Fishing at Twin Sister Lakes, Hastings County, Ontario

• Overview

  The Hastings County end of Ontario holds Twin Sister Lakes. Height above sea level is 222 metres. The water covers some 54 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The outline measures near 6.2 km, so local knowledge counts. On our Hastings County list it sits near the top for size. For supplies, Marmora is 14 km out. After that come Madoc at 24 km and Norwood at 30 km. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Twin Sister Lakes

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Open biodiversity records for Hastings County list rock bass, smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed and yellow perch. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Anyone new to Twin Sister Lakes should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -9°C and July at about 19°C, the water has a wide range to work through. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about early December. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. That is the shape of the year on Twin Sister Lakes.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. There is a slipway at W. Win Sisters Lake boat launch, roughly 920 m off. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Buttermilk Lake, 0.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Twin Sister Lakes is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.