Mackey Lake in Algoma: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Algoma entry here is Mackey Lake, in Ontario. Everything around it is pine and birch. With some 33 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Shoreline comes to about 4.0 km, small enough to learn in a day. It sits higher than most water we list in Ontario. The town to know is Wawa, 72 km out. Greater Sudbury sits 274 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Mackey Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Species logged across Algoma include walleye, northern pike and Iowa darter. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. The near bank of Mackey Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 16°C in July and bottom out at -14°C in January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Look for the thaw near late April; the fishing lifts straight after. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near mid November in autumn. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Time your trip to Mackey Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Graft Lake at 0.9 km is the sensible second choice. Ask locally about Mackey Lake if anything is unclear.