Help Identifying Musky Lakes in S. Ontario

[MuskiesnBJJ]

Hi there. I am planning to buy a cottage and want to make sure that it is on a lake with sizeable musky and also walleye. I know that the kawarthas are a good option and some of the other well known lakes. But Im watching a lot of fishing shows and I see catches on a lot of smaller lesser known lakes.

I am from the Niagara Region so I want to keep it 5 hours drive or less. Willing to go as far as the French River but am wondering if there is anything closer where I can get big musky.

Can anyone please weigh in on decent lakes that fit the criteria Im looking for so that I can look at cottages? Thanks!

 

[salmotrutta]

That is a big ask!

There are definitely some lesser known areas with musky/walleye lakes around.

I don't think many will want to share these though. Big ask for a first post.

 

[Kasim Baluch]

Yeh absoloutely not. Takes a ridiculous amount of years for a muskie to grow and I would be dumbfounded if anyone would share a spot with you. Call it not welcoming or mean or whatever but I'm simply catch and release and would not share any location with someone who I don't know to risk a muskie being mounted on a wall.

Sorry bud, gotta earn your catches.

 

[JDean]

The Niagara River

 

[MuskiesnBJJ]

Gotta earn my catches? lol I have for 40 years. Im asking for lakes, not spots. I dont think thats unreasonable. Given that there are maps and real estate agents and a little thing called the internet, I can pretty much uncover lakes with Muskie. I thought Id plug into a fishing forum and see if there were any lakes I might be missing that I could consider. I dont think thats an unreasonable thing to ask.

Why do fishing shows on TV talk about the lake they are on fishing? Are they crazy?!?!?

Maybe get out there and burn down the other cottages on your lake so that people dont catch your fish. lol

 

[MuskiesnBJJ]

JDean, thanks for the post. I do fish the Niagara often. Thinking about getting a cottage for a weekend getaway though. Ive actually thought about what to do - stick around and fish Niagara or get a Northern retreat....Not 100% sure what Im going to do just yet but yeah, the Niagara has some good spots. Let me know if youre ever out this way, Id be happy to give you some tips on where to look for them in the upper. Cheers.

 

[chasingfish]

Muskies... Don't take that remark to heart. Once you are on here for a while you will see that we get 10 new people every week asking where to go fishing. It's not anything against you, we just see it a lot and it gets annoying lol.

This forum runs on people sharing info with each other (there is ALOT of great info and ALOT of veteran fisherman/woman). It's easy to ask and get your answer and run away (we see that a lot too), but try sharing some info with us, join our community and you will see how friendly we really are.

 

[Kasim Baluch]

Gotta earn my catches? lol I have for 40 years. Im asking for lakes, not spots. I dont think thats unreasonable. Given that there are maps and real estate agents and a little thing called the internet, I can pretty much uncover lakes with Muskie. I thought Id plug into a fishing forum and see if there were any lakes I might be missing that I could consider. I dont think thats an unreasonable thing to ask.

Why do fishing shows on TV talk about the lake they are on fishing? Are they crazy?!?!?

Maybe get out there and burn down the other cottages on your lake so that people dont catch your fish. lol

40 years?

You should be fine then

 

[flowerjohn]

Ok muskie. Im gonna help you out. Try Georgian Bay. That narrows it down to 15,000 square kilometers. Is that too much info for me to give? Lol.

 

[ChromeAddict]

Since you mention the Kawarthas, I'll just throw out there that I fish them all the time and have never caught or seen a muskie.

 

[JDean]

I will throw this out there for you Muskies and you may have thought about it already as it is not a secret location. But one of the best spots for big skies year after year is the Detroit river and Lake St Clair. Have you thought about that area? It is a real nice out west and not as populated as some of the Central Ontario spots

 

[JDean]

@Chrome....if you,haven't seen or caught a Muskie in the kawarthas, either you are not targeting them or you are fishing in the wrong areas. That have some of the best Muskie waters outside of NW ontario in the province

 

[ChromeAddict]

@Chrome....if you,haven't seen or caught a Muskie in the kawarthas, either you are not targeting them or you are fishing in the wrong areas. That have some of the best Muskie waters outside of NW ontario in the province

I have targeted them before without luck, fished from 2 feet to 25 feet, weeds, rock, mud, docks, and never caught one. It actually surprised me as well, I heard great things about the Kawarthas' muskie fishing. The bass and walleye fishing up there is world class though.

 

[flowerjohn]

I will throw this out there for you Muskies and you may have thought about it already as it is not a secret location. But one of the best spots for big skies year after year is the Detroit river and Lake St Clair. Have you thought about that area? It is a real nice out west and not as populated as some of the Central Ontario spots

.

 

[flowerjohn]

For sure it is beautiful on lake st clair. I fish there in the winter and not only is it a beautiful area but you are not going to meet nicer people. Cheers on that one JDean.

 

[MuskiesnBJJ]

Yeah I know about st clair and its a solid option. I would rather head north from the GTA. Plus, Im not crazy about St Clair in the sense that its basically a big basin and so I think weather and wind might affect the conditions a lot more than on a smaller river or tributary. Would love to fish it one day, but for getting a cottage, not so much. When I fly out Westward, my lake of choice is Lac Seul. Amazing place to fish...Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[NADO]

I'm no Musky fisherman so I cant help you out but this website is a great tool for identifying what lakes hold what species. You can search based on species and area or you can just zoom in and click on the lakes to see what species they hold.

http://www.web2.mnr.gov.on.ca/fish_online/fishing/fishingExplorer_en.html