Spanish River

River Northern Ontario FMZ 10 Crown Land (Free)

About this spot

Spanish River is a river in the Northern Ontario area of Ontario, in Fisheries Management Zone 10. This waterbody sits on Ontario Crown land open to anglers holding a valid Ontario fishing licence. Ontario's rivers and streams provide excellent fishing for trout, Pacific salmon, and many other sport fish species.

Location

Fish Species

No species reported for this spot yet.

Fisheries Management Zone 10

Spanish River is in Fisheries Management Zone 10. 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 10 rules before you fish.

FMZ 10 regulations on ontario.ca

Ice fishing on Spanish River (2026–27)

Ontario has no separate ice fishing season: the regular open seasons apply through the ice. Spanish River is in Fisheries Management Zone 10, where 10 of 17 species groups are open for the whole ice season (December 1 to March 31) under the zone-wide rules.

Fish sanctuary. The summary lists Spanish River as a fish sanctuary: No fishing - closed all year; No fishing - January 1 to Friday before third Saturday in May and October 1 to December 31. No fishing is allowed during that period, whatever the table below says.

Species	Through the ice	Zone-wide season	Limits
Atlantic salmon	Part of the season Jan 1 – Mar 31	January 1 to September 30	S-1 and C-0
Brook trout	Part of the season Jan 1 – Mar 31	January 1 to September 30	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
Crappie	Open	open all year	S-30 and C-10
Lake sturgeon	Closed	closed all year
Lake trout	Part of the season Jan 1 – Mar 31	January 1 to Labour Day	S-2; not more than 1 greater than 40 centimetres, and C-1
Lake whitefish	Open	open all year	S-12 and C-6
Largemouth and smallmouth bass combined	Closed	third Saturday in June to November 30	S-6 and C-3
Muskellunge	Different rule here See the rules for this lake below	third Saturday in June to December 15	S-1; must be greater than 122 centimetres, and C-0
Northern pike	Open	open all year	S-6; not more than 1 greater than 61 centimetres, none greater than 86 centimetres, and C-2; none greater than 61 centimetres
Pacific salmon	Open	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Rainbow trout	Open	open all year	S-2 and C-1
Splake	Open	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Sunfish	Open	open all year	S-50 and C-25
Walleye and sauger combined	Part of the season Dec 1 – Mar 21	January 1 to the third Sunday in March and third Saturday in May to December 31	S-4 and C-2; none greater than 46 centimetres
Yellow perch	Open	open all year	S-50 and C-25

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 Spanish River

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

Waterbody exception (downstream from the Highway 6 bridge and the Aux Sables River from its confluence at the Spanish River upstream to Highw...): Muskellunge - S-1; must be greater than 137 centimetres, and C-0
Waterbody exception (Town of Espanola, the waters extending from the dam at Domtar Incorporated to the Highway 6 bridge): Fish sanctuary - closed all year
Waterbody exception (downstream from Espanola excluding Gagans Pond (Victoria Township): Fish sanctuary - no fishing from January 1 to Friday before third Saturday in May and October 1 to December 31
Fish sanctuary (refer to waterbody exceptions): No fishing - closed all year
Fish sanctuary (refer to waterbody exceptions): No fishing - January 1 to Friday before third Saturday in May and October 1 to December 31

Ice huts in Zone 10

Huts must be registered (free, once) and show the number outside; fabric shelters under 7 m² are exempt. Remove your hut by March 31, 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 10 ice fishing rules Ice fishing in Ontario guide

Source: Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary 2026, Zone 10 (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.