Ant Island Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Ant Island Lake in the Sudbury part of Ontario. It lies 368 metres above sea level. Roughly 1.11 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. The margin runs to about 7.8 km in total. Size puts it in the front rank of our Sudbury list. The nearest town is Timmins, 67 km away. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 193 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Ant Island Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Sudbury include smallmouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch. The county list is broader than any single water. The shape of Ant Island Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -17°C. The year here is short and sharp: a long lid, then a burst of open water. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. On Ant Island Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Wye Lake, 1.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. For Ant Island Lake in particular, ask before you travel.