Fishing Mickle Lake in Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Mickle Lake sits within Kenora District in Ontario. Elevation runs to 400 metres. The water covers around 2.11 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. You are looking at roughly 12 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Supplies mean a trip to Dryden, 36 km off. Thunder Bay sits 267 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Mickle Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Public occurrence data for Kenora District names northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker and johnny darter. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Treat Mickle Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -18°C in January up to 18°C in July. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Open water usually runs from late April until about mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. On Mickle Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try McIvor Lake, 3.6 km away. Signs at Mickle Lake carry more weight than any list.