Fishing at Little Merrill Lake, Hastings County, Ontario

• Overview

  Within Hastings County, Ontario, you have Little Merrill Lake. It lies 340 metres above sea level. Roughly 57 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. A shoreline of some 4.4 km keeps the choices simple. Few waters listed in Hastings County are bigger. The closest town, Bancroft, is 40 km away. For a city, Kingston is 105 km off. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Little Merrill Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Hastings County list rock bass, smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and bluegill. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. On Little Merrill Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 19°C and January about -11°C. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Anyone fishing Little Merrill Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Whitefish Lake is 0.9 km off. Treat Little Merrill Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.