Keyhole Lake Fishing in District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario

• Overview

  District Municipality of Muskoka in Ontario is where Keyhole Lake sits. The country round it is lake country bush from end to end. It measures about 14 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Around 2.1 km of margin, front to back. Bracebridge lies 24 km from the water. Gravenhurst follows at 32 km, then Huntsville at 34 km. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Keyhole Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. 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. Reported across District Municipality of Muskoka: pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Keyhole Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -11°C in January to roughly 18°C in July. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near early December in autumn. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. It holds true on Keyhole Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Saw Lake is 1.9 km off. What applies at Keyhole Lake may have changed since it was mapped.