Fishing at Goodfish Lake, Timiskaming District, Ontario

• Overview

  The Timiskaming District entry here is Goodfish Lake, in Ontario. This is mixed forest ground. It measures some 1.19 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. At about 5.2 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. It ranks high for size among our Timiskaming District listings. Nearest town is Kirkland Lake, 5.8 km off. Then Englehart, 43 km, and Rouyn-Noranda, 74 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Goodfish Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Goodfish Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 17°C and January near -17°C. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. It sets the rhythm of the year at Goodfish Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Gami Lake sits 1.6 km off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Goodfish Lake in what we hold.