Fishing at Stimears Lake, Hastings County, Ontario

• Overview

  The Hastings County entry here is Stimears Lake, in Ontario. The land about it is pine and birch. At 8 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Shoreline comes to about 1.5 km, small enough to learn in a day. Bancroft lies 7.5 km from the water. Further out sit United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde (54 km) and Haliburton Village (56 km). The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Stimears Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Hastings County cover rock bass, smallmouth bass and pumpkinseed. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Read Stimears Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -11°C to 19°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Stimears Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Tait Lake at 0.7 km is the sensible second choice. Where Stimears Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.