Richard Lake Fishing near Mattawa, Ontario

• Overview

  Set in Nipissing District, Ontario, this is Richard Lake. The surface lies 356 metres up. The water covers some 18 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. There is roughly 1.8 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Some 18 km away sits Mattawa, the nearest settlement. After that come Callander at 55 km and Powassan at 56 km. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Richard Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Species logged across Nipissing District include smallmouth bass, cisco and yellow perch. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. The near bank of Richard Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 18°C and January reads -13°C. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Ice is part of the season here, ending near late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. It sets the rhythm of the year at Richard Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. 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. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Dumond Lake sits 3.6 km off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Richard Lake in what we hold.