Wakimika Lake in Nipissing District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Out in Nipissing District, Ontario, sits Wakimika Lake. The bank is 285 metres above sea level. Roughly 5.71 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. Some 21 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. On our Nipissing District list it sits near the top for size. The nearest place of any size is Temiskaming Shores, 60 km away. Haileybury is 62 km and Capreol 67 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Wakimika Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Nipissing District: smallmouth bass, cisco and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Wakimika Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -15°C and July at about 18°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Expect Wakimika Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Hortense Lake, 4.8 km away. Rules at Wakimika Lake are worth checking on the day.