NORTHERN ONTARIO FISHING MAP — LAKES & RIVERS

Fishing Hot Spots

From the St. Marys Rapids at Sault Ste. Marie along Lake Superior's wild north shore to the Nipigon River and Thunder Bay, west to Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake and the walleye lakes of Sunset Country, and east to Lake Nipissing, the French River and Temagami. Tap any star or dot to see what it is and what to fish there.

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Fishing & access

Marine chart layers

Parks & rules

Data rule: Harbours, launches, marinas, bays, points and islands come from OpenStreetMap; river spots sit on the OpenStreetMap river line nearest the named town, and lake spots are the general center of the lake, not a pinpoint. Every spot is on the Canadian side of the border. National parks, the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area and provincial parks come from the World Database on Protected Areas and are shown in dashed red, because fishing there follows their own rules. Every star shows its source when you tap it. BigJoe does not invent coordinates. The exact sources used on this map are listed under Map sources & checks below.
Select a Fishing Hot Spot on the map or from the list below.
★ Fishing Hot SpotBoat rampMarinaWreckObstructionRock (yellow = awash)Coral / rock bottomCanyonWeather/tide stationNo-fishing zone (solid red)Protected area, fishing with rules (dashed red)

Safety: these are planning references. Use current official charts, weather and marine alerts and proper safety equipment before heading out.

Lake guides for this map

Month-by-month patterns, fish, ramps and rules for each water:

📘 Lake of the Woods (Ontario side)

All fishing guides →

Fishing Hot Spots by area

Rivers, lakes, bays and harbours. Tap one to fly to it on the map.

Walleye, muskie, pike and giant brook trout

Northern Ontario is classic Canadian fishing country: thousands of lakes full of walleye and northern pike, smallmouth bass and muskie, and cold, clear lakes with lake trout. Lake of the Woods and Eagle Lake are famous for trophy muskie, Lac Seul for walleye, and the Nipigon River for the world-record brook trout caught there in 1915.

Lake Superior's north shore has lake trout, salmon, steelhead and the rare coaster brook trout, and the St. Marys Rapids at Sault Ste. Marie are a famous spot for wading anglers. Many lakes are reached only by float plane, from towns like Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Nakina.

Rules: anglers need an Ontario Outdoors Card and fishing licence. Seasons and limits change by fisheries management zone, and many waters have slot sizes for walleye and muskie. The Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary has the details.

BigJoe’s gear for Northern Ontario

What BigJoe would bring to fish these waters.

CrankbaitsCrankbaits for walleyeShop on Amazon ↗HarnessesWorm harnesses for walleyeShop on Amazon ↗SpoonsTrolling spoons for salmon & troutShop on Amazon ↗Bass baitsTubes & drop-shot baits for smallmouthShop on Amazon ↗Muskie lureBucktails for muskieShop on Amazon ↗Spinning rod7 ft medium spinning rodShop on Amazon ↗Ice fishingIce-fishing rod comboShop on Amazon ↗NetRubber-mesh landing netShop on Amazon ↗

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Species GuidesFish found in these waters.Weather & TidesCheck the ocean before you go.All Hot Spots mapsThe Caribbean, the U.S., Canada, South America and the Pacific.

Map sources & checks

Coverage
Northern Ontario. Mapped features come from public datasets and can be incomplete or out of date: a missing reef, ramp or wreck does not mean it is not there.
Map data
Hot spots
29 hot spots, each with its own source (tap any star to see it): OpenStreetMap mapped feature (7), OpenStreetMap boat ramp (7), OpenStreetMap/Nominatim named place (general position, not a pinpoint) (7), point on an OpenStreetMap river or lake line (general location) (4), OpenStreetMap marina or harbor (4).
Protected areas
115 protected areas from the official list above, drawn in dashed red. Fishing rules inside them are set by the managing agency; check with them before you fish.
Chart layers (Charts button)
GEBCO ocean depth and OpenSeaMap buoys, lights and markers. GEBCO and OpenSeaMap are useful references, not official navigation charts.
Weather & tides
See Weather & Tides for this area: Open-Meteo weather and marine models. Tides here are estimated from a global sea-level model, not official tide tables.
Dates
This page last updated October 15, 2026. Each dataset keeps its own retrieval date, shown above.

⚠️ Planning reference only, not for navigation. Use current official charts, weather and marine alerts, and proper safety gear before heading out.

See something wrong or missing? Tell us and we will check it against the source.