Fishing Cronk Lake in Frontenac County, Ontario

• Overview

  Cronk Lake is one of the Frontenac County waters in Ontario. The ground around here is mixed forest. Roughly 35 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. A shoreline of some 3.2 km keeps the choices simple. Ground here is low by Ontario standards. Sharpton/Glenvale is the closest town at 16 km. Kingston sits 27 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Cronk Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Frontenac County cover pumpkinseed, bluegill, rock bass, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. The county list is broader than any single water. Cronk Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -9°C and July at about 20°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. The season on Cronk Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Gould Lake Conservation Area runs up to the bank here, which usually means extra restrictions. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Little Devil Lake, 0.7 km away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Cronk Lake in what we hold.