Welcome to our South Georgian Bay Fishing Home Page
South Georgian Bay is a beautiful destination that is just a short drive north of Toronto. This is a very popular tourist destination, so while you will still be able to find plenty of places to fish all to yourself, you will have no problem finding plenty of things to do in the local communities with all the beaches, shops, restaurants and more. You also have plenty of lodging options with a nice mixture of higher end hotels and resorts with some budget options too.
Anglers have so many options for fishing in South Georgian Bay. You have plenty of good places to fish out of the rough waters offshore, so you can still come here and enjoy some excellent fishing in a smaller boat. If you have a bigger boat or you want to take a fishing charter, you have some options to get offshore and chase salmon and trout as well.
Honey Harbour
On the southeastern shores of Georgian Bay, just off Highway 400, lies Honey Harbour. This is a busy port community during the summer months. Honey Harbour gives you access to the 30,000 islands region. You will see plenty of boaters here, but there are so many good fishing spots to fish that you should be able to find some spots to have all to yourself. This area has so many bays and islands to fish here that you can easily find a place to fish even on windy days. Anglers catch northern pike, walleye, muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish too. Good numbers of fish are available with trophy fish too.
Midland
The town of Midland is located on the southern shore of Georgian Bay, just a 90 minute drive from Toronto. Overlooking Severn Sound, the area is part of the 30,000 islands. The bay here has a lot of good weed growth and it attracts lots of northern pike. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are caught in the bay as well. You have access to many other bays and islands to fish just a short boat ride away from Midland where you can target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, muskie and more.
Penetanguishene
Located on the southern shores of Georgian Bay, Penetanguishene is a part of the magnificent 30,000 island region. The long bay is not too far from all the islands that offer such excellent fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskie, walleye and more. Closer to Penetanguishene, anglers catch a lot of northern pike and bass in the bay.
Collingwood / The Blue Mountains
Located on the southern shores of Georgian Bay, Collingwood is a pretty cool four season resort town. It is close to nearby Blue Mountain, which comes alive in the winter with skiers and snowboarders. In the summer, people come here from all over to experience the water and other recreational activities in the area. People enjoy the walking and hiking paths, waterfront parks, mountain bike trails, a yacht club, marina, so many shops, restaurants and excellent accommodations.
Anglers fish the deeper waters here for salmon and trout. There are some fishing charters available on this part of the bay as well.
Blue Mountain is Ontario’s premier ski and snowboard destination and there is so much to do here inside and outside.
Meaford
Located on the shores of Georgian Bay, at the mouth of the Bighead River, Meaford is a nice community with a beautiful harbor.
Memorial Park & Campground is a popular park with a playground, day use area, picnic pavilion and a sandy beach.
Anglers fish the deeper waters here for salmon and trout. Some charters are available out of this area. The Bighead River gets big runs of steelhead and most anglers fish near town and through the Bighead River Conservation area. This part of the river is rocky with very fast water and good access for anglers.
Wasaga Beach
Wasaga Beach has several miles of white sand beaches. There are excellent options for dining, accommodations, outdoor recreation and entertainment. Fishing is usually best from a boat out in the bay, but anglers also do well here on the Nottawasaga River. There are good spawning runs in the spring and fall. Steelhead and salmon are available.
Fish the Rivers
The tributaries of the Georgian Sound provide good fishing for salmon and trout. Some rivers and streams will also have bass, northern pike, muskie and more, but the salmon and trout trump in these tributaries.
Beaver River
The Beaver River is a popular river because of its excellent steelhead runs. It flows into Georgian Bay in the town of Thornbury, Ontario. This river has a few dams that the fish can pass and some fish will make it all the way upriver to Hogs Falls, which is near the town Kimberly. Besides the steelhead, this river also has brown trout, brook trout, some resident rainbow trout and salmon run up this river too.
Bighead River
The Bighead river flows into Georgian Bay in the town of Meaford. This river gets a large run of steelhead and is mostly fished near town and through the Bighead River Conservation area. Chinook salmon also make fall runs here in September and October.
Boyne River
The Boyne River is a tributary of the Nottawasaga River. It enters the Nottawasaga River in the town of Alliston and people fish right in town for steelhead, salmon and brown trout. Farther upriver, anglers do catch brook trout also closer to the town of Shelburne.
People fish right in town for steelhead, brown trout and salmon during the trout open season and there is good access there.
Mad and Noisy Rivers
The Mad River is a tributary of the Nottawasaga River and the The Noisy River is a branch of the Mad River which merges with the Mad river upriver from the town of Creemore. Both rivers have a population of brook trout and they get spawning runs of salmon and steelhead.
Nottawasaga River
The Nottawasaga River, also called the Notty, is the biggest wild steelhead river that flows into Georgian Bay. It’s slower moving, deeper waters make it somewhat difficult to catch steelhead on it because it is flat, slow and slightly cloudy. When you find the fish, it isn’t as hard to get them to bite since they won’t spook as easily as they would in clearer water, but they are harder to find for most anglers due to the lack of obvious spots. You have to put your work in on this river to learn where the steelhead like to be if you’re going to consistently catch them here.
The upper sections of the river have brown trout and brook trout, but this section of the river is almost all private lands, so you don’t have access to this area. Bass, northern pike and muskie can be caught in the lower sections of the river.
Pine River
The Pine river is the largest tributary of the Nottawasaga river. It has cold, clean water and good summer flows, which makes it a good river for steelhead and salmon. The lower Pine River empties into the Nottawasaga in the town of Angus. Because of good access here, the lower river usually gets pressured the most by anglers.
Sydenham River
The Sydenham River has special regulations, so make sure you check the current regulations to see what areas are open to fishing and what areas are not. Steelhead and salmon make spawning runs up the river and they can’t make it passed Inglis Falls, so you have good numbers of fish in a fairly small section of river compared to some of the other spawning tributaries of Georgian Bay. Brook trout and brown trout are found here in both the upper and lower sections of the river, but most people come here to fish the spawning runs for salmon and steelhead in the lower section of the river.