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

• Overview

  Tomlinson Lake is one of the Thunder Bay District waters in Ontario. It lies 480 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 29 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 3.9 km, small enough to learn in a day. It sits higher than most water we list in Ontario. Atikokan sits 84 km from here and is the nearest stop. It is 119 km to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Tomlinson Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Read Tomlinson Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 17°C and January about -18°C. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Expect Tomlinson Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Keep the gear simple: light line, small hooks, split shot and a couple of proven lures. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Hay Lake sits 3.9 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing on Tomlinson Lake should be assumed from this page alone.