Rains Lake Fishing Guide, Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Rains Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, in Ontario. It sits in boreal forest country. At roughly 7 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Our Thunder Bay District list holds plenty of bigger water. 30 km away sits Nipigon, the nearest town. Thunder Bay sits 130 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Rains Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Rains 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. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Plan any trip to Rains Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. 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. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Keemle Lake sits 6.9 km off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Rains Lake in what we hold.