Limestone Lake near Nipigon: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  The Thunder Bay District entry here is Limestone Lake, in Ontario. It sits in northern bush country. The water covers some 32 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. You are looking at roughly 5.9 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Some 13 km away sits Nipigon, the nearest settlement. Further out sit Schreiber (73 km) and Amethyst Harbour (82 km). Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Limestone Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Thunder Bay District, recorded fish include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Limestone Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 17°C and January at -17°C. Long winters and short summers set the pattern. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Limestone Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. 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. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. If the gate is shut, Miller Lake at 2 km is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Limestone Lake in what we hold.