Donaldson Lake Fishing Guide, Timiskaming District, Ontario

• Overview

  Donaldson Lake is one of the Timiskaming District waters in Ontario. Country round the bank runs to lake country bush. At 2 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Most waters listed here for Timiskaming District are larger. Englehart at 61 km is the nearest place to stop. The big place round here is Greater Sudbury, 146 km distant. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Donaldson 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. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Timiskaming District include brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Donaldson Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 17°C in July and bottom out at -17°C in January. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about mid November in a typical year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Plan any trip to Donaldson Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Georgina Lake, 1.6 km away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Donaldson Lake in what we hold.