Little Ellis Lake Fishing near Greenstone, Ontario

• Overview

  In Ontario, Little Ellis Lake falls inside Thunder Bay District. It lies 386 metres above sea level. With some 87 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Some 5.5 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Greenstone is the closest place, 31 km off. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 186 km distant. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Little Ellis Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Thunder Bay District: cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Little Ellis Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -19°C in January. This far north the hard season runs and runs. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Plan around that when you fish Little Ellis Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Dickie Lake is 1.9 km off. Nothing here settles the position at Little Ellis Lake for certain.