Solace Lake in Sudbury: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Sudbury end of Ontario holds Solace Lake. It sits at 345 metres above sea level. It measures some 2.05 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. Around 24 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. On our Sudbury list it sits near the top for size. Head to Capreol, 55 km away, for anything you forgot. After that come Valley East at 63 km and Rayside-Balfour at 74 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Solace Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Sudbury, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. At Solace Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -16°C. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly late November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. The season on Solace Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Failing this one, try Samson Lake, 1.2 km away. Rules at Solace Lake are worth checking on the day.