Empey Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Out in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, sits Empey Lake. The country here is boreal forest. It runs to roughly 18 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. About 2.4 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Compared with other Ontario water on our list, it sits high. Lappe at 84 km is the nearest place to stop. Shuniah Township is 97 km and County Park 98 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Empey Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Thunder Bay District records list cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. At Empey Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -20°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. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Empey Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Lob Lake is 2.4 km off. Confirm before you fish Empey Lake.