Fishing Gene Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Gene Lake lies in Thunder Bay District, in Ontario. It stands 287 metres above sea level. The water covers some 58 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Bank access stretches around 5.0 km in total. The nearest town is Longlac, 54 km away. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 288 km away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Gene Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Reported across Thunder Bay District: cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. At Gene Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 16°C and January near -19°C. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. Count the season from break-up, usually early May. The season between ice runs from about early May to mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. On Gene Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Slim Jim Lake sits 4.6 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Gene Lake for certain.