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Zone 20 consists of Lake Ontario including the Bay of Quinte, Niagara River, Hamilton Harbour and the St. Lawrence River.

Fisheries Management Zone 20

View Fisheries Management Zone 20 map using Fish ON-Line or a PDF.

  • Hamilton Harbour is in Zone 20.
  • The Niagara River downstream of the falls is in Zone 20.

General information

  • See general fishing regulations for more information on how to use this summary.
  • American eel is a specially protected species and may not be caught or possessed under a recreational fishing licence.
  • The following species are not present in this Zone and are closed to fishing all year:
    • brook trout
    • splake
  • FMZ 20, with the exception of the County of Prince Edward, is part of the Great Lakes. Baitfish and leeches from adjacent Bait Management Zones (BMZ) are permitted, but can only be moved out of the Great Lakes to be disposed of immediately more than 30 metres from the water. See bait for more details.

Zone-wide seasons and limits

Zone-wide seasons and limits apply to all waters in the Zone except for the specific waters and species listed in the species exceptions, waterbody exceptions and fish sanctuaries.

Aggregate limits for trout and salmon (including splake)

Limits: S-5 and C-2; total daily catch and possession limit for all trout and salmon species combined

Atlantic salmon

Season: open all year
Limits: S-1; must be greater than 63 centimetres, and C-0

Bass

Largemouth bass

Early season catch and release: January 1 to May 10
Limits: S-0 and C-0
Regular season: third Saturday in June to December 31
Limits: S-6 and C-2

Smallmouth bass

Early season catch and release: January 1 to May 10
Limits: S-0 and C-0
Regular season: first Saturday in July to December 31
Limits: S-6 and C-2

Aggregate bass limits apply (S-6 and C-2)

Brown trout

Season: open all year
Limits: S-5 and C-2

Channel catfish

Season: open all year
Limits: S-12 and C-6

Crappie

Season: open all year
Limits: S-30 and C-10

Lake sturgeon

Season: closed all year

Lake trout

Season: January 1 to September 30 and December 1 to December 31
Limits: S-3 and C-1

Lake whitefish

Season: open all year
Limits: S-12 and C-6

Muskellunge

Season: third Saturday in June to December 15
Limits: S-1; must be greater than 137 centimetres, and C-0

Northern pike

Season: January 1 to March 31 and first Saturday in May to December 31
Limits: S-6 and C-2

Pacific salmon

Season: open all year
Limits: S-5 and C-2

Rainbow trout

Season: open all year
Limits: S-2 and C-1

Sunfish

Season: open all year
Limits: S-100 and C-50

Walleye and sauger combined

Season: January 1 to March 1 and first Saturday in May to December 31
Limits: S-4 and C-2; not more than 1 greater than 63 centimetres

Yellow perch

Season: open all year
Limits: S-50 and C-25

Species exceptions

Walleye

Limits: S-4 and C-2; no size limit

  • St. Lawrence River, waters east of a line drawn between Bishops Point and the easternmost tips of Howe and Wolfe Islands, and including Lake St. Francis

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

Waterbody exceptions

All waters of FMZ 20

  • Two lines may be used when angling from a boat in open water, excluding:
    • Hamilton Harbour
    • Toronto Harbour
    • Frenchman’s Bay
    • Murray Canal
    • Presqu’ile Bay
    • Weller’s Bay
    • East Lake
    • West Lake
    • Bay of Quinte (the waters lying west of the Glenora Ferry)
    • St. Lawrence River (waters lying east of a line drawn between Bishops Point and the easternmost tips of Howe and Wolfe islands)
    • all other tributaries to Lake Ontario

Fish sanctuaries

No fishing - April 1 to Friday before first Saturday in May

  • Consecon Creek - Hillier and Ameliasburgh Townships, from the dam in the Village of Consecon to Weller’s Bay
  • Consecon Creek - Hillier Township, from Lot 86 in Concession 5 to the mouth of the creek
  • Moira River and Bay of Quinte - from the Lott Dam downstream, including Belleville Harbour in the Bay of Quinte
  • Napanee River - Town of Napanee, from the waterfalls at Springside Park downstream to the bridge at Centre Street
  • Trent River - City of Quinte West, between the first dam north of Lake Ontario downstream to the south side of the Dundas Street bridge and the Trent Canal from Lock Number 1 downstream to where it joins the Trent River