Fishing at Carty Lake, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  Out in Sudbury, Ontario, sits Carty Lake. The bank is 350 metres above sea level. It measures some 6.00 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. Around 33 km of margin, so directions matter more than a general plan. On our Sudbury list it sits near the top for size. The nearest town is Chapleau, 64 km away. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 227 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Carty Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Public occurrence data for Sudbury names smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Carty Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 17°C, while January sits near -17°C. The year here is short and sharp: a long lid, then a burst of open water. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Open water usually runs from early May until about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It holds true on Carty Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Harold Lake, 2.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Carty Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.