Birch Lake
Walleye opens Sat, May 16 — it lies 96 km east of Red Lake, and the nearest road is 20 miles off — this is fly-in water.
Birch Lake is the 18th-largest of 1,629 named lakes in Ontario Far North, with 333 miles of charted shoreline and 260 islands. Its 121 ft maximum depth is greater than 94% of depth-surveyed lakes in the region.
MNRF aquatic resource surveys
Fish species
Also present: Blacknose Shiner, Bluntnose Minnow, Burbot, Cisco, Common Shiner, Emerald Shiner, Fathead Minnow, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Johnny Darter x Tesselated Darter, Lake Chub, Lake Sturgeon, Logperch, Longnose Dace, Mimic Shiner, Mottled Sculpin, Moxostoma sp., Ninespine Stickleback, River Darter, Rock Bass, Shorthead Redhorse, Slimy Sculpin, Spoonhead Sculpin, Spottail Shiner, Trout-Perch, White Sucker
On this water
Lodges & operators 0
No lodge is based on Birch Lake itself. These are the closest that are — each on its own water, with the straight-line distance from here.
- LATREILLE LAKE LODGE✓ Verifiedlodgefly-inamerican · housekeeping15 mi away
Home water: Latreille Lake
Remote fly-in fishing and hunting lodge on Latreille Lake, about 80 air miles northeast of Vermilion Bay and reachable only by float plane from Clark's Cedar Lake base. American Plan main lodge with ten double rooms plus a private eight-person cabin, and two self-catered outpost camps on the adjoining Margaret and Allison lakes; walleye and northern pike over roughly 300 miles of shoreline, with spring and fall bear and moose hunts.
- UCHI LAKE LODGE✓ Verifiedlodgefly-inamerican · housekeeping23 mi away
Home water: Uchi Lake
Uchi Lake Lodge sits alone on a 12-mile lake in northwestern Ontario, roughly three hours' drive north of the Minnesota border, and is run by an operator reachable at summer premises in Ear Falls. Six guest cabins hold parties of two up to twenty-eight, all with 24-hour power, three-piece washrooms, wood stoves and Starlink service in the main building. Guests arrive either by floatplane from Onaway Lodge at Ear Falls or by driving to the end of the road and covering the final 5.5 miles in the operator's Sherp amphibious 4x4; both catered (Deluxe American) and self-catered (Housekeeping) plans are sold, each including a Lund boat, 15 HP Yamaha motor and unlimited fuel and ice. Beyond walleye and pike fishing on a catch-and-release lake, the operator sells four moose-hunting packages each fall in WMUs 4 and 16A, limited to about two groups per season.
- Jubilee Outposts and Lodge✓ Verifiedcampdrive-tohousekeeping25 mi away
Home water: Jubilee Lake
A single remote housekeeping outpost cabin on Jubilee Lake, about 45 miles northeast of Ear Falls in northwestern Ontario, sleeping up to eight in two bedrooms with solar-powered lights and water, propane appliances and a screened fish-cleaning house. Walleye and northern pike are the draw on a lake with roughly 16 miles of shoreline and depths past 90 feet, and the cabin sits in an east bay that leaves fishable water in most winds; guests drive to a trailhead and are shuttled in by ATV.
- KABEELO LODGE✓ Verifiedoutpost networkfly-indrive-toamerican · housekeeping27 mi away
Home water: Confederation Lake
KaBeeLo Lodge is a family-owned fishing and hunting business in Northwestern Ontario, running since 1972 from a main base on Confederation Lake with a mailing address at Ear Falls. The main base is reachable by road and serves cooked meals, while guests are flown by floatplane - through the operation's own air carrier, KaBeeLo Airways, certified in 1978 - to 13 outpost cabins on separate lakes. Four 2026 fishing packages are listed: a short remote outpost stay, a seven-night outpost stay, daily fly-outs that return to the main base each evening, and a drive-in stay at the main base. Outpost trips supply food, boats, motors and fuel for self-catered cooking; the operation also sells black bear, moose and grouse hunts, and targets walleye, northern pike and lake trout.
2026 regulations
Seasons & limitsFMZ 4
Ice-out here is typically mid May (modeled from regional ice records).
| Species | Season | Sport licence | Conservation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Trout | Jan. 1 - Sept. 30 | S - 2; not more than 1 greater than 56 cm (22 in.) | C - 1, no size limit |
| Lake Whitefish | Open all year | S - 12 | C - 6 |
| Northern Pike | Open all year | S - 4, none between 70 - 90 cm (27.6 - 35.4 in.), not more than 1 greater than 90 cm (35.4 in.) | C - 2, none between 70 - 90 cm (27.6 - 35.4 in.), not more than 1 greater than 90 cm (35.4 in.) |
| Walleye and Sauger or any combination | Jan. 1 - Apr. 14 & 3rd Sat. in May - Dec. 31 | S - 4, not more than 1 greater than 46 cm (18.1 in.) | C - 2, not more than 1 greater than 46 cm (18.1 in.) |
| Yellow Perch | Open all year | S - 50 | C - 25 |
Compiled from MNRF Recreational Fishing Regulations open data (2026 season, zone-wide rules shown for this lake's species). Regulations change by variation order — confirm with the official FMZ 4 summary before you fish.
Eating what you catch
Consumption advisories
Recommended meals per month from Ontario's fish contaminant monitoring — ranges span the tested fish sizes.
| Species | General | Sensitive* | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burbot (Ling) | 8–12 | 4 | Mercury |
| Lake Trout | 4 | Do not eat | Mercury |
| Lake Whitefish | 16–32 | 16–32 | Arsenic, Mercury |
| Northern Pike | 4–12 | 0–4 | Mercury |
| Walleye | 0–8 | 0–4 | Mercury |
| White Sucker | 16–32 | 8–16 | Mercury |
*Women of child-bearing age and children under 15. Compiled from the MECP Guide to Eating Ontario Fish (2025 guide) — check the guide for size-specific advice before keeping fish.
Comparable trips
Similar water
Same region, overlapping species, comparable size.
- Trout Lake22 shared species · 86,060 ac
- Winisk Lake19 shared species · 64,444 ac
- Premier Lake19 shared species · 382 ac
- Peekahchekahmeewee Sahkaheekahn/Pikangikum Lake18 shared species · 15,022 ac
- Keechewahshaykahmeeshek/Cairns Lake18 shared species · 12,943 ac
Around this water