Willis Lake
Walleye opens Sat, May 16 — it lies 38 km south of MacDowell, and the nearest road is 35 miles off — this is fly-in water.
Willis Lake is the 562nd-largest of 1,629 named lakes in Ontario Far North, with 17 miles of charted shoreline and 4 islands. Its 61 ft maximum depth is greater than 62% of depth-surveyed lakes in the region.
MNRF aquatic resource surveys
Fish species
Also present: Cisco
On this water
Lodges & operators 0
No lodge is based on Willis 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 · housekeeping49 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.
2026 regulations
Seasons & limitsFMZ 2
- Special limit on this water — : Refer to zone-wide seasons and limits · Refer to zone-wide seasons and limits · Live fish may not be used as bait or possessed for use as bait (All waters north of latitude of the 11th baseline (51°48’11”N.) and west of longitude 89°00’W.)
- Special limit on this water — Lake Sturgeon: Closed all year · Refer to zone-wide seasons and limits (All waters located within the portion of Zone 2 from the Ontario / Manitoba interprovincial boundary east along the line of 52°35’N. latitude, to the intersection with 93°50’W. longitude, thence south to the intersection with 52°10’N. latitude, thence east to the intersection with 92°10’W. longitude, thence south to the Zone 2 boundary, including all of the waters within Woodland Caribou Provincial Park; thence in a westerly direction to the Ontario/Manitoba interprovincial boundary, thence northerly to the intersection with 52°35’N. latitude.)
Ice-out here is typically mid May (modeled from regional ice records).
| Species | Season | Sport licence | Conservation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.) |
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 2 summary before you fish.
Comparable trips
Similar water
Same region, overlapping species, comparable size.
- Southwest Lake3 shared species · 800 ac
- Guernsey Lake3 shared species · 796 ac
- Opichuan Lake3 shared species · 776 ac
- Meeteekooneekahmeeng/Dolphin Lake3 shared species · 1,004 ac
- Bellsmith Lake3 shared species · 773 ac
Around this water