Fishing at Bass Lake, Timiskaming District, Ontario

• Overview

  Bass Lake sits in Timiskaming District, out in Ontario. Height above sea level is 286 metres. At about 63 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Shoreline comes to about 4.5 km, small enough to learn in a day. Haileybury sits 12 km from here and is the nearest stop. Greater Sudbury sits 137 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Bass Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Records held for Timiskaming District cover brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Bass Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -16°C to 18°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. At Bass Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. You can camp 560 m off, which suits an early start. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is South Pickerel Lake, 1 km out. Signs at Bass Lake carry more weight than any list.