McLaughlin Lake Fishing Guide, Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Ontario holds McLaughlin Lake, in Kenora District. The bank is 341 metres above sea level. With some 35 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The whole outline is near 4.7 km, and most of it is walkable. Lac du Bonnet is the closest place, 72 km off. Winnipeg sits 158 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on McLaughlin Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Kenora District include northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. The county list is broader than any single water. The shape of McLaughlin Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 19°C on average, January about -19°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Plan around that when you fish McLaughlin Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Workman Lake, 0.9 km away. For McLaughlin Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.