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

• Overview

  Shmoo Lake is a Thunder Bay District water, Ontario side. Height above sea level is 326 metres. It runs to roughly 38 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge runs 2.9 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Manitouwadge lies 17 km from the water. For a city, Thunder Bay is 280 km off. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Shmoo Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Species logged across Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Shmoo Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -18°C. Long winters and short summers set the pattern. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. That is the shape of the year on Shmoo Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Joe Lake at 1.6 km is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Shmoo Lake as something to verify.