Fishing at Cat Lake, Nipissing District, Ontario

• Overview

  Cat Lake lies in Nipissing District, Ontario. It sits at 389 metres above sea level. The water covers some 10 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The edge runs 1.7 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Supplies mean a trip to Chalk River, 59 km off. Deep River is 61 km and Petawawa 68 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Cat Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Nipissing District cover smallmouth bass, cisco, yellow perch and pumpkinseed. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Work Cat Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 18°C on average, January about -13°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. The lid tends to go about late April and return around late November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That shapes the year on Cat Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is camping recorded roughly 620 m off. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Alluring Lake, 0.7 km away. The position on Cat Lake is worth confirming on the day.