Fishing at Upper Laughing Lake, Algoma, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Algoma, Upper Laughing Lake is an Ontario water. The surface lies 454 metres up. At about 67 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The perimeter runs near 6.1 km, so plan the walk before you start. Compared with other Ontario water on our list, it sits high. The closest town, Sault Ste. Marie, is 71 km distant. Greater Sudbury sits 210 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Upper Laughing Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Algoma, recorded fish include walleye, northern pike and Iowa darter. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The near bank of Upper Laughing Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 17°C and January near -14°C on the long-run figures. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. On average, late April opens the water and late November closes it again. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Upper Laughing Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Little Sand Lake sits 0.8 km off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Upper Laughing Lake in what we hold.