Pistol Lake Fishing near Longlac, Ontario

• Overview

  Thunder Bay District in Ontario is where Pistol Lake sits. What surrounds it is spruce and muskeg. It runs to roughly 24 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. A shoreline of some 3.3 km keeps the choices simple. The town to know is Longlac, 52 km out. Geraldton lies 66 km off, Greenstone another 74 km. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Pistol Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Survey and observation records for Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. On Pistol Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -20°C to 16°C. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early May. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Pistol Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Swede Lake, 2.9 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Ask locally about Pistol Lake if anything is unclear.