Lancaster Lake in Timiskaming District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Lancaster Lake in Timiskaming District, Ontario. It sits in lake country bush country. It measures about 38 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Roughly 3.9 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. Kirkland Lake is the closest town at 7.9 km. For a city, Greater Sudbury is 204 km off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lancaster Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Timiskaming District records list brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Lancaster Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -17°C to 17°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Climate figures give an open season running early May to mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Time your trip to Lancaster Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Should this one be busy, Seely Lake is 1.4 km off. Check the position at Lancaster Lake before loading the car.