High Cliff Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Greater Sudbury, Ontario, is where High Cliff Lake sits. Pine and birch runs right down to the water. It runs to roughly 13 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. A shoreline of some 3.0 km keeps the choices simple. Most waters listed here for Greater Sudbury are larger. Dowling lies 7.5 km from the water. The nearest city of size is Greater Sudbury, 36 km away. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on High Cliff Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Greater Sudbury include smallmouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike and pumpkinseed. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. High Cliff Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 18°C, the coldest about -14°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Climate figures give an open season running late April to late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That shapes the year on High Cliff Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. For a change of water, Clear Lake is 1.6 km distant. None of that is settled for High Cliff Lake in what we hold.