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Best pumpkinseed lakes in Ontario

782 Ontario waters hold pumpkinseed, 782 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The brilliant little sunfish of weedy northern bays — a snail-crunching shallow-water resident that outnumbers bluegill across the east and Canada.

1. Lake Nipissing — 230 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
2. Lake Nipissing — 230 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
3. Lake Simcoe — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
4. Pigeon Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
5. Atikwa Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
6. Kakagi Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Yellow Perch
7. Panache Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
8. Lake Panache — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
9. Sturgeon Lake — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
10. Lake Scugog — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
11. Loughborough Lake — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
12. Lake Wanapitei — 396 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout
13. Lake Joseph — 302 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
14. Matinenda Lake — 280 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
15. Wabaskang Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Muskellunge
16. Northern Light Lake — 130 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
17. Lake Rosseau — 292 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
18. Nepewassi Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Muskellunge
19. Sparrow Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
20. Rowan Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
21. Charleston Lake — 295 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
22. Bark Lake — 280 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
23. Centennial Lake — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
24. Kawagama Lake — 246 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Lake Whitefish
25. Bobs Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike

…plus 757 more Ontario waters holding pumpkinseed.

When to fish pumpkinseed in Ontario

• Spring 1–8 ft — Spawning colonies carpet warm, protected bays — small baits dropped on the beds get instant attention.
• Summer 2–10 ft — Docks, pads and weed flats — pumpkinseeds hold tighter to vegetation than bluegill and love snails and nymphs.
• Fall 4–14 ft — Schools tighten on the last green weeds — find healthy cabbage near a drop and the school is there.
• Winter 6–18 ft — A staple ice panfish — soft-bottom flats just outside the deepest green weeds; downsize and watch for lift bites.

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 lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best landlocked salmon 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 brown bullhead lakes · best lake sturgeon lakes

Pumpkinseed elsewhere: Minnesota · Québec · Michigan · New Hampshire · Montana · Massachusetts · New York