Arden Lake in Sudbury: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Arden Lake is a Sudbury water, Ontario side. It lies 393 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 57 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Some 8.4 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Nearest town is Dowling, 95 km off. Then Rayside-Balfour, 99 km, and Capreol, 104 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Arden Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Sudbury include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Arden Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -16°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. From about late April to around late November, expect open water on the long-run figures. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Arden Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Rainspot Lake sits 3 km off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Arden Lake in what we hold.