Potter Lake Fishing Guide, Cochrane District, Ontario

• Overview

  In Ontario, Potter Lake belongs to Cochrane District. Land around it is northern bush. At some 2.61 sq km it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. The margin runs to about 12 km in total. Size puts it in the front rank of our Cochrane District list. Cochrane is the closest town at 42 km. It is 321 km to Greater Sudbury, the nearest city. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Potter Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Public occurrence data for Cochrane District names northern pike, yellow perch, white sucker and Iowa darter. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Potter Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 16°C, the coldest about -19°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Climate averages put the opening at about early May and the closing near mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Anyone fishing Potter Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. For a change of water, Dodds Lake is 3.1 km distant. Signs at Potter Lake carry more weight than any list.