Errington Lake in Sudbury: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Errington Lake in Sudbury, Ontario. Height above sea level is 377 metres. The water covers some 30 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The full circuit measures close to 4.5 km on foot. For supplies, Timmins is 105 km out. Further out sit Dowling (117 km) and Rayside-Balfour (118 km). Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Errington Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. 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. Fish documented in Sudbury include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. The near bank of Errington Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 17°C and January near -16°C. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It holds true on Errington Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Susanne Lake, 2.9 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at Errington Lake before loading the car.