McGraw Lake Fishing near Manitouwadge, Ontario

• Overview

  McGraw Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, in Ontario. The water sits 341 metres up. The water covers some 99 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. You are looking at roughly 10 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Manitouwadge lies 20 km from the water. The nearest city of size is Thunder Bay, 279 km away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on McGraw Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Public occurrence data for Thunder Bay District names cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. McGraw Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 16°C on average, January about -18°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. 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. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. On McGraw Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Little Macutagon Lake at 2.8 km is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at McGraw Lake for certain.