Fishing at Shoal Lake, Algoma, Ontario

• Overview

  The Algoma end of Ontario holds Shoal Lake. Height above sea level is 264 metres. Roughly 20 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The full circuit measures close to 1.8 km on foot. The nearest town is Blind River, 28 km away. Elliot Lake is 34 km away, with Thessalon at 42 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Shoal Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name walleye, northern pike, Iowa darter and yellow perch. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Shoal Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 18°C on average, January about -12°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Shoal Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Pepler Lake, 1.3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Shoal Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.