Cliff Lake Fishing in Renfrew County, Ontario

• Overview

  You will find Cliff Lake in Renfrew County, Ontario. The ground around here is pine and birch. At roughly 8 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Head to Deep River, 47 km away, for anything you forgot. Gatineau sits 200 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Cliff Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. 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. Across Renfrew County, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Cliff Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 18°C and January near -13°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Cliff Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Boats go in at Big Bissett Lake Access Point #24, roughly 1.2 km from the water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Should this one be busy, Cranberry Lake is 1.1 km off. Ask locally about Cliff Lake if anything is unclear.