Southbear Lake in Timiskaming District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Timiskaming District, Ontario. Around the bank it is rolling bush. It measures about 65 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The edge runs 4.2 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Size puts it in the front rank of our Timiskaming District list. Englehart sits 61 km from the bank. Temiskaming Shores follows at 63 km, then Haileybury at 69 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Southbear Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name brook trout, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. On Southbear Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -17°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early May. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan any trip to Southbear Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Little Southbear Lake sits 1.2 km off and takes the overflow. Treat Southbear Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.