Coyne Lake in Sudbury: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Sudbury end of Ontario holds Coyne Lake. Land around it is lake country bush. Roughly 48 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. With about 3.5 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Nearest town is Capreol, 87 km off. The big place round here is Greater Sudbury, 107 km distant. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Coyne Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Across Sudbury, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The shape of Coyne Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -16°C to 17°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. On average, late April opens the water and mid November closes it again. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Coyne Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is White's Lake, 3.6 km out. Nothing on Coyne Lake should be assumed from this page alone.