Fan Lake Fishing in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, this is Fan Lake. Height above sea level is 498 metres. Surface area runs to about 2 hectares — small enough to read in one session. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Thunder Bay District. Grand Marais lies 43 km from the water. Further out sit Neebing (54 km) and Parkdale (69 km). No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Fan Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Public occurrence data for Thunder Bay District names cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fan Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -16°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. On Fan Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. A campsite lies 700 m away for anyone staying over. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Vaseux Lake is 0.6 km distant. Signs at Fan Lake carry more weight than any list.