Fishing at Fanshawe Lake, Middlesex County, Ontario

• Overview

  Fanshawe Lake is set in Middlesex County, Ontario. Height above sea level is 261 metres. At 1.98 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. The shoreline runs about 17 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Of the waters listed here in Middlesex County, this is the largest. For a base, London sits 9.4 km out. It is 9 km to London, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Fanshawe Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Open biodiversity records for Middlesex County list greenside darter, smallmouth bass, golden redhorse, rock bass and rainbow darter. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Fish Fanshawe Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 21°C for July and -6°C for January. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The lid usually goes in early April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up near early April, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Time your trip to Fanshawe Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a reservoir by origin, with the deepest water near the dam. You can launch from a ramp around 930 m away. There is somewhere to leave the car, 390 m off. There is a mapped landing stage 960 m away. Facilities include toilets around 410 m from here. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, The Cove is 12 km distant. Ask locally about Fanshawe Lake if anything is unclear.