Fishing at Simms Lake, Parry Sound District, Ontario

• Overview

  Simms Lake lies in Parry Sound District, Ontario. Around the bank it is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 14 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The bank runs about 2.6 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Sturgeon Falls is the closest town at 47 km. The big place round here is Greater Sudbury, 98 km distant. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Simms Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Across Parry Sound District, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and northern pike. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Simms Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 19°C and January near -11°C on the long-run figures. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and early December. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Simms Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Failing this one, try Sturdies Lake, 1.4 km away. Treat Simms Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.