Fishing

Species Trout Season Summer: July and August Location: Newfoundland and Labrador In 2011, Best for brook trout Maybe it’s the pike picking off only the weakest fish or the chub providing abundant year-round protein. Or perhaps it’s the incredible fly hatches or the superior genetics of the fish themselves. Whichever is the case, most of...

Species Pike, Trout, Walleye/Pickerel Season Summer: June Coordinates 50°57′N 73°42′W Location: Jamésie region, QuébecSurface area: 2,335 square kilometresHottest spot: The bays and around the northern islands In 2012, ranked #12 in all-time hot spots The trees lining Mistassini may be stunted, but the lake’s fish sure aren’t. A 10-hour drive northwest of Montreal, Quebec’s largest natural lake...

Species Bass, Carp, Muskellunge, Pike, Salmon, Steelhead, Trout, Walleye/Pickerel Season Late winter: February and March Location: Bordering Ontario and New York Source: Lake ErieLength: 58 kilometresHottest spot: Whirlpool In 2012, ranked #17 in all-time hot spots Connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario, Niagara is world famous—but not for its fishing. We’ve tried hard to change that over the...

Species Giant bluefin tuna Season Summer: last week of July Location: Prince Edward Island Hottest spot: Wherever MacNeill takes you Best for giant bluefin tuna Word on the wharf at North Lake was that a giant bluefin tuna had been landed, so I decided to stick around. Boat after empty boat slipped past the breakwater until...

Species Bass, Crappie Season Fall: October Location: Borders Minnesota and Ontario Surface area: 890 square kilometres Hottest spot: Northwest Bay In 2012, ranked #36 in all-time hot spots In 2000, we picked northwestern Ontario’s Rainy Lake as Canada’s hottest spot for trophy smallmouth, and it remained high on our annual ranking for the following few years.

Species Catfish Season Spring: Mid-May to mid-June Coordinates 50°23€² 7€³N, 96°48€²39€³W Location: Flows through Red River Valley, Minnesota, and North Dakota; empties into Lake Winnipeg Length: 885 kilometres Hottest spot: Current scours just downstream of the Selkirk dam Best for channel catfish American anglers wet their pants talking about the channel cat fishing in the mighty Mississippi. I can’t imagine...

Species Bass Season Fall: September to November Coordinates 45°16€²0 N, 66 4€²0 Location: New Brunswick Length: 673 kilometres Hottest spot: Reversing Falls Best for large striped bass Thank goodness striped bass are wanderers. Up the east coast of the U.S. they travel before entering Canadian waters and eventually hanging a left into the Saint John River—this country’s hands-down striper hot...

Species Bass, Carp, Muskellunge, Perch, Pike, Sturgeon, Trout, Walleye/Pickerel Season Fall: October and November Location: Travels through Ontario and Quebec Length: 1,197 kilometresHottest spot: Windmill Point In 2012, ranked #7 in all-time hot spots Draining the world’s largest system of freshwater lakes, the St. Lawrence is a giant, productive river, with some seriously big bass, carp, walleye...