Griffen Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Within Thunder Bay District, Ontario, you have Griffen Lake. Beyond the shoreline you have taiga. Around 11 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. The edge runs 1.5 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Most waters listed here for Thunder Bay District are larger. Longlac at 38 km is the nearest place to stop. Manitouwadge is 56 km away, with Geraldton at 64 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Griffen Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Public occurrence data for Thunder Bay District names cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Griffen Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 16°C in July and bottom out at -18°C in January. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Anyone fishing Griffen Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. If the gate is shut, Koandowango Lake at 3.1 km is the nearest alternative. Treat access at Griffen Lake as something to verify.