Fishing Big Shingle Lake in Renfrew County, Ontario

• Overview

  The Renfrew County end of Ontario holds Big Shingle Lake. The water sits 296 metres up. It measures about 27 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. With about 3.0 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Mattawa lies 45 km from the water. Gatineau sits 205 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Big Shingle Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Open biodiversity records for Renfrew County list smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Read Big Shingle Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 18°C and January near -13°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Time your trip to Big Shingle Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Shingle Lake at 1.3 km is the nearest alternative. For Big Shingle Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.