Indian Lake Fishing near Vermilion Bay, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Kenora District, Ontario, this is Indian Lake. The surroundings are mixed forest. Roughly 6.48 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. Size puts it in the front rank of our Kenora District list. 12 km away sits Vermilion Bay, the nearest town. Dryden follows at 58 km, then Kenora at 71 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Indian Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Kenora District include northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker and johnny darter. The county list is broader than any single water. Take Indian Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -18°C to 19°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Look for the thaw near late April; the fishing lifts straight after. The open-water window runs from around late April to about mid November in an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Indian Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. The water borders Blue Lake Provincial Park, so expect the reserve rules to apply. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Blue Lake, 3 km away. For Indian Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.