Fishing Penelton Lake in Cochrane District, Ontario

• Overview

  Penelton Lake is listed under Cochrane District, Ontario. The bank is 254 metres above sea level. The water covers around 4.55 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. The perimeter runs near 17 km, so plan the walk before you start. On our Cochrane District list it sits near the top for size. Some 60 km away sits Kapuskasing, the nearest settlement. Further out sit Hearst (77 km) and Smooth Rock Falls (108 km). It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Penelton Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Cochrane District cover northern pike, yellow perch and white sucker. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Penelton Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 17°C in July and bottom out at -18°C in January. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The water is typically free of ice between early May and mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Anyone fishing Penelton Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. For a change of water, Opasatika Lake is 3.9 km distant. Nothing on Penelton Lake should be assumed from this page alone.