Cloud Lake in Thunder Bay District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Cloud Lake is one of the Thunder Bay District listings for Ontario. The bank is 444 metres above sea level. With some 37 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Around 3.5 km of margin, front to back. It sits higher than most water we list in Ontario. You are 67 km from Ignace. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 170 km distant. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Cloud Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Thunder Bay District, recorded fish include cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Work Cloud Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 18°C, with January the cold end at about -20°C. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Climate averages put the opening at about early May and the closing near mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Plan around that when you fish Cloud Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Failing this one, try Rain Lake, 1.5 km away. Check the current arrangement for Cloud Lake.