Fishing at Fool Lake, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  Sudbury, Ontario, is where Fool Lake sits. Around the bank it is boreal forest. Surface area is around 17 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The whole outline is near 2.3 km, and most of it is walkable. You are 73 km from Timmins. Greater Sudbury sits 185 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Fool Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Sudbury: smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Fool Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -17°C to 17°C. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on Fool Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A phone call first saves an afternoon. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Larrabee Lake, 1.8 km away. Treat access at Fool Lake as something to verify.