Fishing Wayner Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Look for Wayner Lake in the Thunder Bay District part of Ontario. The bank gives way to northern bush. Roughly 1.70 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. At about 14 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Few waters listed in Thunder Bay District are bigger. The town to know is Greenstone, 135 km out. The nearest city of size is Thunder Bay, 322 km away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Wayner Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Survey and observation records for Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. On Wayner Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 16°C in July and bottom out at -21°C in January. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near early November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on Wayner Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Goodliff Lake sits 7 km off and takes the overflow. Ask locally about Wayner Lake if anything is unclear.