Cat Lake Fishing near Lively, Ontario

• Overview

  Cat Lake is listed under Greater Sudbury, Ontario. Height above sea level is 232 metres. With some 16 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. A shoreline of some 3.7 km keeps the choices simple. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Ontario listings. Lively at 29 km is the nearest place to stop. After that come Espanola at 38 km and Greater Sudbury at 40 km. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Cat Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Species logged across Greater Sudbury include smallmouth bass, yellow perch and northern pike. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Read Cat Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -11°C in January to roughly 19°C in July. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late April. The water is typically free of ice between late April and early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Cat Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Harry Lake at 1.1 km is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Cat Lake in what we hold.