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

• Overview

  Ontario holds Ploughshare Lake, in Thunder Bay District. It lies 362 metres above sea level. Roughly 33 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Roughly 4.2 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. Nearest place of any size is Longlac, 42 km away. Further out sit Geraldton (52 km) and Manitouwadge (53 km). One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Ploughshare Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. At Ploughshare Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 16°C and January about -18°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan around that when you fish Ploughshare Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Failing this one, try Zapus Lake, 1.7 km away. Signs at Ploughshare Lake carry more weight than any list.