McAuley Lake in Thunder Bay District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  McAuley Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, in Ontario. Around the bank it is boreal forest. At about 38 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. With about 4.2 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Nipigon lies 157 km from the water. Greenstone follows at 169 km, then Sioux Lookout at 180 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on McAuley Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. McAuley Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 17°C in July and bottom out at -21°C in January. This far north the hard season runs and runs. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. On McAuley Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Rushbay Lake at 3.8 km is the nearest alternative. Ask locally about McAuley Lake if anything is unclear.