Nick Lake Fishing Guide, Algoma, Ontario

• Overview

  Nick Lake stands in Algoma, Ontario. The bank is 485 metres above sea level. With some 37 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Some 5.1 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Compared with other Ontario water on our list, it sits high. The nearest place of any size is Wawa, 46 km away. Further out sit Chapleau (72 km) and Sault Ste. Marie (131 km). It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Nick Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Algoma names walleye, northern pike and Iowa darter. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Nick Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 16°C and January near -15°C on the long-run figures. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. 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. Expect Nick Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Warbler Lake sits 2.6 km off and takes the overflow. Check the position at Nick Lake before loading the car.