Fishing at Backup Lake, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  The Sudbury end of Ontario holds Backup Lake. The ground around here is boreal forest. Surface area is around 39 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Shoreline comes to about 3.6 km, small enough to learn in a day. Chapleau sits 65 km from here and is the nearest stop. The big place round here is Greater Sudbury, 292 km distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Backup Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Sudbury list smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Backup Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 16°C on average, January about -16°C. This far north the hard season runs and runs. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The season between ice runs from about early May to mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. The season on Backup Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Overland Lake at 1.5 km is the sensible second choice. What applies at Backup Lake may have changed since it was mapped.