Little Ruebottom Lake in Parry Sound District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Little Ruebottom Lake lies within the bounds of Parry Sound District, Ontario. This is pine and birch ground. Roughly 17 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The full circuit measures close to 4.3 km on foot. Parry Sound sits 27 km from here and is the nearest stop. For a city, Barrie is 123 km off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Little Ruebottom Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Parry Sound District cover smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and northern pike. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. The shape of Little Ruebottom Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 19°C and January at -10°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. On average, mid April opens the water and early December closes it again. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It holds true on Little Ruebottom Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. The nearest alternative is Wetmore Lake, 2.1 km out. None of that is settled for Little Ruebottom Lake in what we hold.