Musher Lake Fishing near Manitouwadge, Ontario

• Overview

  Out in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, sits Musher Lake. It sits at 327 metres above sea level. Around 28 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. Shoreline comes to about 4.6 km, small enough to learn in a day. Head to Manitouwadge, 34 km away, for anything you forgot. Hornepayne follows at 86 km, then Terrace Bay at 96 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Musher Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. The county list is broader than any single water. The near bank of Musher Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 16°C for July and -16°C for January. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early May. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on Musher Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Solong Lake at 2.3 km is the sensible second choice. What applies at Musher Lake may have changed since it was mapped.