Fishing at Sharp Lake, Kenora District, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Kenora District, Ontario, this is Sharp Lake. Everything around it is pine and birch. Roughly 27 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The full circuit measures close to 2.5 km on foot. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Kenora District. You are 36 km from Dryden. Thunder Bay sits 281 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Sharp Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Kenora District cover northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Sharp Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 18°C in July and bottoms out near -18°C in January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. That is the shape of the year on Sharp Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Jonas (Bell) Lake, 1.6 km out. Nothing here settles the position at Sharp Lake for certain.