Ira Lake Fishing Guide, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  Look for Ira Lake in the Sudbury part of Ontario. Elevation runs to 453 metres. The water covers some 66 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Some 7.3 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Ontario listings. The nearest place of any size is Elliot Lake, 76 km away. Dowling is 79 km and Rayside-Balfour 87 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Ira Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Sudbury include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Take Ira Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 17°C for July and -14°C for January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. The season on Ira Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Labitiche Lake sits 2.8 km off and takes the overflow. Treat access at Ira Lake as something to verify.