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

• Overview

  Parnes Lake lies in Kenora District, in Ontario. The setting is mixed forest on every side. With some 68 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Around 5.3 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. For a base, Sioux Lookout sits 15 km out. For a city, Thunder Bay is 260 km off. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Parnes Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Kenora District list northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker and johnny darter. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Parnes Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -18°C in January and 18°C in July. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Parnes Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. 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. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Failing this one, try Toburn Lake, 1.4 km away. Signs at Parnes Lake carry more weight than any list.