Long Lake Fishing in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  The Thunder Bay District entry here is Long Lake, in Ontario. The water sits 472 metres up. With some 18 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Around 2.7 km of margin, front to back. It is high ground by Ontario standards. Nearest town is Atikokan, 72 km off. Thunder Bay sits 119 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Long Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Long Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -16°C and July at about 18°C, the water has a wide range to work through. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. The season on Long Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. 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 ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Need Lake is 1 km off. Treat Long Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.