Little Pell Lake Fishing in District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario

• Overview

  Out in District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, sits Little Pell Lake. The surface lies 393 metres up. It covers about 6 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our District Municipality of Muskoka list. Huntsville lies 15 km from the water. Then Bracebridge, 46 km, and United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde, 55 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Little Pell Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. District Municipality of Muskoka records list pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Take Little Pell Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 18°C and January reads -11°C. Winter shuts the surface down for months. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. It holds true on Little Pell Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. If the gate is shut, Pell Lake at 0.7 km is the nearest alternative. Check the position on Little Pell Lake before loading the car.