Cornwall ranks among top Canadian fishing destinations

Shawna O'Neill
Cornwall ranks among top Canadian fishing destinations
A striped bass.

CORNWALL, Ontario – In a travel blog article published on Expedia.ca on Tuesday, Dec. 11, Cornwall ranked as the 15th best place to fish in Canada.

Joe Arthur, Chairman of the Cornwall Lunker Club agrees that Cornwall should be on the list but thinks that it should be placed at the top.

“It’s the best place, as far as I’m concerned,” said Arthur.

Although Arthur did not grow up in the area, he has been involved with the Lunker Club for the past five years. He greatly appreciates the accessibility associated with fishing in the area, as well as the diverse number of species.

“There are a lot of friendly fisherman here that are willing to take you under their wing and lead you in the right direction,” added Arthur.

Dr. Brian Hickey, Program Leader Education/Research Scientist with the River Institute, also agrees with the ranking.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Dr. Hickey. “It’s a big water body (we are close to). It’s a world class place for bass fishing…and it’s great that people recognize this is a great place to fish, not only for smallmouth bass.”

Dr. Hickey said that smallmouth bass is a target species in the area, as well as perch. He noted other species that may be fished locally include muskies, walleye and pickerel. Dr. Hickey said that many of the species may be doing well in the area but at the unfortunate expense of other species.

“It’s great that we have big fish but unfortunately the reason may be because of the impact of the invasive species in the area, displacing other species,” said Dr. Hickey.

Dr. Hickey said small amounts of evidence suggests that smallmouth bass are big in the area because they gorge on the huge food source of gobies, which are considered an invasive species of Eastern Europe.

The next provincial, license-free Family Fishing Weekend will take place between Feb. 14 and 16 of 2019. 

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