlac at 118 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Clod Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Thunder Bay District, recorded fish include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Clod Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -20°C at the bottom of winter. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Climate averages put the opening at about early May and the closing near mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. That shapes the year on Clod Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. 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. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Midcross Lake at 3.1 km is the sensible second choice. For Clod Lake in particular, ask before you travel.