Fishing

Desert Lake is considered a highly sensitive lake hosting a vast diversity of fish ranging from warmwater to coldwater species. As this lake is deep, there are many cold sections providing critical habitat for Lake Trout. When coldwater species such as Lake Trout are present, this is considered a good indication of water quality since these species are highly sensitive to specific habitat conditions. In fact it is remarkable that Desert Lake is a "Lake Trout Lake" - rare and unique. Only about 1% of Ontario’s lakes contain Lake Trout, which actually represents 20-25% of all Lake Trout Lakes in the world (1). To honour this rarity, we feature the lake trout proudly in our logo.

Fish species previously caught on Desert Lake are listed below. There are also a variety of minnows supplementing the food chain along the shallow shoreline areas that have not been recorded.

FISHING SEASONS
Desert Lake is located in Ontario Fisheries Management Zone 18 (FMZ 18).

• Be sure to review the specific Rules and Seasons for fishing in FMZ 18 prior to your fishing excursion.

• Use the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's detailed Fish ON-Line mapping tool.

• Find a complete set of fishing rules in the Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary

FISHING LICENCE
While fishing, you must carry your valid Outdoors Card and Licence Summary listing your valid fishing licence, unless your licence is printed on the back of your Outdoors Card.

FISHING RULES & LIMITS
You must follow certain rules while fishing, which include catch and release guidelines and possession limits. These rules determine:

• when and where you can fish;
• the species, size and number of fish you can keep;
• what you can use for bait and tackle.

WORMS & TACKLE
Dew worms and tackle are available at the Desert Lake Family Resort store with a fish cleaning station at the main dock.

 

Reference

1. Government of Ontario. (2015). Retrieved from Lake Trout Management for inland lakes.