Norton Lake in Kenora District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Norton Lake lies in Kenora District, Ontario. This is boreal forest ground. At 2.59 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. Some 14 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Nearest place of any size is Greenstone, 246 km away. The nearest city of size is Thunder Bay, 419 km away. If this one is busy: Rylands Lake about 11 km, Sturrock Lake 12 km away, Offler Lake about 14 km, Turley Lake 14 km away and Goldspink Lake about 15 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Norton Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Across Kenora District, recorded fish include northern pike, longnose sucker and white sucker. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Norton Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 16°C and January reads -22°C. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about early November in a typical year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Plan around that when you fish Norton Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Rylands Lake is 11 km distant. What applies at Norton Lake may have changed since it was mapped.