Smallmouth bass
Excellent
The prime season: tubes, crankbaits and topwater along the rocky points and breaks.
St. Lawrence River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, Sep 25, 2026 from live weather and water data
The St. Lawrence in Ontario: muskie, smallmouth and walleye from the Thousand Islands to Cornwall.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~19 °C est.
Air / High
8 °C / 21 °C
Wind
WNW 4 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
St. Lawrence River is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Walleye (pickerel)
Excellent
Jig and minnow along the weed edges, reefs and current breaks; troll the flats when they scatter.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Excellent
Spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits over the weed beds and along the points.
Tie on: Jig and minnow · Spinnerbait over the weeds · Bucktail fly, fast troll · Leech pattern under an indicator. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 21 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Ontario requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$12.21. Ontario fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with Ontario MNR before you keep anything; the Smallmouth bass page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for St. Lawrence River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:48), sunset (18:49), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Conditions here are modelled from weather, season and the nearest stations.
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Water Survey of Canada station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp8 °C
High / Low21 °C / 4 °C
WindWNW 4 km/h, gusts 4 km/h
Pressure102.81 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain90% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:48 / 18:49
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish St. Lawrence River
The best day on St. Lawrence River this week looks like Wednesday Sep 30, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Wednesday, Sep 30 — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Sep 25 — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:48 to 18:49
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 13 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on St. Lawrence River: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Smallmouth bass
Opens late June in most of Ontario; best July to October
The rock-and-current bass of the Great Lakes shores, the Bay of Quinte, the St. Lawrence and Lake St. Clair. The Ontario bass season opens in late June in most zones, after the nesting period. The prime season: tubes, crankbaits and topwater along the rocky points and breaks.
Largemouth bass
Late June to October in Ontario
The weed and dock bass of southern Ontario, Rice Lake and the Bay of Quinte. Same season as smallmouth in most zones. Topwater at dawn, then soft plastics and spinnerbaits along the weed lines.
Walleye (pickerel)
Spring opener to fall, and the ice
Called pickerel in much of Ontario and Manitoba. The fish of Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, Lake Diefenbaker, Tobin Lake, Lake Erie and the Bay of Quinte. Most zones close in spring for the spawn. Jig and minnow along the weed edges, reefs and current breaks; troll the flats when they scatter.
Muskellunge
Opens in June in Ontario; best in fall
The trophy fish of Lake St. Clair, the St. Lawrence, the Detroit River and Lake of the Woods. Catch-and-release is the culture; minimum sizes are large where retention is allowed. Bucktails, jerkbaits and trolling big crankbaits along the breaks.
Yellow perch
Year-round; the ice season at Lake Simcoe and Long Point
The ice-fishing fish of Lake Simcoe, Long Point Bay and Lake St. Clair, and a summer staple on every Great Lakes shore. Schools move constantly. Small jigs and minnows along the weed edges and the sand flats.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Spring, fall and the ice
Called jackfish on the prairies. Found in almost every lake and slow river from Ontario to Alberta; big fish in the cold, deep lakes. Spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits over the weed beds and along the points.
When to come: the St. Lawrence River calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Walleye (pickerel)
Muskellunge
Yellow perch
Northern pike (jackfish)
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 19 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks St. Lawrence River today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 20 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Outdoors Card and Ontario fishing licence, from C$12.21 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by Ontario MNR and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Ontario licence page before you keep anything.
Access
An Outdoors Card and an Ontario fishing licence are needed on the Ontario side; the rules are linked below.
About this water
St. Lawrence River is a river in Ontario, Canada, covered from the Ontario reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing St. Lawrence River: the full guide
The St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario at Kingston and runs northeast through the Thousand Islands, past Gananoque, Brockville and Cornwall, into Quebec, with the border with New York along its middle. It is one of the best-known muskellunge and smallmouth bass rivers in North America. The coordinates on this page are at the Ontario end near the Quebec border; water levels on the river are published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service and are not used here.
Species and seasons
Muskellunge are the trophy fish, especially in the fall; smallmouth bass fish all summer among the islands and shoals; walleye, northern pike and yellow perch are fished through the year, with ice fishing in the sheltered bays. Ontario’s zone seasons and limits apply on the Canadian side.
Where to fish it
The Thousand Islands between Kingston and Brockville are fished for bass and muskie among the islands and shoals, and the river toward Cornwall and Lake St. Francis for walleye and pike. The channels carry ship traffic and strong currents. Lake St. Francis, the widening of the river at the Quebec border, is known for its walleye and pike.
Planning a visit
Gananoque, Brockville and Cornwall have marinas and guides. The border runs down the middle of the river: stay on the Canadian side unless you hold a New York licence. The Thousand Islands Parkway follows the river between Gananoque and Brockville.
The water through the year
Summer is the bass season, fall the muskie, and winter the ice in the sheltered bays; the river’s flow is regulated by the dams on the seaway. Ice fishing in the bays depends on a cold winter and safe ice, which no agency certifies.
Reading this report here
The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, follows the river’s seasons; pressure, wind and sky build the score.
Licence, access and rules
An Outdoors Card and an Ontario fishing licence are needed on the Ontario side; the rules are linked below. Our Ontario licence page has the fees.
Common questions
Is the St. Lawrence good for muskie?
Yes, especially in the fall; it is one of the best-known muskie rivers in North America.
Where are the Thousand Islands?
On the St. Lawrence between Kingston and Brockville.
Do I need a New York licence?
Only if you fish the New York side of the river.
Is fishing good at St. Lawrence River right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Fish stocking
- Ontario fish stocking report
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.