Fishing at Richan Lake, Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Richan Lake sits in Thunder Bay District, out in Ontario. It sits at 419 metres above sea level. Roughly 2.05 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. You are looking at roughly 13 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Size puts it in the front rank of our Thunder Bay District list. Supplies mean a trip to Sioux Lookout, 100 km off. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 223 km away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Richan Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Richan Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 17°C and January at -20°C. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Count the season from break-up, usually early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan any trip to Richan Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Loch Gordon is 4.1 km distant. For Richan Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.