7 reasons why I keep fishing Ontario’s Bon Echo Provincial Park

#5 The paddle-powered fishing is really good

As a dedicated kayak angler, Bon Echo is one of my favourite destinations because of the no-motor lakes in the park’s interior. Those lakes include Joeperry, Kishkebus, Bon Echo, Clutes, Essens, Abes and Pearson. None have official boat ramps (which paddlers don’t need anyway), and most require some form of modest portage, but the payoff is worth it.

For one, you get to fish on near-pristine lakes with no cottages, powerboats or jet-skis. But the biggest factor is that fisherman are lazy. That means they rarely go where they can’t have a motor—let alone where they need to make any kind of portage. So, these interior lakes receive minimal fishing pressure, which results in pretty impressive fish populations. Above is one of the more memorable fish I’ve seen caught—a nice pike landed by my kid Sam (in front, taking the selfie) in July 2018.