Fishing at Bishop Lake, Cochrane District, Ontario

• Overview

  Look for Bishop Lake in Cochrane District, Ontario. The ground around here is spruce and muskeg. This is a pocket water of some 6 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. It is a small entry by Cochrane District standards. The closest town, Cochrane, is 21 km away. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 304 km away. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Bishop Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Cochrane District, recorded fish include northern pike, yellow perch and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Treat Bishop Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 17°C in July and bottom out at -19°C in January. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Bishop Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Sunset Lake sits 1.4 km off and takes the overflow. Confirm access to Bishop Lake locally before you travel.