Fishing at Mataris Lake, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  Mataris Lake lies in Sudbury, in Ontario. This is pine and birch ground. At roughly 2 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Our Sudbury list holds plenty of bigger water. Timmins is the closest town at 92 km. Then Capreol, 109 km, and Englehart, 113 km. Round about: Esther Lake (1.4 km), Clapper Lake near enough 1.5 km, Chris Lake (1.7 km), Burns Lake near enough 1.8 km and Tina Lake (2.1 km). It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Mataris Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Sudbury list smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Mataris Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -16°C. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Mataris Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. If the gate is shut, Esther Lake at 1.4 km is the nearest alternative. For Mataris Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.