Hydro Lake Fishing near Schreiber, Ontario

• Overview

  Hydro Lake is one of the Thunder Bay District waters in Ontario. The surface lies 339 metres up. At 4 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Thunder Bay District list. Schreiber sits 32 km from here and is the nearest stop. Thunder Bay sits 131 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Hydro Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Fish Hydro Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -14°C at the bottom of winter. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about late November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. It sets the rhythm of the year at Hydro Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Failing this one, try Cavers Lake, 0.6 km away. None of that is settled for Hydro Lake in what we hold.