Philips Lake Fishing in York, Ontario

• Overview

  You will find Philips Lake in York, Ontario. Country round the bank runs to mixed forest. Small at around 9 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. You are 5.2 km from King City. Further out sit Richmond Hill (6.2 km) and Aurora (8.5 km). More in the same country: Bond Lake at about 1.5 km, Thompson Lake 1.6 km off, Wilcox Lake at about 3.5 km, St. George Lake 4.7 km off and Haynes Lake at about 5.9 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Philips Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Open biodiversity records for York list yellow perch, pumpkinseed, rock bass and white sucker. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Fish Philips Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -8°C and July at about 20°C, the water has a wide range to work through. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Averages suggest open water from about mid April through to roughly mid December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. On Philips Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. You can leave the car about 520 m from the water. Facilities include toilets around 1.1 km from here. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. For a change of water, Bond Lake is 1.5 km distant. Treat access at Philips Lake as something to verify.