Reckett Lake Fishing Guide, Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Reckett Lake lies in Thunder Bay District, in Ontario. Everything around it is boreal forest. At 4.07 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. With 19 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. It ranks high for size among our Thunder Bay District listings. The closest town, Greenstone, is 116 km away. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 292 km away. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Reckett Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The near bank of Reckett Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 16°C on average, January about -21°C. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about early November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. It sets the rhythm of the year at Reckett Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Crayon Lake at 5.6 km is the nearest alternative. Treat Reckett Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.