Fishing at Legarde Lake, Cochrane District, Ontario

• Overview

  Cochrane District, Ontario, is where Legarde Lake sits. The country here is northern bush. The water covers around 1.06 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. Shoreline length is close to 5.8 km, and each section fishes a little differently. Size puts it in the front rank of our Cochrane District list. Longlac lies 63 km from the water. For a city, Thunder Bay is 312 km off. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Legarde Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Cochrane District cover northern pike, yellow perch, white sucker, Iowa darter and logperch. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. At Legarde Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 16°C on average, January about -20°C. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Time your trip to Legarde Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. 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. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Little Legarde Lake at 4.2 km is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Legarde Lake in what we hold.