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

• Overview

  Within Thunder Bay District, Ontario, you have Horsetail Lake. This is taiga ground. At 3.93 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. The shoreline runs about 20 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Thunder Bay District list. You are 86 km from Greenstone. After that come Geraldton at 97 km and Longlac at 118 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Horsetail Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Horsetail Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -20°C at the bottom of winter. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Count the season from break-up, usually early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Horsetail Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Little Toole Lake is 2.8 km distant. What applies at Horsetail Lake may have changed since it was mapped.