The Ontario fishing regulations can often be intimidating for new and experienced anglers alike. Use this as a tool to help understand and interpret the rules for fishing in Ontario. *This is not legal advice and following the Ontario Fishing Regulations is your personal responsibility*
The Breakdown
Where am I fishing?
Figure out what zone you’re in and what rules apply.
What am I fishing for?
See if the fish you are targeting are in season and limits to keep for harvest.
What Fishing Licence Do I need?
Make sure you buy the right licence for what your fishing plans are!
Where Am I Fishing?
The first thing I recommend is identifying what zone you are fishing in. See the Zone Map below. For example, most of Southern Ontario is considered Zone 16 with exception to the Great Lakes.
What Species Am I Fishing For?
I’m going to use Zone 16 as a general example, but the same principles apply in how to interpret the rest of the rules. When you look at the page below, the first most important information will be what is in season and the limits for each species based on the licence that you buy. “S” Is for Sport Licence limit and “C” is for Conservation Licence limit. So in Zone 16, the keep limit for crappie with a Sport licence is 30, and for a Conservation Licence it is 10. You can target crappie year-round.
It is ILLEGAL to target species while the season is closed, even if you plan to catch and release that fish. While you can’t control what bites your hook, you must immediately release any incidental catch that is not in season. You must also be reasonably fishing in an area and with techniques that species are open for fishing. If you are in an area with primarily trout and the season is closed, you can’t say you are going bass fishing.
What Fishing Licence Do I Need?
First, you will need to purchase an Outdoors Card in order to buy a fishing licence. The card is valid for 3 years (Calendar years, NOT from date of purchase.
Secondly, based on what species and how many fish you generally intend on keeping, you will need to decide if you want to go with a Sport or Conservation fishing licence. Simply put, you can keep more fish with a Sport licence than with a Conservation licence. Even if you haven’t yet killed these fish for eating, keeping them in a bucket, livewell, or holding the fish for pictures counts as fish in your possession.
Lastly, choose between a 1-year or 3-year licence. I always recommend picking a 3-year if within your budget because the outdoors card will last 3 years and will have your licence expiration printed on the back (Card and licence will be the same). If you choose a 1-year, you will have to carry two pieces of proof on you after the 1st year expires. So you will have you Outdoors card and each years licence renewal that you have to print out. You won’t be able to purchase a 3-year licence until your Outdoors card expires.Hopefully fishing won’t bore you after one year!
What is an aggregate limit?
The Aggregate Limit is your possession limit for all trout and salmon species as a combined total. This includes rainbow trout, brook trout, lake trout, atlantic salmon, pacific salmon and splake
Sport Licence-5, Conservation Licence-2; total daily catch and possession limit for all
As an example, with a Sport licence this means that you can NOT keep both 5 pacific salmon AND 2 rainbow trout. You can only keep a total of 5 fish as a total between the two, but not exceed the 2 rainbow trout in your limit.
What Do Ontario Fish Species Look Like?
*Working on how to identify each species – coming soon *
Tie 1 On - Fishing 