Fishing at Coates Lake, Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Within Kenora District, Ontario, you have Coates Lake. The setting is mixed forest on every side. It runs to roughly 42 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. About 4.7 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Nearest place of any size is Dryden, 21 km away. Thunder Bay sits 302 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Coates Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. County-wide records name northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. At Coates Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 18°C, the coldest about -18°C. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan around that when you fish Coates Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Should this one be busy, Loveland Lake is 1.1 km off. Treat Coates Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.