Horseshoe Lake Fishing in Hastings County, Ontario

• Overview

  Horseshoe Lake lies in Hastings County, Ontario. The bank gives way to mixed forest. Surface area runs to about 4 hectares — small enough to read in one session. It is a small entry by Hastings County standards. Start from Bancroft, 21 km down the road. The big place round here is Kingston, 122 km distant. Close neighbours run: Long Lake (2.1 km), Currie Lake 2.4 km away, Egan Lake (2.9 km), East Tommy Lake 2.9 km away and Taits Lake (2.9 km). This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Horseshoe Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Public occurrence data for Hastings County names rock bass, smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed and yellow perch. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Horseshoe Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 19°C and January about -11°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. In an average year the thaw lands around mid April and the freeze near early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. On Horseshoe Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Long Lake is 2.1 km off. Where Horseshoe Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.