Henshaw Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  In Ontario, Henshaw Lake falls inside District Municipality of Muskoka. The surface lies 251 metres up. It runs to roughly 27 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The full circuit measures close to 2.9 km on foot. Bracebridge sits 23 km from here and is the nearest stop. Gravenhurst follows at 27 km, then Huntsville at 39 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Henshaw Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Survey and observation records for District Municipality of Muskoka include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and northern pike. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Henshaw Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 19°C and January about -10°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Plan any trip to Henshaw Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Thompson Lake at 1.2 km is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at Henshaw Lake for certain.