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

• Overview

  Look for Katie Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario. The surface lies 361 metres up. With some 17 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 2.1 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. On size it sits at the modest end of our Thunder Bay District list. The closest town, Manitouwadge, is 31 km away. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 290 km distant. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Katie Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Thunder Bay District: cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Fish Katie Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -18°C. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. It holds true on Katie Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. For a change of water, Olie Lake is 3.4 km distant. Rules at Katie Lake are worth checking on the day.