Big Rideau Lake

Lake Eastern Ontario FMZ 18 Crown Land (Free)

91.4 m

Deepest charted contour

About this spot

Big Rideau Lake is a lake in the Eastern Ontario area of Ontario, in Fisheries Management Zone 18. MNR fish surveys (2001–2012) recorded 21 species here, including yellow perch, brown bullhead and cisco. An MNR depth chart exists for this lake (surveyed 1972); its deepest charted contour is 91.4 m. This waterbody sits on Ontario Crown land open to anglers holding a valid Ontario fishing licence.

Location

Fish Species

Yellow Perch Catfish Cisco Northern Pike Smallmouth Bass Rock Bass Lake Trout Bluegill Largemouth Bass Black Crappie Burbot Lake Whitefish Walleye Sucker

No species reported for this spot yet.

Lake data from Ontario government surveys

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources holds 28 fish survey records from 2001 to 2012. Survey methods: Seine, Broad-scale Monitoring.

Species recorded (21)

Pumpkinseed · 14 Yellow Perch · 14 Brown Bullhead · 12 Cisco · 12 Northern Pike · 11 Smallmouth Bass · 10 Rock Bass · 9 Lake Trout · 9 Bluegill · 8 Largemouth Bass · 8 Black Crappie · 6 Alewife · 5 Burbot · 2 Lake Whitefish · 2 Golden Shiner · 1 Bridle Shiner · 1 Ninespine Stickleback · 1 Gizzard Shad · 1 Sand Shiner · 1 Walleye · 1 White Sucker · 1

Number of survey records that list the species.

Water clarity (Secchi depth): 4 m (2012)

Depth chart

MNR depth chart on file, surveyed 1972
Deepest charted contour: 91.4 m
The deepest contour line on the chart. The true maximum depth is at least this deep.

Sources: Land Information Ontario — Aquatic Resource Area survey points, Bathymetry Index and Bathymetry Line, Fisheries Management Zones, Fishing Access Points. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.

Fisheries Management Zone 18

Big Rideau Lake is in Fisheries Management Zone 18. Open seasons, catch limits and size limits in Ontario are set zone by zone, and some lakes carry their own exceptions, so check the FMZ 18 rules before you fish.

FMZ 18 regulations on ontario.ca

Ice fishing on Big Rideau Lake (2026–27)

Ontario has no separate ice fishing season: the regular open seasons apply through the ice. Big Rideau Lake is in Fisheries Management Zone 18, where 11 of 17 species groups are open for the whole ice season (December 1 to March 31) under the zone-wide rules. Of the game fish government surveys recorded in this lake, black crappie, lake whitefish, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, bluegill, walleye and yellow perch are open at least part of the winter under the zone-wide rules.

Fish sanctuary. The summary lists Big Rideau Lake as a fish sanctuary: No fishing - closed all year. No fishing is allowed during that period, whatever the table below says.

Species	Through the ice	Zone-wide season	Limits
Crappie recorded here	Open	open all year	S-30 and C-10
Lake trout recorded here	Closed	fourth Saturday in May to September 8	S-2 and C-1
Lake whitefish recorded here	Open	open all year	S-12 and C-6
Largemouth and smallmouth bass combined recorded here	Part of the season Dec 1 – Dec 15	third Saturday in June to December 15	S-6 and C-2
Northern pike recorded here	Open	January 1 to March 31 and second Saturday in May to December 31	S-6 and C-2
Sunfish recorded here	Open	open all year	S-300; only 30 may be greater than 18 centimetres, and C-15
Walleye and sauger combined recorded here	Part of the season Dec 1 – Mar 1	January 1 to March 1 and second Saturday in May to December 31	S-4 and C-2; must be between 40-50 centimetres
Yellow perch recorded here	Open	open all year	S-50 and C-25
Atlantic salmon	Closed	closed all year
Brook trout	Open	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Brown trout	Open	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Channel catfish	Open	open all year	S-12 and C-6
Lake sturgeon	Closed	closed all year
Muskellunge	Part of the season Dec 1 – Dec 15	1st Saturday in June to December 15	S-1; must be greater than 91 centimetres, and C-0
Pacific salmon	Open	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Rainbow trout	Open	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Splake	Open	open all year	S-5 and C-2

S = sport fishing licence, C = conservation licence (daily catch and possession). Dates are worked out for 2026–27 from the wording of the 2026 summary. Ontario publishes a new summary every January 1, so check the 2027 edition for dates after December 31.

Rules specific to Big Rideau Lake

The 2026 summary lists this lake by name. These rules replace the zone-wide ones above where they overlap.

Fish sanctuary (Bastard and Burgess Townships, The Bog and Long Island): No fishing - closed all year

Ice huts in Zone 18

Huts must be registered (free, once) and show the number outside; fabric shelters under 7 m² are exempt. Remove your hut by March 15, and in any case before the ice breaks up. You may fish with two lines through the ice in most waters, within 60 m and in sight of each.

Zone 18 ice fishing rules Ice fishing in Ontario guide

Source: Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary 2026, Zone 18 (ontario.ca); ice hut rules: ontario.ca/page/ice-fishing. This summary is not the law: check the regulations and local conditions, and never go on ice you have not tested.