Marten Lake Fishing in Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Ontario holds Marten Lake, in Kenora District. Elevation runs to 406 metres. At about 33 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. About 2.8 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Most waters listed here for Kenora District are larger. For supplies, Ignace is 38 km out. Thunder Bay sits 227 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Marten Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Kenora District include northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker and johnny darter. The county list is broader than any single water. Marten Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -18°C at the bottom of winter. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. On Marten Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Smirch Lake sits 3 km off and takes the overflow. Rules at Marten Lake are worth checking on the day.