Fishing at Coleman Lake, Haliburton County, Ontario

• Overview

  The Haliburton County end of Ontario holds Coleman Lake. The bank gives way to lake country bush. Roughly 21 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Shoreline comes to about 1.8 km, small enough to learn in a day. You are 11 km from United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde. Barrie is the closest city, 122 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Coleman Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Haliburton County include smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, rock bass and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Coleman Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 18°C and January near -11°C. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. Once it clears, about mid April, the fishing comes on quickly. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at early December. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Anyone fishing Coleman Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• 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. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Pivot Lake sits 2.3 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Coleman Lake for certain.