Soaking Lake in Hastings County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Hastings County entry here is Soaking Lake, in Ontario. The country here is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 12 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Around 3.6 km of margin, front to back. United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde at 28 km is the nearest place to stop. After that come Bancroft at 36 km and Haliburton Village at 44 km. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Soaking Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Open biodiversity records for Hastings County list rock bass, smallmouth bass and pumpkinseed. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. The shape of Soaking Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -12°C. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near late November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Anyone fishing Soaking Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. McNab Lake sits 1.7 km off and takes the overflow. Signs at Soaking Lake carry more weight than any list.