Burr Lake in Sudbury: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Sudbury in Ontario is where Burr Lake sits. Boreal forest runs right down to the water. This is a pocket water of some 8 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Our Sudbury list holds plenty of bigger water. The closest town, Chapleau, is 51 km distant. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 281 km away. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Burr Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Sudbury cover smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Burr Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -15°C. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Plan any trip to Burr Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Lonesome Lake sits 2.5 km off and takes the overflow. Check the position at Burr Lake before loading the car.