Mallard Lake in Cochrane District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Mallard Lake is one of the Cochrane District listings for Ontario. Land around it is spruce and muskeg. It covers about 8 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Cochrane District list. The town to know is Hearst, 39 km out. It is 404 km to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Mallard Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Species logged across Cochrane District include northern pike, yellow perch, white sucker, Iowa darter and logperch. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. At Mallard Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 16°C for July and -19°C for January. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. It sets the rhythm of the year at Mallard Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Canary Lake sits 0.7 km off and takes the overflow. Where Mallard Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.