Fishing Johnson Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  You will find Johnson Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario. The water sits 331 metres up. It runs to roughly 13 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge runs 1.4 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Our Thunder Bay District list holds plenty of bigger water. The nearest place of any size is Neebing, 12 km away. The nearest city of size is Thunder Bay, 15 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Johnson Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. 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 this level tell you what is in the area. On Johnson Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 18°C and January about -15°C. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Anyone fishing Johnson Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Loch Lomond at 2.3 km is the nearest alternative. The position on Johnson Lake is worth confirming on the day.