Fishing Crooked Lake in Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  This water sits in Sudbury, Ontario. The water sits 216 metres up. Around 11 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. Roughly 2.5 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Sudbury. Markstay-Warren sits 27 km from the bank. Beyond it, Greater Sudbury at 30 km and Lively at 36 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Crooked Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Sudbury include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. On Crooked Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -12°C and July at about 19°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice clears near late April and comes back about early December in a typical year. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It holds true on Crooked Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Cranberry Lake, 1.5 km out. None of that is settled for Crooked Lake in what we hold.