Joe Lake Fishing in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Joe Lake belongs to Thunder Bay District, Ontario. Elevation runs to 471 metres. With some 24 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. With about 2.7 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. It is high ground by Ontario standards. For supplies, Grand Marais is 60 km out. For a city, Thunder Bay is 72 km off. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Joe Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. The shape of Joe Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -16°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. At Joe Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. For a change of water, Flatrock Lake is 2.3 km distant. None of that is settled for Joe Lake in what we hold.