Fishing Okahan Lake in Nipissing District, Ontario

• Overview

  Look for Okahan Lake in the Nipissing District part of Ontario. Elevation runs to 387 metres. At about 19 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The whole outline is near 1.8 km, and most of it is walkable. The closest town, Mattawa, is 58 km distant. It is 201 km to Gatineau, the nearest city. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Okahan Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Nipissing District records list smallmouth bass, cisco and yellow perch among the fish reported. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Okahan Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -13°C in January and 18°C in July. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Okahan Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Little Woodcock Lake, 1.1 km out. Rules at Okahan Lake are worth checking on the day.