Fishing at Mink Lake, Frontenac County, Ontario

• Overview

  Look for Mink Lake in the Frontenac County part of Ontario. Elevation runs to 237 metres. This is sizeable water at about 1.47 sq km, and a boat opens up most of it. Some 17 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Size puts it in the front rank of our Frontenac County list. Head to Sharbot Lake, 14 km away, for anything you forgot. The nearest city of size is Kingston, 71 km away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Mink Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Frontenac County, recorded fish include pumpkinseed, bluegill and rock bass. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Mink Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 20°C at the top of summer and -10°C at the bottom of winter. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at early December. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Time your trip to Mink Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. 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. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Rock Lake, 1.8 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Mink Lake as something to verify.