Hilly Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Nipissing District end of Ontario holds Hilly Lake. Around the bank it is rolling bush. The water covers some 20 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. About 2.4 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Nearest town is Huntsville, 38 km off. For a city, Barrie is 137 km off. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Hilly 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. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Across Nipissing District, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, cisco, yellow perch and pumpkinseed. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The near bank of Hilly Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 18°C, with January the cold end at about -12°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. At Hilly Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A camping area sits within 370 m of here. Facilities include toilets around 1.3 km from here. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Fen Lake is 1 km distant. None of that is settled for Hilly Lake in what we hold.