Fishing O'Brien Lake in Renfrew County, Ontario

• Overview

  O'Brien Lake stands in Renfrew County, Ontario. The bank is 354 metres above sea level. The water measures roughly 4 hectares, so nothing here is far from anything else. Our Renfrew County list holds plenty of bigger water. Start from Eganville, 19 km down the road. Cobden is 34 km away, with Renfrew at 35 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on O'Brien Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Renfrew County cover smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and rock bass. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. O'Brien Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 18°C; the cold one sits at -12°C. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. On average, late April opens the water and early December closes it again. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. It sets the rhythm of the year at O'Brien Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Proven Lake, 0.7 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at O'Brien Lake for certain.