Grave Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Grave Lake falls in Sudbury, part of Ontario. The setting is pine and birch on every side. Roughly 1.10 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. With 11 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. It ranks high for size among our Sudbury listings. Start from Dowling, 71 km down the road. Rayside-Balfour is 72 km and Capreol 72 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Grave Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. County-wide records name smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Read Grave Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 17°C for July and -16°C for January. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan any trip to Grave Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Camp Lake at 1.8 km is the sensible second choice. The position on Grave Lake is worth confirming on the day.