Openshaw Lake Fishing Guide, Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Openshaw Lake is one of the Kenora District waters in Ontario. This is rolling bush country. Roughly 1.50 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. The perimeter runs near 18 km, so plan the walk before you start. You are 45 km from Red Lake. The big place round here is Winnipeg, 286 km distant. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Openshaw Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Species logged across Kenora District include northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker and johnny darter. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Read Openshaw Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 18°C and January about -20°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about early November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It sets the rhythm of the year at Openshaw Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Rieger Lake, 2.8 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Openshaw Lake carry more weight than any list.