Fishing Kirkfield Lake in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

• Overview

  Kirkfield Lake is set in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario. The bank is 256 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 21 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 1.7 km in total. On size it sits at the modest end of our Kawartha Lakes list. Some 18 km away sits Fenelon Falls, the nearest settlement. It is 59 km to Barrie, the nearest city. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Kirkfield Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Kawartha Lakes include muskellunge, rock bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and bluegill. The county list is broader than any single water. Take Kirkfield Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 19°C and January about -10°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. That is the shape of the year on Kirkfield Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Failing this one, try Mitchell Lake, 2 km away. Rules at Kirkfield Lake are worth checking on the day.