Fishing at Blowdown Lake, Nipissing District, Ontario

• Overview

  Nipissing District, Ontario, is where Blowdown Lake sits. It lies 426 metres above sea level. It covers about 10 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. The bank runs about 1.3 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Nearest place of any size is Mattawa, 59 km away. Barrie is the closest city, 178 km away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Blowdown Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Across Nipissing District, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, cisco and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Take Blowdown Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -13°C to 18°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. It holds true on Blowdown Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Overnight stays are possible 1.2 km away. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Hemlock Lake at 1 km is the sensible second choice. Ask locally about Blowdown Lake if anything is unclear.