Fishing at Briggs Lake, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  Out in Sudbury, Ontario, sits Briggs Lake. It stands 418 metres above sea level. Roughly 50 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Some 6.5 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Chapleau lies 18 km from the water. Wawa is 116 km and Timmins 151 km. Close by you have: McGee Lake a shade over 1.6 km, Adams Lake just 2.7 km, Salters Lake a shade over 3.8 km, D'Arcy Lake just 4.8 km and Alice Lake a shade over 4.8 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Briggs Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Sudbury cover smallmouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Briggs Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -16°C at the bottom of winter. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan any trip to Briggs Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. McGee Lake, 1.6 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm access to Briggs Lake locally before you travel.