Fishing at Bat Lake, Haliburton County, Ontario

• Overview

  Bat Lake sits in Haliburton County, out in Ontario. It sits in lake country bush country. At about 48 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The whole outline is near 4.7 km, and most of it is walkable. Haliburton Village lies 15 km from the water. Barrie is the closest city, 117 km away. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Bat Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Haliburton County include smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, rock bass, yellow perch and lake trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Bat Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -11°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Once it clears, about mid April, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to early December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Time your trip to Bat Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, Claypack Lake is 1.2 km distant. Where Bat Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.