Smith Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Smith Lake is set in Kenora District, Ontario. What surrounds it is lake country bush. The water measures roughly 5 hectares, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is a small entry by Kenora District standards. Ignace at 49 km is the nearest place to stop. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 201 km distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Smith Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker and johnny darter. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Fish Smith Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -20°C and July at about 18°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Time your trip to Smith Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. MacKenzie Lake at 2.3 km is the sensible second choice. Where Smith Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.