Faries Lake in Thunder Bay District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Faries Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, in Ontario. Spruce and muskeg runs right down to the water. With some 20 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Bank access stretches around 3.5 km in total. Nearest place of any size is Manitouwadge, 17 km away. Further out sit Hornepayne (64 km) and Longlac (103 km). The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Faries Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Thunder Bay District, recorded fish include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Faries Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -17°C. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Plan any trip to Faries Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. The nearest alternative is McGraw Lake, 3.2 km out. Check the position at Faries Lake before loading the car.