Ice fishing in Zone 20 (FMZ 20), 2026–27

Fisheries Management Zone 20, with 78 lakes and rivers on our map. Through the 2026–27 ice season (December 1 to March 31), 11 of 14 species groups are open the whole time, 2 for part of it and 1 are closed. Walleye and sauger are open Dec 1 – Mar 1. Lake trout are open all ice season. Pike are open all ice season and perch open all ice season.

Ice huts

Registration required

Off the ice by March 1

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

3 listed waters, 5 sanctuaries

1 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 20

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; must be greater than 63 centimetres, and C-0
Bass	—	Limit only	S-0 and C-0 Regular season: third Saturday in June to December 31 Limits: S-6 and C-2 S-0 and C-0 Regular season: first Saturday in July to December 31 Limits: S-6 and C-2
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 sturgeon	Closed	closed all year
Lake trout	Open all season	January 1 to September 30 and December 1 to December 31	S-3 and C-1
Lake whitefish	Open all season	open all year	S-12 and C-6
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	Open all season	January 1 to March 31 and first Saturday in May to December 31	S-6 and C-2
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-100 and C-50
Walleye and sauger combined	Part of the season Dec 1 – Mar 1	January 1 to March 1 and first Saturday in May to December 31	S-4 and C-2; not more than 1 greater than 63 centimetres
Yellow perch	Open all season	open all year	S-50 and C-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 20

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 1. 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 20

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.

Lake Ontario Pumpkinseed, Yellow Perch, Smallmouth Bass, Brown Trout, Largemouth Bass, Chinook Salmon

Moira River Pumpkinseed, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike

Waters in Zone 20 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.

Yellow perch

Season: open from January 1 to March 31 and second Saturday in May to December 31

Lake St. Francis and the waters of the St. Lawrence River lying east of Robert H. Saunders Generating Station

Other zone notes

American eel is a specially protected species and may not be caught or possessed under a recreational fishing licence.
FMZ 20, with the exception of the County of Prince Edward, 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 when dead and preserved, or to be disposed of immediately more than 30 metres from the water

Zone 19 All 20 zones Ice fishing in Ontario guide

Source: Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary 2026, Fisheries Management Zone 20 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.