Sunrise over a misty Kawartha lake with a wooden dock and pine-covered islands

Ontario · Lake Country

Where the lakes connect
and the fish are waiting.

Stretching from Lake Scugog to Balsam Lake, the Kawarthas hold some of the most storied freshwater fishing in Canada — walleye at first light, smallmouth at sundown, and a muskie story for every shoreline.

Explore the species See top lakes →
250+Interconnected lakes
14Sportfish species
2 hrFrom Toronto

Why the Kawarthas

A waterway built for anglers.

The Kawartha Lakes are a chain of interconnected lakes carved by glaciers and stitched together by the Trent–Severn Waterway. Shallow, weedy bays. Rocky shoals. Quiet back channels. It's a system designed — almost on purpose — for the fish that live here.

  • Diverse structure. Cabbage weeds, drop-offs, sunken cribs, mid-lake humps — every species finds a home.
  • Easy access. Dozens of public launches, marinas, and outfitters from Bobcaygeon to Lakefield.
  • Year-round. Open water from May through November, hardwater fishing from January through March.
  • A real fishing culture. Generations of guides, lodges, and tackle shops who know these waters intimately.
Aerial view of interconnected Kawartha lakes at sunset
The Kawartha chain from above — a fisherman's puzzle of bays, narrows, and islands.

What you'll catch

Fish species of the Kawarthas.

Six species you can reasonably expect to encounter in a season — plus a handful of bonus catches like crappie, perch, and panfish.

Walleye, a golden-olive freshwater fish

Walleye

Sander vitreus

The headline fish. Low-light feeders that haunt weed edges and rocky points. Best at dawn, dusk, and on overcast days.

Avg. 2–5 lb•Best: May–June, Sept
Smallmouth bass, bronze with vertical bars

Smallmouth Bass

Micropterus dolomieu

Pound for pound the hardest fighter in the lake. Look for them on rocky shoals and around boulder-strewn islands.

Avg. 1–4 lb•Best: June–Sept
Largemouth bass, dark green with a wide mouth

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

Ambush predators that live in the salad — lily pads, cabbage weeds, and the shaded edges of docks.

Avg. 2–5 lb•Best: July–Sept
Muskellunge, a long predatory pike-family fish

Muskellunge

Esox masquinongy

The fish of 10,000 casts. The Kawarthas are one of the best muskie systems in the province — Pigeon and Stoney are legendary.

Avg. 36–50 in•Best: Sept–Nov
Northern pike, an elongated green predator with white spots

Northern Pike

Esox lucius

Aggressive and abundant. Pike will hit nearly anything that moves through a weed-line in spring or fall.

Avg. 3–10 lb•Best: May, Oct
Lake trout, a deep-water silver-grey fish with pale spots

Lake Trout

Salvelinus namaycush

Found in the deeper, colder lakes on the northern fringe of the Kawarthas — Big Cedar, Anstruther, and Stoney's deep basin.

Avg. 4–8 lb•Best: May, Jan–Mar (ice)

Where to go

Top lakes in the chain.

A starting six — chosen for accessibility, variety of species, and the kind of structure that keeps you coming back.

  1. 01

    Stoney Lake

    Muskie · Smallmouth · Lake Trout

    The crown jewel. Hundreds of granite islands, deep cold-water basins, and one of the most consistent muskie fisheries in Ontario. Smallmouth on every shoal in summer.

  2. 02

    Pigeon Lake

    Muskie · Walleye · Largemouth

    A sprawling, weedy giant that produces big walleye in spring and trophy muskie in the fall. Bobcaygeon sits at the top of it — full marina services and easy launches.

  3. 03

    Buckhorn Lake

    Walleye · Bass · Pike

    Stained tea-coloured water and endless weed edges. Buckhorn rewards anglers who slow down and work jigs along the cabbage. Walleye fishing turns on at dusk.

  4. 04

    Sturgeon Lake

    Walleye · Muskie · Crappie

    Big water, big fish. The Fenelon Falls end produces walleye consistently; the south basin holds slab crappie in early spring and serious muskie in the fall.

  5. 05

    Balsam Lake

    Smallmouth · Lake Trout · Walleye

    The highest lake in the Trent–Severn system and one of the cleanest. Smallmouth on the rocks, lake trout in the deep basin, and a quieter feel than its southern neighbours.

  6. 06

    Rice Lake

    Walleye · Largemouth · Panfish

    The southern anchor of the chain and a long-time walleye factory. Drift the wild-rice flats at evening and you'll understand why the lake earned its name.

When to fish

A seasonal guide.

The Kawarthas fish year-round, but each season has a personality — and a pattern that pays off if you know it.

Spring · May–June

Walleye opener · Pre-spawn pike · Crappie

Cold water concentrates fish in shallow bays. The walleye opener (typically the Saturday before May 17 in zone 17) is a Kawartha tradition. Throw jigs and minnows along weed edges in 6–12 ft.

  • Target shallow, dark-bottom bays that warm fastest
  • Pike on spinnerbaits and big swimbaits
  • Crappie under docks and in flooded brush

Summer · July–Aug

Smallmouth · Largemouth · Topwater

Bass season opens late June. Smallmouth on rocky points and deep weed edges. Largemouth tucked into the heaviest cover you can find. First and last light is everything.

  • Drop-shot and tube jigs for smallmouth on humps
  • Frogs and topwater for largemouth in pads
  • Walleye go deep — troll crankbaits 18–25 ft

Fall · Sept–Nov

Trophy muskie · Big walleye · Pike

The best time of year. Cooling water triggers heavy feeding. Muskie hunters live for October. Walleye push back to the rocks, and pike pile into shallow weed remnants.

  • Big jerkbaits and bucktails for muskie
  • Heavy jigs on rocky main-lake points
  • Watch the wind — fish the windward shore

Winter · Jan–March

Ice fishing · Lake trout · Perch

When the ice is safe, the Kawarthas come alive again. Perch on Pigeon and Sturgeon, lake trout on the deeper lakes to the north, and walleye in the evenings around weed humps.

  • Always check ice thickness — 4″ minimum
  • Tip-ups and small jigs for perch schools
  • Lake trout: deep flats, white tubes, heavy spoons

From the locals

Tips that don't make it onto YouTube.

01

Get your Outdoors Card.

Every angler 18+ needs an Ontario Outdoors Card and a fishing licence. Buy online before you go — most lake-country gas stations sell them too.

02

Fish the wind.

On the Kawartha chain, the windward shore is almost always the productive one. Wind pushes plankton, baitfish follow, and predators stack up behind them.

03

Don't ignore the locks.

The Trent–Severn locks at Bobcaygeon, Buckhorn, and Lakefield concentrate baitfish — and walleye love hanging in the current breaks just downstream.

04

Cabbage, not coontail.

Healthy green cabbage weed (Potamogeton) holds fish. Dying brown coontail and milfoil mats are usually empty. Learn the difference and your hookups will double.

05

Respect the muskie.

If you're targeting muskie, bring 100 lb fluoro leader, a big net, jaw spreaders, and pliers. Photograph fast and release in the water. These fish are too valuable to mishandle.

06

Check the regs every year.

Most of the Kawarthas falls in Fisheries Management Zone 17. Limits and seasons can change — read the current Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary before you launch.

Find it

The Kawartha Lakes region.

Roughly bounded by Lake Scugog to the south, Balsam Lake to the west, and Stoney Lake to the east — about 90 minutes northeast of Toronto.

Plan your trip with Ontario's official tourism resources, or pick up a Trent–Severn Waterway chart before you launch.

Kawarthas Tourism → Ontario Fishing Licence →