Coleman Lake in Timiskaming District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Coleman Lake lies in Timiskaming District, in Ontario. The setting is rolling bush on every side. It measures about 37 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. About 3.7 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Haileybury is the closest place, 23 km off. Temiskaming Shores follows at 24 km, then Ville-Marie at 32 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Coleman Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. County-wide records name brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Coleman Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 18°C and January reads -16°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Look for the thaw near late April; the fishing lifts straight after. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Anyone fishing Coleman Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Woodpecker Lake sits 2.2 km off and takes the overflow. Where Coleman Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.