Fishing Empire Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Ontario holds Empire Lake, in Thunder Bay District. The water sits 297 metres up. Greenstone at 57 km is the nearest place to stop. Nipigon lies 71 km off, Geraldton another 72 km. Also on the doorstep: Janakka Lake just 0.9 km, Crater Lake a shade over 1.4 km, Pauline Lake just 2 km, Spooner Lake a shade over 2 km and Standingstone Lake just 2.6 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Empire Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Thunder Bay District records list cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Read Empire Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 17°C and January near -20°C on the long-run figures. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. It sets the rhythm of the year at Empire Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Janakka Lake, 0.9 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Empire Lake.