Walk Lake Fishing in Algoma, Ontario

• Overview

  Walk Lake sits in Algoma, out in Ontario. This is taiga ground. It runs to roughly 58 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Some 5.2 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Start from Hornepayne, 69 km down the road. It is 349 km to Greater Sudbury, the nearest city. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Walk Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. 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. Survey and observation records for Algoma include walleye, northern pike, Iowa darter, yellow perch and white sucker. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. The near bank of Walk Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -17°C in January. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. It holds true on Walk Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. The nearest alternative is Merekeme Lake, 4.2 km out. Rules at Walk Lake are worth checking on the day.