Dill Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Dill Lake in the Algoma part of Ontario. The country here is mixed forest. The water covers some 40 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The bank runs about 4.4 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Start from Sault Ste. Marie, 59 km down the road. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 247 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Dill Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish documented in Algoma include walleye, northern pike, Iowa darter, yellow perch and white sucker. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. At Dill Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -13°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. The season between ice runs from about late April to late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. That is the shape of the year on Dill Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Horseshoe Lake sits 1.5 km off and takes the overflow. What applies at Dill Lake may have changed since it was mapped.