St. Francis Lake in Renfrew County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Renfrew County, Ontario. It sits at 235 metres above sea level. At about 65 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The shoreline runs about 5.0 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Renfrew County list. Chalk River sits 25 km from here and is the nearest stop. It is 156 km to Gatineau, the nearest city. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on St. Francis Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Renfrew County, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At St. Francis Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 19°C; by January the average is down near -13°C. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. That shapes the year on St. Francis Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. A camping area sits within 400 m of here. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Robiscow Lake at 1.6 km is the nearest alternative. Where St. Francis Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.