Chummy Lake in Cochrane District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Chummy Lake is set in Cochrane District, Ontario. The setting is northern bush. You can fish the entire water from one spot if you pick it well. Our Cochrane District list holds plenty of bigger water. Start from Kirkland Lake, 39 km down the road. The nearest city of size is Greater Sudbury, 233 km away. Also within reach: Ludgate Lake at 0.7 km, Pike Lake within 0.9 km, Neelands Lake at 0.9 km, Westaway Lake within 1.2 km and Knight Lake at 1.3 km. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Chummy Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Species logged across Cochrane District include northern pike, yellow perch, white sucker, Iowa darter and logperch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Chummy Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 17°C at the top of summer and -18°C at the bottom of winter. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Climate averages put the opening at about early May and the closing near mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Chummy Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. 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. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Ludgate Lake at 0.7 km is the sensible second choice. Where Chummy Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.