Finlayson Lake Fishing in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Finlayson Lake lies in Thunder Bay District, in Ontario. Height above sea level is 344 metres. Roughly 1.29 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. There is roughly 11 km of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. You are 19 km from Geraldton. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 208 km away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Finlayson Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Finlayson Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -19°C at the bottom of winter. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Finlayson Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Widow Lake, 2.9 km away. Check the current arrangement for Finlayson Lake.