Lees Lake in Algoma: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Algoma, Ontario, is where Lees Lake sits. Around the bank it is rolling bush. Surface area runs to about 9 hectares — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Algoma list. Start from Thessalon, 35 km down the road. For a city, Greater Sudbury is 207 km off. What else is close: Rheaume Lake some 0.4 km off, Thorp Lake (0.4 km), Rat Lake some 2 km off, Snare Lake (2.5 km) and Tarpaper Lake some 3.6 km off. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Lees Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Public occurrence data for Algoma names walleye, northern pike, Iowa darter, yellow perch and white sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Lees Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for July and -12°C for January. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. That is the shape of the year on Lees Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Rheaume Lake at 0.4 km is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Lees Lake as something to verify.