Fishing McCambly Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, this is McCambly Lake. Taiga runs right down to the water. At about 28 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. At about 5.5 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. 46 km away sits Greenstone, the nearest town. Beyond it, Geraldton at 62 km and Nipigon at 85 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on McCambly Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. County-wide records name cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Take McCambly Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 16°C and January near -20°C. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early May. Climate averages put the opening at about early May and the closing near mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. McCambly Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Spawn Lake is 2.9 km off. For McCambly Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.