Fishing around the GTA
Wil Wegman
Special to Sun Media
With the shaky economy, the appeal of fishing close to home has never been greater. Fortunately, there are a variety of great fishing opportunities not just within a couple of hours drive but also within the City of Toronto itself.
Toronto Islands: A short ferry ride from the foot of Bay Street, just west of Yonge Street, will get you to the Islands. Then proceed to the hub of angling activity at The Island Boathouse, located on Centre Island. Here you can rent a canoe or fish from shore. You can buy your fishing licence here and, if needed, even borrow a rod and reel courtesy of the OFAH Tackle Share Program. There are more than 10 species of fish to catch around the Islands, but the most popular are the huge carp, big largemouth bass and plentiful panfish like sunfish and rock bass.
Grenadier Pond: Located in the heart of Toronto within the city¹s beautiful High Park. Thousands of visitors and residents alike have walked along the shores of this tranquil pond, yet relatively few have cast a line there for the perch, sunfish, brown bullhead, black crappie, largemouth bass or northern pike that call this pond home.
Lake Aquitaine: Moving outside of Toronto, we highlight a great little lake in the community of Meadowvale in Mississauga. From Hwy. 401, take Winston Churchill Boulevard to Derry Road, then over to Aquitaine Avenue and look for Aquitaine Park. This lake can be a great place for kids to catch sunfish, rock bass and perch, while the largemouth bass can excite the adult anglers.
Holland River: This slow-moving river leads into the extreme south end of Lake Simcoe. There are two branches of the Holland that produce big carp, largemouth bass, sunfish, black crappie, perch, brown bullhead catfish and bowfin. A west branch is accessible for shore fishing right off Yonge Street in the town of Bradford or off Hwy. 9 just west of Hwy. 400. The east branch is off Queensville Side Road in Holland Landing¹s Riverside Park community.
Island Lake: Formerly known as the Orangeville Reservoir, Island Lake is located at the northeast corner of Hwy. 9 and Hwy.10 in Orangeville.
Northern pike, largemouth bass, bullhead, sunfish, perch and black crappie are all present in this great little lake. Largemouth are the favoured target species, despite the need for visiting anglers to practice catch and release for this fish to help develop a higher quality fishery. Canoes, kayaks and even small aluminum boats with electric motors can be rented from the Conservation Authority for anglers who would rather fish off shore.
Lake Scugog: Less than an hour northeast of Toronto and off of Hwy. 7A in Port Perry lies this large Kawartha lake known for its outstanding warmwater fishery. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, carp, bluegill, sunfish, brown bullhead, bowfin, crappie, rock bass, yellow perch, walleye and the hard-fighting muskie all call this lake home. A very weedy, shallow lake, Scugog can be fished by boat, from shore at the Causeway just east of town, or from one of the public access areas in town. The boat launch is excellent, and fishing from a boat is usually necessary to reach some of the best fishing spots ‹ especially for the mighty muskie.
Lake Simcoe: The largest inland lake in southern Ontario is recognized as one of the top smallmouth bass fisheries in North America.
Lake Simcoe begins in the south near the towns of Keswick (east) and Gilford (west). Comprising 725 square kilometres, it reaches up to Orillia in the north - where anglers can even go through the Atherly Narrows and fish Lake Couchiching if they like. With its size, Simcoe obviously deserves a great deal of respect and can become very rough in short order. As well as great smallmouth, Simcoe also has largemouth bass, perch, rock bass, sunfish, lake trout, whitefish, pike and the odd big walleye.
For more details on all the great urban fishing opportunities close to home, visit www.mnr.gov.on.ca.
Wil Wegman is an award-winning outdoor writer and tournament angler who has been teaching bass fishing courses at Seneca College since 1986. He can be reached at wil.wegman@rogers.com.
2009 Fishing Festivals
The public is invited to attend all Urban Fishing Festivals at no charge. No pre-registration is required. The goal is to introduce families ‹ especially kids ‹ to the great sport of fishing during the Ontario Family Fishing Weekend when no fishing licences are required for Ontario residents.
At all the following locations, volunteers will offer rods and reels, basic tackle and bait for all those who need to borrow it. At most sites, there are ample prizes for the kids and several sites will offer free hot dogs and drinks, thanks to a host of sponsors and partners.
Progress Park at Frenchman¹s Bay in Pickering Saturday July 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Directions: Take Brock Road exit south off Hwy. 401. Turn right onto Bayly, take Liverpool Road south to Commerce Street, turn right (west) to Front Street, turn left (south) to Progress Park entrance.
Lake Aquitaine Park in Meadowvale
Saturday July 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Directions: From Hwy. 401, take Winston Churchill Boulevard down to Derry Road, over to Aquitaine Avenue. Look for Aquitaine Park.
Lake Aquitaine Meadowvale Community Centre Saturday July 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Credit Valley Conservation Kid's Fishing Day
Grenadier Pond in High Park
Saturday July 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Directions: Located at 1873 Bloor St. W. Take the TTC to High Park Station and walk south from the station to enter park. Take West Road or Colborne Lodge Drive to Grenadier Restaurant and walk down the hill to the pond.
The Toronto Islands
Sunday July 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Directions: Take the ferry to Centre Island and then proceed to the Boathouse.
Fairy Lake in Newmarket
Sunday July 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Directions: Fairy Lake is located in Wesley Brooks Park, off Eagle Street just east of Main Street.
Toogood Pond in unionville
Saturday July 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Directions: Event will be held in the pavilion area off Carleton Road, just north of Hwy. 7 and west of Main Street in Unionville.
Visit these links for more information: www.catchfishing.com
Ontario Family Fishing Weekend at www.familyfishingweekend.com The O.F.F.W. Event Hotline will operate weekdays during business hours. Call 705-748-6324.
Fishing Licenses
Most people between 18 and 64 years of age will need a fishing licence to fish in Ontario. There are a variety of different licences available to Ontario residents, as well as those visiting from out of province or country. Licences can be purchased at any Ministry of Natural Resources Office (MNR), at most bait and tackle shops and, for Canadian residents, at many mall kiosks or online.
A sport fishing licence costs a little more, but means you can keep up to the allowable full catch of each species. A less expensive conservation licence reduces the number of fish you may keep, but is often the choice of anglers who don’t fish all that much.
A Resident’s Outdoors Card is a plastic card that holds a fishing licence sticker and is valid for three years.
The temporary paper licence is valid until your plastic Outdoors Card arrives in the mail. You must carry your fishing licence with you at all times when fishing.
