Fortes Lake Fishing Guide, Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Fortes Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, Ontario side. Height above sea level is 468 metres. Roughly 1.63 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. The edge covers about 14 km, enough to hold several distinct areas. It ranks high for size among our Thunder Bay District listings. 55 km away sits Atikokan, the nearest town. Ignace is 101 km and Grand Marais 109 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Fortes Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Thunder Bay District cover cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Fortes Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -17°C and July at about 18°C, the water has a wide range to work through. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. That is the shape of the year on Fortes Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. 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. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. The nearest alternative is Grano Lake, 1.5 km out. For Fortes Lake in particular, ask before you travel.