Fishing Dead Horse Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  The Thunder Bay District entry here is Dead Horse Lake, in Ontario. It sits at 310 metres above sea level. At 7 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. It is a small entry by Thunder Bay District standards. Start from Terrace Bay, 36 km down the road. For a city, Thunder Bay is 199 km off. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Dead Horse Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Reported across Thunder Bay District: cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Dead Horse Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 16°C and January reads -16°C. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. From about early May to around mid November, expect open water on the long-run figures. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. At Dead Horse Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Glory Lake sits 2.5 km off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Dead Horse Lake in what we hold.