Kitts Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Kitts Lake sits within Hastings County in Ontario. The water sits 342 metres up. Roughly 51 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The whole outline is near 3.5 km, and most of it is walkable. On our Hastings County list it sits near the top for size. The nearest place of any size is Bancroft, 27 km away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Kitts Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Hastings County include rock bass, smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed and yellow perch. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. On Kitts Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -12°C to 18°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at early December. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. It sets the rhythm of the year at Kitts Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. If the gate is shut, Buck Lake at 1.5 km is the nearest alternative. Where Kitts Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.