Gibson Lake Fishing Guide, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  Gibson Lake is set in Sudbury, Ontario. Height above sea level is 475 metres. Surface area runs to roughly 1.28 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. The margin runs to about 12 km in total. It ranks high for size among our Sudbury listings. Elliot Lake lies 51 km from the water. Espanola is 62 km and Dowling 68 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Gibson Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Sudbury include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. The county list is broader than any single water. Gibson Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -14°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near late November in autumn. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. That is the shape of the year on Gibson Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is Russian Lake, 4 km out. For Gibson Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.