Pike Lake Fishing near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

• Overview

  Pike Lake is listed under Algoma, Ontario. Land around it is pine and birch. Around 38 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. A shoreline of some 4.2 km keeps the choices simple. Sault Ste. Marie sits 46 km from here and is the nearest stop. Greater Sudbury sits 245 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Pike Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Algoma, recorded fish include walleye, northern pike, Iowa darter, yellow perch and white sucker. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Pike Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -13°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Time your trip to Pike Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Reclus Lake is 1.6 km off. Confirm access to Pike Lake locally before you travel.