Ice fishing - Perhaps it’s the brisk air that hones your appetite and the cold waters that improve their flavour, but fish you haul through the ice seem to taste better than at any other time of the year. Ontario offers winter action as varied as during the open-water seasons. Many of our fish are even more accessible than in summer. Deep-water species like lake trout and whitefish often move from deep holes and become available over a wider area. Whether it’s lunker lake trout, northern pike, walleye, or tasty perch or crappie, Ontario remains the place to catch them when our lakes don their winter coats of ice.

For well-equipped anglers willing to fish in the open air and explore, the options are unlimited. Many resorts stay open all winter and can be used as home bases for ice anglers. On some lakes you can enjoy all the comforts of home in heated shanties, rented for reasonable rates, perched over the best fishing holes. On-ice transportation to the fishing grounds is included.

In the northwestern part of the province, big lake trout keep anglers smiling all winter. Lake of the Woods, for one, just might give up that trout of a lifetime to an ice angler. But the area also offers fast action for walleye, whitefish, brook trout, pike, and slab-sided black crappie. There’s more exciting trout, walleye, and pike fishing as you move northeast.

And in the “Near North,” Lake Temagami has rental huts where you can settle in to jig a limit of whitefish, walleye, or lake trout. For a smorgasbord, from perch to walleye to fat lake herring, try huge Lake Nipissing. Its hut operators offer package deals that include on-shore accommodations and meals for extended stays.

Moving south again, the Haliburton Highlands and Muskoka harbour more lake trout and whitefish. Then it’s on to Lake Simcoe in the south. Lake trout, whitefish, and northern pike are again winter mainstays, but Simcoe and adjoining Lake Couchiching are also hotspots for jumbo yellow perch and black crappie. Each winter, Simcoe is dotted with fishing villages.

There’s a lot more. Across eastern Ontario many lakes feature a variety of trout, walleye, and panfish all winter. The Bay of Quinte just might offer one of the best chances in the province to catch a walleye weighing more than 10 pounds (4.54 kg). For perch and crappie, the Rideau system and smaller lakes from Napanee to Ottawa are tough to top. Give the winter action a try in Ontario. It’s hot!