Take a look below to see our featured smallmouth bass fishing destinations in Canada.
Atikokan, Ontario
The Atikokan, Ontario area is home to some awesome fishing. You have a nice combination of big water to fish and tons of smaller lakes and backcountry lakes that receive minimal fishing pressure. You also have access to the Quetico Provincial Park, which has some of the best small waters smallmouth bass fishing anywhere. It’s an awesome smallmouth bass destination with good fishing for walleye, pike, perch and even crappie too.
Chapleau, Ontario
Chapleau is known as the gateway to the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve. The Preserve is a huge area with wildlife viewing stations and drive-in tourism opportunities. It’s a pretty cool place to visit just for this reason, however, if you’re on this website, you’re looking to learn about the fishing in this area. It’s a small town, but there is plenty here to service you on a trip here. There are fly-in services that use this as their main base to fly out of. There are drive to resorts and campgrounds too.
The fishing is good here for northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass, lake trout, brook trout and perch. Some of these lakes just outside town are fairly remote so you won’t see too many anglers out here. The fishing is good for numbers in many of the lakes and trophy fish are here too.
Dinorwic Lake & Wabigoon Lake
This lake provides good fishing for a variety of species. Anglers usually come here to target walleye and perch to eat and they will target muskie and smallmouth bass for action. Crappie are here too and don’t forget about the muskie. There are some trophy muskie here too if that’s something you want to pursue. The lake isn’t real deep either, so you can find active fish much shallower on this lake than other deep water lakes in the summer. This lake has a little bit of everything, so you’re going to get some action and if you want to target a specific fish, you can totally do that as well.
Eagle Lake
Eagle Lake is located in northwestern Ontario about 120 miles north of International Falls, Minnesota. There is plenty of water to fish with over 68,000 acres of water and over 400 miles of shoreline. Eagle Lake is a great lake for catching walleye, smallmouth bass, northern pike and muskie. There are plenty of fishing resorts and lodges located on the lake.
French River, Ontario
The French River system is home to some incredible fishing. Many anglers come here to target the walleye, bass or huge muskie. You can find pretty much everything in here. To go along with walleye and muskie, you will also find northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, perch, sturgeon, catfish and sunfish too. Many anglers come here just to fish the French River, but for the anglers who are coming to fish Lake Nipissing, it’s always nice to have the river as an option when you get windy days.
Georgian Bay Ontario
The Georgian Bay area is huge and it is home to some awesome recreational opportunities. Georgian Bay is a bay of Lake Huron and if you take a look at the map, you will see just how big this area is and how diverse the fishery can be depending on where you choose to fish.
Ignace, Ontario
While this area won’t wow you with a big named Canadian lake to fish, but that doesn’t bother the people who come here every year to fish this area’s many smaller lakes. You don’t have to worry about windy weather ruining your trip here because there is always somewhere to fish where you won’t have to deal with big waves. Anglers target a variety of fish here as most of the lakes will have good fishing for northern pike and walleye. Some lakes are also good for lake trout or smallmouth bass as well. You have plenty of options with enough resorts and campgrounds on many of the nicer lakes to fish in the area and if you bring a smaller boat, you can experience some good fishing on some of the backwater lakes here too.
Kawartha Lakes Region
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Lac Seul (east side)
Lac Seul is the second largest body of water located entirely within the province of Ontario. It is 150 miles long with many bays, islands and narrow channels. The lake has many rock shoals that provides excellent habitat for smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, muskie and perch. This lake has resorts spread out on the east end and the west end. This is a big lake and it’s not uncommon to make long runs out here. However, this lake is loaded with fish so if you put in the time to learn the areas around where you’re staying, you should be able to catch some fish close to home too. This is one of those lakes that delivers on 100 fish days and even better if you hit it just right.
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing is an outstanding fishing lake. It is a huge lake with tons of fishing opportunities. There is enough water that holds fish in the bays, so you don’t have to go out and fish the main lake on a trip here if you don’t want to do that. You will find plenty of great spots with rocks, vegetation, some islands, points and nice shorelines that will hold a variety of fish.
Anglers target smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, muskie, perch and even largemouth bass here. It’s a remarkable fishery here with so many options.
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe has some of the best smallmouth bass fishing anywhere. While it may not always be easy to put up huge numbers of fish, there are a lot of smallmouth bass in the lake and some absolute giants live here too. The clear water can make fishing tough for anglers who don’t know how to fish clear water. If you understand how to downsize your line, use fluorocarbon line and use finesse baits, you can catch a lot of bass here with lots of big fish too. It is not uncommon to see bass in the 4 to 5 pound range and plenty of bigger bass are here too.
LOTW Kenora
Kenora, Ontario is the most popular part of Lake of the Woods. This is where you are going to find the most services, the most people and basically everything you will need for an ideal fishing vacation. The downside is that you will see more people fishing here than on other parts of Lake of the Woods, but with a 15 to 20 minute boat ride, you can easily find some water all to yourself. This is an amazing part of Lake of the Woods that gives you the feel of being around everything while also still feeling like you are getting away from it all. It’s an awesome destination.
This area is home to some incredible fishing on Lake of the Woods. The smallmouth bass fishery is outstanding for numbers and some big fish are here too. You will find lots of 2 to 3 pound smallies here with some smaller and some bigger. Northern pike are here in good numbers and some big fish live here too. Walleye fishing can be very good if you know how to target them. Big fish in the upper 20 inch range are possible with some fish exceeding 30 inches. The muskie fishing is very good as well. Good numbers of fish are possible and big fish up to and above 50 inches are possible. Largemouth bass, perch and crappie area also available here.
LOTW Morson
The Morson area of Lake of the Woods is a nice vacation destination for those of you that are looking to get away from it all and enjoy the outdoors. The scenery is beautiful here and you won’t find the crowds here, that’s for sure. This area is unique because it gives you access to some big open water and you can also fish some of the protected waters around all the islands that are great for fishing when the winds pick up.
The Morson area of Lake of the Woods is home to some excellent fishing. Anglers typically come here to target walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and muskie. Good numbers of fish are here and big fish are available for all 4 species of these fish. Largemouth bass, perch and crappie area also available here.
LOTW Nestor Falls
Nestor Falls is located south of Sioux Narrows and Kenora. For some visitors, this is the preferred destination on Lake of the Woods because the drive isn’t too bad when you’re coming from the U.S. It’s only about an hour and fifteen minute drive from International Falls, Minnesota and the fishing can be very good here. You will find plenty of services here to plan an awesome trip, but don’t expect to have all the conveniences that you will find farther north in Kenora.
The Nestor Falls area is home to some excellent fishing on Lake of the Woods. Smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and muskie will get the most attention from most anglers here and the fishing can be incredible here. Good numbers of fish are available and big fish are possible for all 4 species of fish. Largemouth bass, perch and crappie area also available here.
LOTW Northwest Angle
The Northwest Angle is a very unique destination. It is located in the United States, but you have to drive through Canada to get here. The border crossing is different here, so we recommend a quick online search to see the latest information for crossing the border here. Most people come here to fish and the fishing is very good in the Northwest Angle.
This area is home to some awesome fishing. You can find good numbers and trophy smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and muskie in the Northwest Angle on Lake of the Woods. Some anglers report the better fishing will be on the Canadian side of the lake, but there is plenty of good fishing available on the Minnesota side as well. Largemouth bass, perch and crappie area also available here.
LOTW Sioux Narrows
Sioux Narrows is an awesome vacation destination. Located in between Nestor Falls and Kenora, you will definitely find some areas where you won’t see another boater. However, you will still see some boats and people in this area. It’s not nearly as popular as Kenora, but it gets fished quite a bit. There is so much water to here that you can easily find a place all to yourself whether you are boating or fishing.
The Sioux Narrows area of Lake of the Woods is a very good fishing area. Anglers do well with smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskie and walleye. You may have to take a little bit of a road ride to find the better walleye fishing, but it is worth it as the walleye fishing can be very good here. Big fish and good numbers of fish are possible here. Largemouth bass, lake trout, perch and crappie area also available here.
Minaki, Ontario
Minaki is home to the Winnipeg River system. The fishing can be very good here for walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, muskie and more. This area has plenty of resorts, but it is much less crowded than nearby Kenora. It’s not too far either in case you needed to make a trip back into the popular town of Kenora. Most anglers come here to fish the Winnipeg River system, however, there are plenty of other lakes here to fish as well.
The Winnipeg River system is the main body of water to fish in this area and it has good populations of walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and muskie. You can catch trophy fish of all species too, which is awesome.
You can also catch lake trout in some of the area lakes that offer deeper, cooler waters. Perch and crappie are here too, so if you want to target panfish, you can. Some of these lakes have a lot of perch also, so you will most likely catch more perch than crappie depending where and how you are fishing.
Perrault Falls, Ontario
The Perrault Falls area has so many lakes to fish that you’ll wish you had a full month off from work to fish it all. The major lakes that get most of the attention here are Perrault Lake, Wabaskang Lake and Cedar Lake. If you have access to a smaller boat though, there are so many other lakes that you can fish in this area. Walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, perch and muskie are all here.
This area is such a good multi-species fishing area. Whether you fish on one of the main lakes that we listed above or you decide to take a smaller boat on some of the smaller lakes in this area, you can easily find a lake to catch all of the species of fish listed below. Pike and smallmouth bass might be the best in this area, but the walleye fishing is good, muskie can be very good and panfish such as perch and crappie are here too. It’s just a great area for so many species of fish. Anglers also target lake trout and whitefish in this area, but they are definitely secondary compared to the species listed above.
Rainy Lake
Rainy Lake is located along the border of Minnesota and Canada near International Falls. A large portion of the lake surrounds Voyageurs National Park. Rainy Lake is a popular vacation destination for people that enjoy the outdoors. There aren’t a ton of places to stay here, but there are just enough to service the people who come here for a vacation.
Rainy Lake has some excellent fishing opportunities for northern pike, walleye and smallmouth bass. All 3 species of fish are here in good numbers and trophy fish are available too.
Some anglers do target crappie and perch on Rainy Lake. Anglers usually catch some sauger mixed in while fishing for walleye. These fish are here, but don’t expect to consistently catch them unless you know how to target them. There have been some very nice reports of some unbelievable crappie fishing here, but you have to do your homework to score big here consistently for crappie.
Rideau Lakes Ontario
Rideau Lakes is a township located within Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario, Canada. There are many lakes throughout this chain of lakes and they have been one of the more popular bass fishing destinations up north. It’s an awesome destination with lots of water to fish and plenty of places to accommodate you.
This area is home to some of the best bass fishing you will find anywhere. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are here in huge numbers and it’s one of the few places you can go and target largemouth bass in Ontario. If you saw some of the reports here, you probably wouldn’t believe them, but the bass are here thick. That is accurate. Catching 100 bass in a day here is definitely possible with 2 anglers fishing hard and covering plenty of water. If you want to take it easy, that is fine too. You should still catch plenty of bass.
The northern pike, sunfish and crappie are also here in good numbers. Lake trout, perch and even carp are here too. Walleye are here in limited numbers, but there are some fish in the system.
Sioux Lookout, Ontario
The Sioux Lookout area is one of the better drive-to fishing destinations in all of Ontario. This area has Lac Seul, which is known for its outstanding walleye fishing. Lac Seul is the big draw and on some of the other parts of Lac Seul, walleye and pike will be plentiful, but muskie and smallmouth bass not so much. In the Sioux Lookout area, you can target muskie and smallmouth bass to go along with excellent walleye and pike fishing. The variety of species to go along with good numbers and trophy fish make this area an awesome fishing destination. Some of the other popular lakes to fish are Abram Lake, Minnitaki Lake, Botsford Lake, Big Vermillion Lake & Little Vermilion Lake. In this other lakes, there are a lot of options for targeting different species of fish. Muskie, pike, walleye, smallmouth bass and lake trout are all available. It just depends on the lake that you’re fishing.
Temagami, Ontario Region
The Temagami area is a popular fishing destination with so many options for anglers. Lake Temagami is the big lake here that draws many anglers for its northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass and lake trout fishing. It’s a big lake, but with the way it is shaped, you can fish so many areas on windy days, so even though it is a big lake, it does fish a little smaller than most big lakes in Ontario. That makes it a little easier to fish for most anglers. You have plenty of bays, points and islands to keep you busy.
The Marten River area is just south of Lake Temagami and this water system is awesome for fishing too. Anglers fish several lakes for northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass and lake trout. If you want to fish smaller waters, there are so many smaller lakes and streams to fish here too. Many anglers pursue brook in some of these smaller waters.
Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands are a group of over 1,700 islands that straddle the United States – Canada border in the St. Lawrence River. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario and the islands in the United States are located in the state of New York. This area is a popular vacation destination for fishing, boating and camping.
Anglers have many different species of fish to target such as northern pike, muskie, smallmouth bass, walleye and others. This area is truly an amazing fishery. If you want to catch a lot of fish, you can do that. If you want to catch trophy fish, you can do that too.
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Thunder Bay is located on Lake Superior, but in Ontario, Canada. The bay is known for its excellent fishing, but this is definitely big water fishing. In this area, many people will use Thunder Bay as their base camp as they get you enjoy all the amenities of this city, but still get away to experience some awesome fishing too. For others, they may stay at a fishing resort, but then come in for a day or part of a day in the Thunder Bay area. It’s a nice destination that mixes some some city life with some outdoors adventures.
Stay on the bay and target chinook salmon, rainbow trout and lake trout. Fish the area waters for a variety of fish. Depending on the lake you choose, you can target smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, perch, crappie and more here.
Vermilion Bay, Ontario
This area has some very good smallmouth bass fishing, however, you may have to lake hop on some of these smaller lakes if you want to put up bigger numbers of fish per day. Eagle Lake is a big lake that gives anglers options to target smallies all day and Bowden Lake is big enough to keep you busy all day long. Most of the smaller lakes in the area will be better places to hit for a half day or so. There are some very big bass in many of the lakes here.
