Fishing Elephant Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Elephant Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, in Ontario. The surroundings are boreal forest. It runs to roughly 14 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 2.0 km in total. Our Thunder Bay District list holds plenty of bigger water. Manitouwadge is the closest place, 59 km off. After that come Terrace Bay at 84 km and Schreiber at 96 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Elephant Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. 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. Thunder Bay District records list cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater among the fish reported. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Anyone new to Elephant Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -15°C in January and 16°C in July. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Elephant Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Hayward Lake sits 2.6 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Elephant Lake for certain.