Fishing Melly Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  In Ontario, Melly Lake belongs to Thunder Bay District. The bank gives way to boreal forest. Surface area is around 13 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The bank runs about 1.7 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Most waters listed here for Thunder Bay District are larger. Supplies mean a trip to Longlac, 79 km off. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 283 km away. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Melly Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Fish documented in Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Melly Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 16°C, with January the cold end at about -20°C. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Plan any trip to Melly Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Kupfer Lake, 1.9 km out. Signs at Melly Lake carry more weight than any list.