Northern Trails Bays End: An Ice Fishing Mecca By Gord Ellis
The eastern tip of Thunder Bay, on the Canadian side of Lake Superior, is known as Bays End. I am not exactly sure where Bays End officially starts, but a line that runs south and north from the western tip of Caribou Island is about right. Some might say it starts from the Conservation Area and the launch at Silver Harbour and I won’t argue with that. Bays End freezes up sooner than the rest of the bay, normally by mid-January. Once the ice is solid, anglers begin to ply the expansive waters of the bay on foot, or via snowmobile or ATV. The snow depth varies a lot each winter and there can be some substantial ice ridges as well. Bays End provides a unique and diverse winter fishery, with some of the best fishing happening in February and March. Here is a breakdown of the species you can catch and how to take them.
Lake Trout The bread-and-butter fish of Bays End, lake trout are both numerous and grow quite large, although a 20-pounder is a monster here. Four decades ago, the lake trout fishery came back after a long period of decline, largely due to lamprey predation and overfishing. Although lamprey scars are still evident on many fish, the laker population remains strong. Most lake trout are caught in water from 40 to 100 feet, although they can be found both deeper and shallower. There are not many places in the bay where you can’t catch a laker, but the 60- to 80-foot trough on the north side of Caribou is a consistent hot spot as is the deep water closer to the Sibley Peninsula. The western tip of Caribou Island also holds a lot of lakers. I’ve found the best and simplest way to catch lake trout in Bays End is to jig spoons. A silver Swedish Pimple weighing from a half ounce to an ounce will work wonders. The weight and size of the spoon will depend on the depth you are fishing. An aggressive jig-drop-jig action seems to catch the most lake trout, with many hitting on the drop. Other good laker spoons include the Krocodile, Hopkins and Buzz Bomb. Lakers will also hit a frozen cisco that’s hung or laid on the bottom as a set line. Most of the lake trout will be close to bottom, although I have had lakers come in well off bottom to hit a spoon being dropped or retrieved. A flasher or ice depth finder will be a big help. 28
FEBRUARY 2022
Chanelle Boucher of Thunder Bay holds up a lake trout with Devin Ellis. | GORD ELLIS
NORTHERN WILDS
