Ice fishing in Zone 14 (FMZ 14), 2026–27

Fisheries Management Zone 14, with 358 lakes and rivers on our map. Through the 2026–27 ice season (December 1 to March 31), 11 of 16 species groups are open the whole time, 3 for part of it and 2 are closed. Walleye and sauger are open Dec 1 – Mar 1. Lake trout are open all ice season. Pike are open Dec 1 – Mar 1 and perch open all ice season.

Ice huts

Registration required

Off the ice by March 15

Bait

See the bait rules

Live or dead baitfish and leeches cannot be moved into or out of a Bait Management Zone (dead and preserved bait excepted).

Waters with their own rules

12 listed waters, 9 sanctuaries

10 of them carry a rule that matters in winter (listed below).

Open the full Ontario Crown land map

What you can fish through the ice in Zone 14

Zone-wide seasons and limits from the 2026 Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary, with the dates worked out for 2026–27. They apply to every lake in the zone except the waters listed further down.

Species	2026–27 ice season	Zone-wide season (as written)	Limits
Aggregate limits for trout and salmon (including splake)	—	Limit only	S-5 and C-2; total daily catch and possession limit for all trout and salmon species combined
Atlantic salmon	Open all season	open all year	S-1 and C-0
Brown trout	Open all season	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Channel catfish	Open all season	open all year	S-12 and C-6
Crappie	Open all season	open all year	S-30 and C-10
Lake herring (cisco)	Open all season	open all year	S-25 and C-12
Lake sturgeon	Closed	closed all year
Lake trout	Open all season	January 1 to September 30 and December 1 to December 31	S-2 and C-1
Lake whitefish	Open all season	open all year	S-12 and C-6
Largemouth and smallmouth bass combined	Closed	fourth Saturday in June to November 30	S-3 and C-1
Muskellunge	Part of the season Dec 1 – Dec 15	third Saturday in June to December 15	S-1; must be greater than 137 centimetres, and C-0
Northern pike	Part of the season Dec 1 – Mar 1	January 1 to March 1 and May 1 to December 31	S-2; in one day, possession limit of four, not more than one greater than 86 centimetres, and C-1; in one day, possession limit of two, not more than one greater than 86 centimetres
Pacific salmon	Open all season	open all year	S-5 and C-2
Rainbow trout	Open all season	open all year	S-2 and C-1
Sunfish	Open all season	open all year	S-50 and C-25
Walleye and sauger combined	Part of the season Dec 1 – Mar 1	January 1 to March 1 and May 1 to December 31	S-2; in one day, possession limit of four, none between 41-56 centimetres, not more than one greater than 56 centimetres, and C-1; in one day, possession limit of two, none between 41-56 centimetres, not more than one greater than 56 centimetres
Yellow perch	Open all season	open all year	S-25; in one day, possession limit of 50, and C-12; in one day, possession limit of 25

S = sport fishing licence, C = conservation fishing licence. A season "open all ice season" runs December 1 to March 31 without a break. The 2027 summary takes effect January 1, 2027 and can change dates for the rest of the winter; we refresh this page when it is published. Not present in this zone and closed all year: brook trout, splake.

Ice huts and lines in Zone 14

Ice huts must be registered in this zone if they are made of anything other than fabric, or are fabric tents covering 7 m² or more. Registration is free, done once through the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service or ServiceOntario, and the number goes on the outside of the hut in characters at least 6.3 cm high.
Huts must be off the ice by March 15. Removing your hut does not end the fishing season; it is a safety deadline.
In every zone, huts must come off before the ice breaks up, whatever the date.
You can fish with two lines through the ice in most waters, as long as you stay within 60 m of each line or tip-up and can see them all.

Surveyed lakes in Zone 14

Lakes in this zone with the most government fish survey records, the game fish recorded and the deepest contour on the provincial depth chart. Each page shows its own winter rules.

Sydenham River Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Chinook Salmon, Brook Trout, Splake

Seguin River Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Pumpkinseed

Nottawasaga River Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, Brown Trout, Chinook Salmon, Brook Trout

Coldwater River Chinook Salmon, Yellow Perch, Walleye, Black Crappie, Northern Pike, Pink Salmon

Little Shebeshekong River Pumpkinseed, Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass

Pickerel River Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, Yellow Perch

Waters in Zone 14 with their own winter rules

These waters are listed in the zone's exceptions with a rule that mentions the ice or the winter months, or that opens or closes them all year. The zone-wide table above does not apply to them where the rules overlap. Waters linked below have their own page on this site.

Walleye

Season: closed all year

McGregor Bay (Lake Huron)

Walleye

Season: January 1 to March 1 and third Saturday in May to December 31

Whitefish River-Curtin Township from the mouth at the North Channel of Lake Huron, upstream to the Frood Lake Dam, east of Highway 6

Yellow perch

Season: January 1 to March 31 and third Saturday in May to December 31

Lake Wolsey

Waterbody exceptions

Big Sound of Parry Sound: Only one line may be used when angling through the ice; Lake trout - open from January 1 to September 30; Lake trout - S-0 and C-0; from January 1 to February 7 and April 1 to June 23 and September 1 to September 30; Lake trout - S-1 and C-1; must be less than 61 centimetres from February 8 to March 31 and June 24 to August 31
Big Sound of Parry Sound: Lake trout - open from January 1 to September 30; Lake trout - S-0 and C-0; from January 1 to February 7 and April 1 to June 23 and September 1 to September 30; Lake trout - S-1 and C-1; must be less than 61 centimetres from February 8 to March 31 and June 24 to August 31
Big Sound of Parry Sound (Killbear Channel): Lake Trout - closed all year
Iroquois Bay of the North Channel of Lake Huron: Fish sanctuary - no fishing from January 1 to April 30
St. Marys River: Walleye - open from January 1 to last day in February and May 15 to December 31

Fish sanctuaries: no fishing - closed all year

Georgian Bay

Fish sanctuaries: no fishing - january 1 to april 30

Iroquois Bay (refer to waterbody exceptions)

Other zone notes

FMZ 14 is part of the Great Lakes. Baitfish and leeches that are both dead and preserved can be transported into and out of BMZs and the Great Lakes.
Baitfish and leeches that are not both dead and preserved may be transported out of:Refer to bait for more details. an adjacent Bait Management Zone and used in the Great Lakes; the Great Lakes only to be disposed of immediately more than 30 metres from the water

Zone 13 Zone 15 All 20 zones Ice fishing in Ontario guide

Source: Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary 2026, Fisheries Management Zone 14 and ontario.ca ice fishing rules, read October 25, 2026; zone boundary: Land Information Ontario (Open Government Licence – Ontario). The summary is a guide to the regulations, not the law itself, and this page is a reading of the summary. Check the official text, and test the ice yourself: no regulation makes ice safe.