Crooked Lake Fishing near Mattawa, Ontario

• Overview

  Look for Crooked Lake in the Nipissing District part of Ontario. Elevation runs to 281 metres. With some 57 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. You are looking at roughly 7.3 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Start from Mattawa, 25 km down the road. The nearest city of size is Greater Sudbury, 156 km away. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Crooked Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Open biodiversity records for Nipissing District list smallmouth bass, cisco, yellow perch and pumpkinseed. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Crooked Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -13°C at the bottom of winter. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. The lid tends to go about late April and return around late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Plan around that when you fish Crooked Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Alexander Lake is 1.2 km distant. Treat access at Crooked Lake as something to verify.