Walker Lake in Grey County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Walker Lake is listed under Grey County, Ontario. The setting is rolling bush on every side. Surface area runs to about 9 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Markdale lies 10 km from the water. After that come Sydenham at 24 km and Owen Sound at 28 km. Within a short drive: 3 km out stands Black's Lake, Sargents Lake a shade over 3.5 km, 4.3 km out stands Sunken Lake, Townsend Lake a shade over 5.5 km and 7.7 km out stands Williams Lake. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Walker Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Public occurrence data for Grey County names Chinook salmon, rainbow trout and brook trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Walker Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -8°C to 19°C. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid April. Open water usually runs from mid April until about early December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That shapes the year on Walker Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Mapping shows a jetty some 180 m off. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. The nearest alternative is Black's Lake, 3 km out. Where Walker Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.