Sport fishing variation order for Fisheries Management Zone 9

Variation orders adjust the close time, fishing quota and/or limit on fish sizes in a Fisheries Management Zone 9.

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SF – 2026/9

Under the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007

Pursuant to the authority vested in me in subsection 13(1) of the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007, made under the Fisheries Act, R.S.C. , 1985, c. F-14, I hereby authorize and declare the following:

That Sport Fishing Variation Order for Fisheries Management Zone 9 (SF-2023/9) signed by Minister Smith on November 1, 2022 is revoked and replaced by this Sport Fishing Variation Order for Fisheries Management Zone 9 (SF-2026/9).
That the angling close times as set out in Schedule 2 to the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007 and the angling quotas and size limits as set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the said Regulations for Fisheries Management Zone 9 are hereby varied as set out in Schedules A and B to this Sport Fishing Variation Order.
That the close times for dip netting Lake Whitefish as set out in Part 1 of Schedule 6 to the said Regulations for Fisheries Management Zone 9 are hereby varied to January 1 to September 30 and December 16 to December 31.
That if there is a conflict between this Sport Fishing Variation Order and a close time for a fish sanctuary, the close time for the fish sanctuary prevails.
That this Sport Fishing Variation Order comes into effect January 1, 2026.

Dated at Toronto this 31 day of October 2025.

Mike Harris
Minister of Natural Resources

Schedule A – Zone-wide close times, quotas and size limits for Fisheries Management Zone 9

Subject to Schedule B of this Variation Order the following Angling close times, fishing quotas and size limits (measured in total length) apply to all waters in Fisheries Management Zone 9.
Species or combination of species	Close time	Sport Fishing Licence quota and size limit	Conservation Fishing Licence quota and size limit
Atlantic salmon	No close time	1, any size	0
Black & white crappie	No close time	30, any size	10, any size
Brook trout	January 1 to the Friday before the 4^th Saturday in April and the day after Labour Day to December 31	1, must be greater than 56 cm	0
Brown trout	No close time	5, any size	2, any size
Channel catfish	No close time	12, any size	6, any size
Lake sturgeon	January 1 to December 31	N/A	N/A
Lake trout	October 1 to December 31	3, any size	1, any size
Lake whitefish	No close time	12, any size	6, any size
Largemouth & smallmouth bass	No close time	6, any size	2, any size
Muskellunge	January 1 to the Friday before the 3^rd Saturday in June and December 16 to December 31	1, must be greater than 137 cm	0
Northern pike	No close time	4, none between 70-90 cm and not more than 1 greater than 90 cm	2, none between 70-90 cm and not more than 1 greater than 90 cm
Pacific salmon	No close time	5, any size	2, any size
Rainbow trout	No close time	1, any size	0
Splake	October 1 to December 31	3, any size	1, any size
Sunfish	No close time	50, any size	25, any size
Walleye & sauger	April 15 to the Friday before the 3^rd Saturday in May	2, any size	1, any size
Yellow perch	No close time	25, any size	12, any size
Any other species	No close time	No limit	No limit

Schedule B – Exceptions to the Zone-wide close times, quotas and size limits for Fisheries Management Zone 9

Despite Schedule A of this Variation Order the Angling close times, quotas and size limits (measured in total length) set out in this Schedule apply in the following waters. For greater clarity, where this schedule indicates "no change", the Zone-wide requirement in Schedule A applies.
Waters	Species or combination of species	Close time	Sport Fishing Licence quota and size limit	Conservation fishing licence quota and size limit
Lake Superior – Black Bay (48°44'34"N., 88°25'50"W.) northwest of a line drawn from the southern tip of Black Bay Peninsula (48°24'35"N., 88°33'37"W.) to the northern tip of Magnet Island (48°24'28"N., 88°33'34"W.) to the southwest tip of Magnet Island (48°23'39"N., 88°34'35"W.) to the northeast tip of Porphyry Island (48°21'40"N., 88°37'23"W.) to the southwest tip of Porphyry Island (48°20'21"N., 88°38'57"W.) west to an unnamed point (48°20'28"N., 88°46'09"W.) on the southeast side of Sibley Peninsula.	Northern pike	No change	2, not more than one greater than 70 cm and none over 90 cm	1, none over 90 cm
Lake Superior – Black Bay (48°44'34"N., 88°25'50"W.) northwest of a line drawn from the southern tip of Black Bay Peninsula (48°24'35"N., 88°33'37"W.) to the northern tip of Magnet Island (48°24'28"N., 88°33'34"W.) to the southwest tip of Magnet Island (48°23'39"N., 88°34'35"W.) to the northeast tip of Porphyry Island (48°21'40"N., 88°37'23"W.) to the southwest tip of Porphyry Island (48°20'21"N., 88°38'57"W.) west to an unnamed point (48°20'28"N., 88°46'09"W.) on the southeast side of Sibley Peninsula.	Walleye and sauger	January 1 to June 30	2, must be between 40 and 50 cm	1, must be between 40 and 50 cm
Nipigon River and Nipigon Bay in Lake Superior from the hydro corridor at 48°59'39"N., 88°15'29"W. at the Fisheries Management Zone 6 and 9 boundary including the waters of Nipigon Bay along the shoreline of Black Bay Peninsula across the St. Ignace channel at 48°47'51"N., 88°05'37"W. following the northerly shoreline of St. Ignace Island across the Simpson Island channel at 48°49 57"N., 87°45'02"W. along the northerly shoreline of Simpson Island to the mainland at 48°51'21"N., 87°38'47"W. following the northerly shoreline of Lake Superior to the beginning.	Walleye and sauger	January 1 to December 31	N/A	N/A
Lake Superior, east of the Pic River (Zone 9)	Rainbow trout	No change	2, any size	1, any size
Montreal River from the first Great Lakes Power Dam to Lake Superior	Walleye and sauger	April 1 to June 30	No change	No change

Updated: January 02, 2026

Published: January 02, 2019