Mary Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The York end of Ontario holds Mary Lake. The water sits 294 metres up. With some 19 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 2.4 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. King City lies 3 km from the water. The nearest city of size is Richmond Hill, 13 km away. Also on the doorstep: Lake Seneca 2.2 km, Hackett Lake about 3.5 km, Kelly Lake 5.6 km, Thompson Lake about 6 km and Philips Lake 7.4 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Mary Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Reported across York: yellow perch, pumpkinseed and rock bass. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Mary Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -8°C and July at about 20°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to mid December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Mary Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. The car has to stay 780 m away, which shapes how much tackle you bring. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Lake Seneca, 2.2 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Mary Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.