Windy Lake in Greater Sudbury: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. It lies 335 metres above sea level. At 11.35 sq km you are fishing a fraction of it whatever you do. Some 36 km of shoreline means conditions can differ from one end to the other. Size puts it in the front rank of our Greater Sudbury list. For a base, Dowling sits 7.7 km out. Greater Sudbury sits 36 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Windy Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Greater Sudbury list smallmouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike and pumpkinseed. The county list is broader than any single water. Windy Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 18°C and January reads -14°C. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly late November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Windy Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Poika Lake, 3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Windy Lake carry more weight than any list.