Foy Lake Fishing near Rayside-Balfour, Ontario

• Overview

  Foy Lake sits within Greater Sudbury in Ontario. Height above sea level is 409 metres. Around 57 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. Around 7.0 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. You are 19 km from Rayside-Balfour. Greater Sudbury sits 38 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Foy Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Greater Sudbury names smallmouth bass, yellow perch and northern pike. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Foy Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 18°C and January near -15°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about late November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Foy Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Foyross Lake is 2.4 km off. The position on Foy Lake is worth confirming on the day.