Clover Lake Fishing Guide, Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  The Thunder Bay District end of Ontario holds Clover Lake. The water sits 334 metres up. Roughly 68 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. With 7.0 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. The closest town, Geraldton, is 56 km away. Thunder Bay sits 266 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Clover Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Thunder Bay District: cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. On Clover Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -20°C and July at about 16°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. The season on Clover Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Failing this one, try Kawashkagama Lake, 3.6 km away. Confirm before you fish Clover Lake.