Nickel Lake Fishing Guide, Greater Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, this is Nickel Lake. It sits at 395 metres above sea level. At roughly 6 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. On size it sits at the modest end of our Greater Sudbury list. The town to know is Valley East, 15 km out. Beyond it, Rayside-Balfour at 16 km and Capreol at 17 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Nickel Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Greater Sudbury cover smallmouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike, pumpkinseed and rock bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Nickel Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 18°C in July and bottoms out near -14°C in January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That is the shape of the year on Nickel Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Foster Lake is 1.1 km off. For Nickel Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.