Peterkin Lake in Thunder Bay District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Peterkin Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, Ontario side. It stands 479 metres above sea level. About 2.98 sq km, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. The edge covers about 13 km, enough to hold several distinct areas. Size puts it in the front rank of our Thunder Bay District list. Lappe lies 69 km from the water. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 86 km distant. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Peterkin Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Peterkin Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 17°C at the top of summer and -19°C at the bottom of winter. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. The season on Peterkin Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. If the gate is shut, Oistrach Lake at 2.3 km is the nearest alternative. Where Peterkin Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.