Whiskey Jack Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Sudbury, Ontario, this is Whiskey Jack Lake. Elevation runs to 431 metres. With some 19 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. There is roughly 3.6 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Head to Chapleau, 52 km away, for anything you forgot. Further out sit Wawa (91 km) and Sault Ste. Marie (112 km). No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Whiskey Jack Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Across Sudbury, recorded fish include smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, Iowa darter and walleye. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Whiskey Jack Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 17°C; by January the average is down near -14°C. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Whiskey Jack Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Pipit Lake, 2.7 km out. Nothing on Whiskey Jack Lake should be assumed from this page alone.