Whitefish Lake, Ontario: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Within Greater Sudbury, Ontario, you have Whitefish Lake. It sits in mixed forest country. The water covers some 24 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Bank access stretches around 2.7 km in total. 19 km away sits Dowling, the nearest town. Further out sit Rayside-Balfour (29 km) and Lively (35 km). The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Whitefish Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Records held for Greater Sudbury cover smallmouth bass, yellow perch and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Whitefish Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 18°C and January about -14°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Whitefish Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. The nearest alternative is Armstrong Lake, 1 km out. Where Whitefish Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.