Little Caribou Lake in Thunder Bay District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Little Caribou Lake is one of the Thunder Bay District waters in Ontario. What surrounds it is pine and birch. It measures about 20 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. About 2.5 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Compared with other Ontario water on our list, it sits high. Nearest place of any size is Grand Marais, 36 km away. Further out sit Neebing (64 km) and Parkdale (79 km). The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Little Caribou Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for Thunder Bay District list cisco, blackfin cisco and rainbow smelt. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. At Little Caribou Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 17°C and January near -15°C on the long-run figures. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. The season on Little Caribou Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping shows a campsite some 110 m from the water. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. If the gate is shut, Table Lake at 1.7 km is the nearest alternative. Where Little Caribou Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.