Fishing District Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  District Lake lies in Thunder Bay District, in Ontario. The country here is lake country bush. The water covers some 47 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The edge covers about 6.0 km, enough to hold several distinct areas. Compared with other Ontario water on our list, it sits high. For a base, Atikokan sits 65 km out. After that come Grand Marais at 83 km and Ely at 84 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on District Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish documented in Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On District Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for July and -16°C for January. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Time your trip to District Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Island Lake at 2.2 km is the sensible second choice. For District Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.