Bessie Lake Fishing Guide, Timiskaming District, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Timiskaming District, Bessie Lake is an Ontario water. The bank gives way to mixed forest. Surface area runs to about 5 hectares — small enough to read in one session. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Timiskaming District. Nearest town is Temiskaming Shores, 44 km off. For a city, Greater Sudbury is 115 km off. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Bessie Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Timiskaming District cover brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Bessie Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for July and -16°C for January. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. From about late April to around late November, expect open water on the long-run figures. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Bessie Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. If the gate is shut, Inez Lake at 0.7 km is the nearest alternative. For Bessie Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.