Blue Lake Fishing near South River, Ontario

• Overview

  Blue Lake falls in Parry Sound District, part of Ontario. It lies 383 metres above sea level. Roughly 11 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. With about 2.4 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. The closest town, South River, is 22 km away. For a city, Barrie is 144 km off. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Blue Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Parry Sound District cover smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, northern pike and rock bass. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The shape of Blue Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -12°C at the bottom of winter. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. The season between ice runs from about late April to late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. The season on Blue Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. 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. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Frank Lake sits 1.3 km off and takes the overflow. Signs at Blue Lake carry more weight than any list.