Poulin Lake Fishing near Chapleau, Ontario

• Overview

  Poulin Lake falls in Sudbury, part of Ontario. It lies 447 metres above sea level. It measures about 77 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The margin runs to about 8.0 km in total. It is high ground by Ontario standards. Head to Chapleau, 11 km away, for anything you forgot. Then Wawa, 109 km, and Sault Ste. Marie, 156 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Poulin Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Public occurrence data for Sudbury names smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and Iowa darter. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Read Poulin Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -15°C. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. That is the shape of the year on Poulin Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Trap Lake at 1.3 km is the nearest alternative. Check the current arrangement for Poulin Lake.