Finger Lake in Algoma: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Finger Lake is one of the Algoma waters in Ontario. The bank is 478 metres above sea level. Around 13 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. About 2.6 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Most waters listed here for Algoma are larger. Supplies mean a trip to Elliot Lake, 45 km off. Further out sit Blind River (68 km) and Thessalon (85 km). The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Finger Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Algoma include walleye, northern pike and Iowa darter. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Work Finger Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -13°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Finger Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Bay Lake is 1.5 km distant. Ask locally about Finger Lake if anything is unclear.