McRey Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  In Ontario, McRey Lake belongs to District Municipality of Muskoka. The water sits 304 metres up. At about 20 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Bracebridge sits 10 km from here and is the nearest stop. For a city, Barrie is 84 km off. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on McRey Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Across District Municipality of Muskoka, recorded fish include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and rock bass. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Fish McRey Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 19°C in July and bottoms out near -11°C in January. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Open water usually runs from mid April until about early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. At McRey Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Healey Lake is 0.9 km off. The position on McRey Lake is worth confirming on the day.