D'Amour Lake near Kapuskasing: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  D'Amour Lake lies in Cochrane District, Ontario. The water sits 244 metres up. It measures about 31 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Around 3.6 km of margin, front to back. You are 22 km from Kapuskasing. The big place round here is Greater Sudbury, 324 km distant. Near neighbours: Aurel Lake at about 3.1 km, Clear Lake at 3.1 km, Nansen Lake at about 3.5 km, Lac Charette at 4.1 km and Kluck Lake at about 5.1 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on D'Amour Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Cochrane District include northern pike, yellow perch and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On D'Amour Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 17°C for July and -18°C for January. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Time your trip to D'Amour Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Aurel Lake is 3.1 km off. For D'Amour Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.