What You Need to Know About Ice Fishing on Lake Simcoe
- Published in Ice Fishing
Lake Simcoe is the most intensively fished inland lake in the province with more people fishing it in the winter than at any other time of the year. Ice fishing usually does not begin until after the New Year. Although species, such as yellow perch, have a year-round open season on Lake Simcoe, weather patterns show that safe ice often does not form until after January 1. Shallower sections of the lake, such as Cook's Bay, usually freeze first. Deeper portions, such as Kempenfelt Bay, can freeze over much later. Likewise, anglers fishing shallow water near shore for species, such as perch or pike, could be safely standing on plenty of ice, yet further out on the whitefish or lake trout grounds, there may be little or no ice.