Best landlocked salmon lakes in Ontario
13 Ontario waters list landlocked salmon (official records or labelled estimates), 9 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Lake-dwelling Atlantic salmon that lives and dies by the smelt run. Ice-out surface fishing at its finest.
- Lake Wanapitei — 396 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow TroutWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Trout Lake — 220 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- Cedar Lake — 82 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Yellow PerchWhy #3: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Cauchon Lake — 140 ft max · real survey depth contours · Brook Trout, Landlocked Salmon, Burbot, Cisco (Lake Herring)Why #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Blackstone Harbour — 62 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White BassWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Woods Bay — 39 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White BassWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Westward Lake — 140 ft max · real survey depth contours · Brook Trout, Landlocked Salmon, Arctic CharWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Whitefish River — 23 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White BassWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- McConnell Lake — 108 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Lake TroutWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Moon River Bay — 23 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White BassWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
…plus 3 more Ontario waters holding landlocked salmon.
Find the closest landlocked salmon waters to you →
How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See Ontario waters with public access data
When to fish landlocked salmon in Ontario
- Spring 1–15 ft — The legendary ice-out bite: salmon follow spawning smelt to tributary mouths and windblown shorelines, right on the surface.
- Summer 25–60 ft — Salmon hold just above the thermocline with the smelt schools — depth control decides the day.
- Fall 5–30 ft — Turnover scatters bait and salmon shallow; spawners stage off tributary mouths, hot-tempered and territorial.
- Winter 10–40 ft — Where winter seasons allow, salmon cruise for smelt under the ice — sewn bait near a drop is the classic set.
Also in Ontario: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best sauger lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best coho salmon lakes · best steelhead lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best burbot lakes · best rock bass lakes · best white perch lakes · best cisco (lake herring) lakes · best splake lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best lake sturgeon lakes
Landlocked Salmon elsewhere: Sweden · Québec · Finland · Maine · New Hampshire · New York · New Brunswick · Connecticut · Vermont