Rice Lake Ontario Walleye Slot Size

Regulations change zone by zone, but typically anglers are allowed to keep four walleye, only one of which can be longer than 18 inches. This forward-thinking management strategy concentrates fish harvest on the smaller and more abundant fish in the population, sparing the adult breeders to survive and repopulate local lakes, rivers, and streams. Rice Lake - posted in Ontario Fishing Reports: First of all I want to say I am glad to be back on the board. Not on much over the winter as I dont ice fish so that and work have made it hard to come online. Now that all species are open I will be back with some productive posts. Fished for a couple of hours 2 weekends ago for walleye and caught half a dozen in a couple of hours, nothing that.

Walleyes are a native species to NY waters and are widely scattered across the state most walleye populations are self sustaining but the state does have a large walleye stocking program as well. Some of the best walleye fishing hot spots in NY are Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Oneida Lake, Black Lake, Niagara River, Susquehanna River, Delaware River, Oswego River, Seneca River, Black River, Genesee River, Erie Canal, and the Chemung River.

At one time the Chemung River once held the claim to the states record walleye of 15-pound, 3 ounces. This awesome walleye was caught in the early 1950s and held the state record for more than 40 years. Stories of larger walleyes are told and in time it may well produce another record breaking fish.

A few of the Finger Lakes have walleyes, but the populations are not very significant. Most of the states man made reservoirs also contain walleyes and the current state record walleye was caught from the Kinzua Reservoir 05/22/94. It was caught by John D. Fluder on a Mr. Twister and weighed in at 16 lb.7oz.

The walleye population in the St. lawrence River between Massena and Chippewa Bay is due to the efforts of the Lunker club of Cornwall Ontario and St. lawrence Valley Sportsmen Club of Ogdensburg. They started the restocking program using eggs from the St Lawrence River. This was done to protect the St. Lawrence walleye strain which is genetically different from the strain out of Oneida lake. Originally before the building of the St. Lawrence Sea Way and the New York State Power Project in the late 1950's the walleye migrated up from Lancaster Quebec.

The great walleye fishing that New York State has to offer is in large part due to the efforts of the Oneida Fish Hatchery. Oneida Lake provides all of the walleye eggs for New York's walleye stocking program. Each year DEC produces approximately 300,000 pond-reared, 190,000 intensively reared, and 190,000,000 walleye fry to be stocked into more than 50 diffrent bodies of waters across the state.

Lake Erie has recently taken the spotlight with fantasic catches of walleyes that range in size from 16 to 24 inches on average, however the eastern basin of Lake Erie is famous for trophy-size walleye which can be up to 8 to 12 pounds in size. These big walleye are mostly available to offshore trollers during the months of July and August. If you are interested in booking a charter to do some walleye fishing please check out or Lake Erie Fishing Charters.

Rice Lake Ontario Walleye Slot Size Chart

Rice Lake is a lake located in Northumberland and Peterborough counties in south-eastern Ontario. The lake is located south of the city of Peterborough, and the Kawartha Lakes and north of Cobourg. It is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway, which flows into the lake by the Otonabee and out via the Trent. The lake is 28 kilometres (17 mi) long and 5 km wide. Its maximum depth is 10m, with a surface water level at 187 m above sea level, raised to its present height by the Hastings Dam, built in the 19th century as part of the Trent-Severn canal system.^[1] Natives called it Pemadashdakota or 'lake of the burning plains'.

A drumlin field is located northwest of the lake, and the lake's islands are partially submerged drumlins. Rice Lake nearly bisects the Oak Ridges Moraine, with three wedges to the west (Albion, Uxbridge and Pontypool), and one wedge to the east (Rice Lake) which has terminus at the Trent River. A narrow corridor to the south of Rice Lake connects these wedges.^[2]

Rice Lake is fairly shallow and was named for the wild rice which grew in it and was harvested by native people of the area. Most of the extensive stands of wild rice originally found in here were wiped out when water levels were raised in the lake by the construction of the waterway.

The village of Bewdley sits on the west end of the lake and the town of Hastings sits on the east. Prehistoric burial mounds are found at Serpent Mounds Park on the north shore of the lake. Other places of interest include the Native Reserves of Alderville and Hiawatha. Other communities include Roseneath, Bailieboro, Gores Landing, Keene, Ontario and Harwood.

Railway bridge[edit]

Rice Lake Ontario Walleye Slot Sizes

The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was completed in 1854 and crossed Rice Lake from Harwood to Hiawatha on a 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) line of wooden trestles. However, the thick layers of ice that covered the lake in the winter damaged the bridge beyond repair and it was declared unsafe and closed within six years.^[3] Sections of the railway bed are still clearly visible on the south side of the lake. In the late 19th century, both before and after the railway bridge, steamboats provided both passenger and goods services, which could navigate up the Otonabee River as far as Peterborough.^[4]

Tourism and fishing[edit]

After the bridge failed, the Cobourg railway continued to run to Harwood. As well as lumber, the railway found a new use bringing iron ore from the Marmora quarries further east. These were brought by barge up the Trent and along Rice Lake, before being loaded on wagons and taken to the harbour at Cobourg. As Cobourg developed as a tourist town, the railway also brought recreational fishermen up to Rice Lake.^[5]

Rice Lake is now an attractive tourist area and is recognized for its recreational and sport fisheries. Rice Lake fish include panfish, walleye, muskellunge and bass. In addition in recreational fishing a number of annual fishing contests are held here.

An annual charity poker run boat race starting from Bewdley is held the first Saturday after Labour Day, with proceeds going to the Children's Wish Foundation.

Islands of Rice Lake[edit]

Islands in the lake include: Coughlins Island, Cow Island, Black Island, Foley Island (Upper and Lower), Grasshopper Island, Grape Island (East and West), Harmony Island, Harris Island, Hickory Island, Long Island, Margaret Island, Muskrat Island, Paudaush Island, Rack Island, Scriver Island, Sheep Island, Spook Island, Sugar Island (East and West), Tic Island, and White's Island.

References[edit]

1. ^E Sonnenburg (2010). Holocene Lake-Level Change and Submerged Archaeological Site Potential of Rice Lake, Ontario(PDF). McMaster University PhD Thesis. p. 11.
2. ^Peterborough Field Naturalists (10 December 2011). Nature in the Kawarthas. p. 17. ISBN9781459701175.
3. ^Colin Caldwell (October 2002). 'Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 9 The Ice'. Cobourg History. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
4. ^'Heritage'. Explore Rice Lake Ontario. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
5. ^Colin Caldwell (October 2002). 'Cobourg Peterborough Railway, Railway-saga epilogue'. Cobourg History. Retrieved 19 March 2018.

External links[edit]

• Fishing on Rice Lake Walleye, Bass, Crappie, Perch, Panfish and Muskie