Athlone Lake Fishing Guide, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  The Sudbury entry here is Athlone Lake, in Ontario. Elevation runs to 436 metres. Roughly 1.11 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. Shoreline length is close to 11 km, and each section fishes a little differently. It ranks high for size among our Sudbury listings. Some 61 km away sits Dowling, the nearest settlement. Rayside-Balfour follows at 65 km, then Valley East at 74 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Athlone Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Reported across Sudbury: smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Read Athlone Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 17°C at the top of summer and -15°C at the bottom of winter. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Athlone Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. For a change of water, Upper Elboga Lake is 4.7 km distant. Ask locally about Athlone Lake if anything is unclear.