You already knew it, but Fishing Booker, a company that bills itself as "the world's largest online travel fishing company" has ranked Lake Nipissing as the number one ice fishing spot in Canada,
Nipissing leads a list of nine world-class ice fishing destinations in Canada.
Lake Nipissing is a "frozen paradise that harbours many exciting species and productive ice fishing spots," according to the company's website.
"While Lake Nipissing is known for its amazing Walleye population that thrives in these shallow waters, there are plenty of other species to target through the ice. Thanks to an abundance of food, the lake is also home to Northern Pike and Perch, which can grow impressively big here. Winter anglers also look for small schools of Whitefish and the occasional Burbot."
"Each year we come up with lists of some of the top places to go fishing throughout various categories, including ice fishing," Marko Lukic, the company's Creative Content Specialist tells BayToday.
"The criteria we use to select the places for our lists include biodiversity (or in other words the amount of fish species one can target), as well as the number of accessible fishing spots (in this case, particularly for ice fishing during the winter). We also take into account weather conditions, regulations that ensure the longevity and sustainability of sportfishing, and the overall touristic potential of the region and how important it is to the local economy.
"We try to shine a spotlight onto some of the lesser-known areas that deserve the attention they often don't get. Our content team does research based on these factors and develops several lists each year for different categories of types of fishing and Lake Nipissing stood out as a top location for ice fishing with some serious potential for the future as well."
The website says the choice of fishing spots will depend on several factors, including which species you’re after.
"Walleye bite best near Blueberry Island just off the southern shoreline, all the way to Goose Island, along with Calendar Bay, Deep Bay, and Smith Island. Pike anglers work the ice in Cache Bay, which sits in the northeastern part of Lake Nipissing. The flats between the North Bay and Manitou Island are best suited for Perch fishing.
See: North Bay vying to become Ontario's Ice Fishing Capital for 2023
The eight other destinations in order:
- Tobin Lake, Saskatchewan
- Cold Lake, Alberta
- Lake Erie, Ontario
- Lake of Two Mountains, Québec
- Lake Laberge, Yukon
- Bay of Quinte, Ontario
- Logan Lake, British Columbia
- Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories
North Bay is officially in the running to land the top spot in the 2023 Ontario Ice Fishing Challenge.
See: See: North Bay vying to become Ontario's Ice Fishing Capital for 2023
This February will present a month-long opportunity to show off your ice fishing skills by hooking a big one on Lake Nipissing. Help get North Bay crowned the Ice Fishing Capital for the year and earn a chance at taking home the $8,000 prize pool.
The Ontario Ice Fishing Challenge is hosted by My Catch Anglers Atlas and runs from February 1–28. The target species for the challenge are lake trout, brook trout, walleye, northern pike and yellow perch.
Tourism North Bay says for contest rules, prize information, and to sign up as a member of the North Bay team, click here.
