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

• Overview

  Within Cochrane District, Ontario, you have Mars Lake. The land about it is spruce and muskeg. It covers about 10 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. The bank runs about 2.0 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. The closest town, Hearst, is 41 km distant. Hornepayne lies 59 km off, Manitouwadge another 129 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Mars Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Cochrane District include northern pike, yellow perch and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Mars Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -18°C in January to roughly 16°C in July. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. On average, early May opens the water and mid November closes it again. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That is the shape of the year on Mars Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Verdun Lake is 4.6 km distant. Check the current arrangement for Mars Lake.