Fishing at Cork Lake, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  You will find Cork Lake in Sudbury, Ontario. It stands 352 metres above sea level. It measures about 28 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Around 3.7 km of margin, front to back. Head to Timmins, 60 km away, for anything you forgot. Further out sit Kirkland Lake (94 km) and Iroquois Falls (102 km). It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Cork Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Sudbury cover smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Cork Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -17°C in January to roughly 17°C in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Plan around that when you fish Cork Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Pountney Lake at 1.2 km is the sensible second choice. Where Cork Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.