Turkey Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Turkey Lake is an Algoma water, in Ontario. The bank is 365 metres above sea level. It measures about 55 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Around 6.0 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. Some 60 km away sits Sault Ste. Marie, the nearest settlement. For a city, Greater Sudbury is 269 km off. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Turkey Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Algoma names walleye, northern pike, Iowa darter and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Turkey Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 17°C, the coldest about -12°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Turkey Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Little Turkey Lake is 1.2 km distant. Where Turkey Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.