Sugar Lake in Parry Sound District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Parry Sound District, Ontario. The country here is lake country bush. Surface area runs to roughly 1.49 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. Around 9.0 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Parry Sound District list. Parry Sound lies 22 km from the water. Barrie sits 109 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Sugar Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Public occurrence data for Parry Sound District names smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Sugar Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 19°C for July and -10°C for January. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and early December. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Anyone fishing Sugar Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Diamond Lake is 2.1 km off. For Sugar Lake in particular, ask before you travel.