Fishing Mary Jane Lake in District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario

• Overview

  Mary Jane Lake falls in District Municipality of Muskoka, part of Ontario. The water sits 255 metres up. It runs to roughly 11 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. With about 1.7 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Some 32 km away sits Bracebridge, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Barrie, 87 km distant. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Mary Jane Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and rock bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The near bank of Mary Jane Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 19°C; by January the average is down near -9°C. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Open water usually runs from mid April until about early December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Mary Jane Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Sort the permit out before you load the car. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Bruce Lake is 1.9 km distant. The position on Mary Jane Lake is worth confirming on the day.