Fishing at Little North Lake, Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  The Thunder Bay District entry here is Little North Lake, in Ontario. It stands 470 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 40 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Ontario listings. Grand Marais is the closest town at 45 km. After that come Neebing at 86 km and Parkdale at 99 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Little North Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Little North Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 18°C; by January the average is down near -15°C. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The water is typically free of ice between late April and mid November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. On Little North Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Overnight stays are possible 1 km away. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. If the gate is shut, Little Gunflint Lake at 1.8 km is the nearest alternative. Nothing here settles the position at Little North Lake for certain.