Long Lake in Kenora District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Long Lake sits in Kenora District, out in Ontario. This is mixed forest ground. Around 18.36 sq km of open water: conditions change from one end to the other. You have roughly 51 km of edge to choose from, which rewards a scouting trip. On our Kenora District list it sits near the top for size. Dryden lies 48 km from the water. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 254 km distant. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Long Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Kenora District include northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Read Long Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 18°C in July and bottom out at -18°C in January. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Long Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Spear Lake at 3.4 km is the sensible second choice. Check the current arrangement for Long Lake.