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

• Overview

  Within Thunder Bay District, Ontario, you have Vaseux Lake. The bank is 492 metres above sea level. About 4 hectares of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Most waters listed here for Thunder Bay District are larger. The nearest place of any size is Grand Marais, 43 km away. Further out sit Neebing (53 km) and Parkdale (68 km). It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Vaseux Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. 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. County-wide records name cisco, blackfin cisco, rainbow smelt and bloater. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Vaseux Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -16°C in January to roughly 17°C in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Climate figures give an open season running late April to mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Vaseux Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Overnight stays are possible about 1 km out, where camping is mapped. 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. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Fan Lake sits 0.6 km off and takes the overflow. The position on Vaseux Lake is worth confirming on the day.