Duffy Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Duffy Lake in the Algoma part of Ontario. What surrounds it is spruce and muskeg. This is sizeable water at about 5.08 sq km, and a boat opens up most of it. With 19 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Few waters listed in Algoma are bigger. The town to know is Wawa, 61 km out. Hornepayne follows at 80 km, then Manitouwadge at 90 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Duffy Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Algoma include walleye, northern pike and Iowa darter. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Read Duffy Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -17°C. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The water is typically free of ice between early May and mid November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Anyone fishing Duffy Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. If the gate is shut, Negwazu Lake at 5.5 km is the nearest alternative. What applies at Duffy Lake may have changed since it was mapped.