Fishing Cartier Lake in Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  You will find Cartier Lake in Sudbury, Ontario. The bank is 424 metres above sea level. Around 27 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. With about 2.8 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. You are 80 km from Chapleau. Further out sit Elliot Lake (111 km) and Dowling (129 km). Nearby alternatives: Shannon Lake at 1.6 km, Buckshot Lake 3.3 km off, Ember Lake at 4.8 km, Bragh Lake 6.5 km off and Frechette Lake at 7 km. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Cartier Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Sudbury list smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Cartier Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -15°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Time your trip to Cartier Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Shannon Lake sits 1.6 km off and takes the overflow. Check the current arrangement for Cartier Lake.