Oxbow Lake Fishing Guide, Sudbury, Ontario

• Overview

  In Ontario, Oxbow Lake falls inside Sudbury. Height above sea level is 364 metres. The water covers some 23 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Bank access stretches around 4.1 km in total. Some 48 km away sits Chapleau, the nearest settlement. Greater Sudbury sits 275 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Oxbow Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Sudbury, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. At Oxbow Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 17°C and January about -17°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Time your trip to Oxbow Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Crazy Lake at 1.9 km is the sensible second choice. What applies at Oxbow Lake may have changed since it was mapped.