Fishing Pickle Lake in Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Pickle Lake lies in Kenora District, Ontario. The surroundings are spruce and muskeg. This is big water, about 10.53 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. Some 26 km of shoreline means conditions can differ from one end to the other. On our Kenora District list it sits near the top for size. Sioux Lookout at 192 km is the nearest place to stop. Thunder Bay sits 349 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Pickle Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Kenora District, recorded fish include northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. The county list is broader than any single water. Read Pickle Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 17°C, while January sits near -21°C. The year here is short and sharp: a long lid, then a burst of open water. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Expect the water usable from around early May until roughly early November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. That shapes the year on Pickle Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Graveyard Lake sits 2.4 km off and takes the overflow. Treat access at Pickle Lake as something to verify.