O'Brian Lake Fishing in Ontario, Ontario

• Overview

  O'Brian Lake sits within Ontario in Ontario. The bank gives way to lake country bush. With some 35 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The full circuit measures close to 5.0 km on foot. Nearest place of any size is Témiscaming, 28 km away. For a city, Greater Sudbury is 133 km off. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on O'Brian Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. O'Brian Lake gives up more to patience than to distance. For about five months of the year the average is below freezing.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 18°C and January reads -14°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On O'Brian Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. If the gate is shut, Shallow Lake at 5.9 km is the nearest alternative. Confirm before you fish O'Brian Lake.