Upper Fish Lake in Renfrew County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Upper Fish Lake sits in Renfrew County, out in Ontario. It stands 191 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 18 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge runs 1.9 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Ontario listings. 23 km away sits Renfrew, the nearest town. Then Arnprior, 34 km, and Mississippi Mills, 39 km. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Upper Fish Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Renfrew County, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed and yellow perch. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. On Upper Fish Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 20°C, while January sits near -12°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Expect the water usable from around mid April until roughly early December. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. On Upper Fish Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Jamieson Lake at 0.9 km is the sensible second choice. None of that is settled for Upper Fish Lake in what we hold.