Hermia Lake in Thunder Bay District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Thunder Bay District entry here is Hermia Lake, in Ontario. The bank is 429 metres above sea level. The water covers some 18 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The edge runs 2.3 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Start from Atikokan, 75 km down the road. It is 105 km to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Hermia Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Thunder Bay District records list cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt among the fish reported. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. On Hermia Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 18°C, while January sits near -17°C. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. The water is typically free of ice between late April and mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. The season on Hermia Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Fountain Lake is 2.1 km off. What applies at Hermia Lake may have changed since it was mapped.