Ragged Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Ragged Lake is one of the Parry Sound District waters in Ontario. The bank gives way to pine and birch. It covers about 5 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Our Parry Sound District list holds plenty of bigger water. Some 26 km away sits South River, the nearest settlement. Then Powassan, 36 km, and Callander, 51 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Ragged Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Parry Sound District names smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and northern pike. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. The near bank of Ragged Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 18°C and January about -11°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about early December in a typical year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Ragged Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Stickland Lake, 1.2 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Ragged Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.