Yard Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Kenora District entry here is Yard Lake, in Ontario. It sits at 380 metres above sea level. At about 24 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Roughly 2.7 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. It is a small entry by Kenora District standards. The town to know is Sioux Lookout, 56 km out. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 328 km distant. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Yard Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Kenora District include northern pike, longnose sucker, white sucker, johnny darter and logperch. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Work Yard Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 18°C; by January the average is down near -19°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. The water is typically free of ice between late April and mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. At Yard Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. The nearest alternative is Spruce Lake, 4.4 km out. Nothing on Yard Lake should be assumed from this page alone.