Fishing Widow Lake in Thunder Bay District, Ontario

• Overview

  Widow Lake lies in Thunder Bay District, in Ontario. The surroundings are boreal forest. Geraldton is the closest place, 19 km off. Thunder Bay sits 209 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Close by you have: Finlayson Lake within 2.9 km, Parakeet Lake a shade over 3.7 km, Orphan Lake within 3.9 km, Wallace Lake a shade over 4.7 km and Lobo Lake within 5.6 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Widow Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Species logged across Thunder Bay District include cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt, bloater and shortjaw cisco. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Widow Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -19°C in January. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough early May. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Anyone fishing Widow Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Finlayson Lake is 2.9 km distant. Treat Widow Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.