Fishing O'Connell Lake in Timiskaming District, Ontario

• Overview

  O'Connell Lake is listed under Timiskaming District, Ontario. The bank is 320 metres above sea level. The water covers some 10 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. A shoreline of some 1.8 km keeps the choices simple. The nearest place of any size is Kirkland Lake, 3 km away. Englehart follows at 40 km, then Rouyn-Noranda at 74 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on O'Connell Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Timiskaming District list brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. At O'Connell Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 17°C, the coldest about -17°C. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. O'Connell Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Expect 1 km away in from where the car goes. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Gami Lake is 1.5 km distant. For O'Connell Lake in particular, ask before you travel.