Fishing at Goat Lake, Nipissing District, Ontario

• Overview

  Out in Nipissing District, Ontario, sits Goat Lake. Elevation runs to 489 metres. Surface area runs to about 7 hectares — small enough to read in one session. It is a small entry by Nipissing District standards. For a base, Chalk River sits 62 km out. The big place round here is Barrie, 192 km distant. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Goat 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. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Nipissing District include smallmouth bass, cisco, yellow perch and pumpkinseed. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. On Goat Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -13°C and July at about 18°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. The season on Goat Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Cony Lake at 1.5 km is the sensible second choice. Confirm before you fish Goat Lake.