Fishing Earl Lake in Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  In Ontario, Earl Lake belongs to Sudbury. Lake country bush runs right down to the water. It measures some 1.54 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. Few waters listed in Sudbury are bigger. The closest town, Dowling, is 88 km distant. Elliot Lake is 91 km and Rayside-Balfour 94 km. Other water nearby: Indian Lake lies 3.3 km on, Norma Lake at 5.9 km, Thorpe Lake lies 6.3 km on, Mishap Lake at 7.7 km and Skelton Lake lies 7.8 km on. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Earl Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Species logged across Sudbury include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The near bank of Earl Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 17°C in July and bottoms out near -15°C in January. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Plan around that when you fish Earl Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Indian Lake sits 3.3 km off and takes the overflow. Check the position on Earl Lake before loading the car.