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

• Overview

  Slim Jim Lake falls in Thunder Bay District, part of Ontario. The water sits 247 metres up. About 2.46 sq km, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. With 16 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. It is among the larger waters listed here for Thunder Bay District. You are 58 km from Manitouwadge. It is 291 km to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Slim Jim Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Slim Jim Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 16°C for July and -18°C for January. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. At Slim Jim Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Gene Lake is 4.6 km distant. Rules at Slim Jim Lake are worth checking on the day.