Fishing Hemlock Lake in Nipissing District, Ontario

• Overview

  Hemlock Lake lies within the bounds of Nipissing District, Ontario. The bank is 430 metres above sea level. With some 25 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. A shoreline of some 2.5 km keeps the choices simple. You are 58 km from Mattawa. For a city, Barrie is 179 km off. Other water nearby: Blowdown Lake within 1 km, Sandfly Lake just 1.9 km, Deer Yard Lake within 1.9 km, Warbler Lake just 2.3 km and Tamarack Lake within 2.3 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Hemlock Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Reported across Nipissing District: smallmouth bass, cisco, yellow perch and pumpkinseed. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The shape of Hemlock Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 18°C, while January sits near -13°C. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That shapes the year on Hemlock Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. The nearest alternative is Blowdown Lake, 1 km out. What applies at Hemlock Lake may have changed since it was mapped.