Fishing
What you need to know to fish Lake Temiskaming, from licences and zone rules to boat launches.
Lake Temiskaming is Ontario’s Fisheries Management Zone 12. Most people need an Outdoors Card and a fishing licence. Seasons and limits differ by species and change from year to year, so read the current regulations before you go.
Prices and dates below are Ontario’s 2026 figures. The tackle shop doesn’t publish its hours, so call ahead.
Licences
Outdoors Card and a fishing licence
Most people need an Outdoors Card plus a sport or conservation fishing licence. A one day sport licence needs no Outdoors Card. A conservation licence has lower catch limits. Canadian residents under 18 or 65 and over can use government ID instead. Non Canadian residents under 18 can fish without their own licence when they’re with a licensed person.
2026 prices
All plus 13% HST. The Outdoors Card is $8.57. For Canadian residents, a one day sport licence is $15.21, one year sport $55.81, and one year conservation $33.43. For non Canadian residents, one day sport is $24.86, eight day sport $54.38, eight day conservation $31.52, one year sport $83.19, and one year conservation $52.71.
Ontario Family Fishing Week
In 2026 it ran June 27 to July 5. Canadian residents could fish that week without a licence, under conservation limits.
Rules for the lake
Zone 12 seasons
Zone 12 is Lake Temiskaming and the Ottawa River. For 2026, walleye, sauger, and pike are open January 1 to March 31 and from the Friday before the third Saturday in May to December 31. Bass are open from the Friday before the fourth Saturday in June to November 30. Lake trout are open from the Friday before the fourth Saturday in April to September 30.
Inland lakes and rivers
Inland waters around New Liskeard, including Pete’s Dam, are in Zone 11, which has different dates. It isn’t clear whether the lower Wabi River below the New Liskeard bridges counts as Zone 11 or Zone 12, so check the zone map.
Bait
Ontario restricts moving live bait between areas. Read the bait rules before bringing bait from elsewhere.
Ice fishing huts
Huts must be registered online once and show the number in figures at least 6.3 cm tall. On Lake Temiskaming above the Timiskaming Dam, huts must be off the ice by April 1. Small fabric tents of 7 square metres or less don’t need registering. Leaving a hut on the ice after break up is an offence. We haven’t found anyone renting huts near Haileybury.
The Quebec side
Fishing across the lake
Ontario lists Lake Timiskaming as a boundary water where you may fish with either an Ontario resident or a Quebec resident fishing licence. The rules differ between the two provinces, and you follow the rules of the water you’re on. It isn’t confirmed whether an Ontario conservation licence or a non Canadian Ontario licence is honoured on the Quebec side, so check with Quebec first.
Boat launches and shore fishing
Haileybury Marina and boat launch
3 min drive
City marina with fuel and a pump out, and a free boat launch nearby. The 2026 season ran May 15 to October 11, open Friday to Sunday in spring, Wednesday to Sunday in summer, and weekends in September. A transient slip was $37.39 a night. It’s a 15 minute walk too.
451 Farr Ave, Haileybury11 AM to 6:30 PM on open days705 648 3806
New Liskeard Marina and boat launch
11 min drive
City marina near the mouth of the Wabi River, with a free boat launch next to it. Same 2026 season and hours as Haileybury. You can also reach it through the City at 705 672 3363, extension 4404.
1 Riverside Drive, New Liskeard11 AM to 6:30 PM on open days705 479 0501
Shore fishing
People fish from the piers and breakwaters along the Haileybury and New Liskeard waterfronts, and from the shore near John’s Tackle Box. The City says nothing either way about fishing from its docks. Species in the lake include smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, perch, whitefish, lake trout, and burbot.
Tackle and bait
John’s Tackle Box
10 min drive
Bait, tackle, hunting gear, and marine products beside the lake in New Liskeard. Hours aren’t published, so call ahead.
1 Whitewood Ave W, New Liskeard705 647 0010
Canadian Tire
15 min drive
General tackle. We haven’t checked whether it sells licences.
997431 Hwy 11 North, New Liskeard705 647 7331
Questions guests ask
Do we need a fishing licence?
Most people need an Outdoors Card plus an Ontario sport or conservation fishing licence. A one day sport licence doesn’t need the Outdoors Card, and Canadian residents under 18 or 65 and over can use government ID instead.
Where can we launch a boat to fish?
There’s a free boat launch by the Haileybury Marina, a 3 minute drive, and another beside the New Liskeard Marina at the mouth of the Wabi River, 11 minutes away. The lake is Fisheries Management Zone 12, so check that zone’s seasons first.
Is there a tackle shop nearby?
John’s Tackle Box at 1 Whitewood Ave W in New Liskeard, about a 10 minute drive, sells bait and tackle. Its hours aren’t published, so call ahead at 705 647 0010. Canadian Tire in New Liskeard carries general tackle too.
Can we fish the Quebec side of the lake?
Ontario treats the lake as a boundary water, so an Ontario or Quebec resident licence works, but you follow the rules of the province whose water you’re on. It isn’t confirmed that conservation or non Canadian licences are honoured on the Quebec side, so check with Quebec first.
What are the rules for ice fishing huts?
Huts must be registered online and show their number in figures at least 6.3 cm tall. On Lake Temiskaming they have to be off the ice by April 1. Small fabric tents of 7 square metres or less don’t need registering.
Can we launch kayaks?
There’s no lake access from the house. The City lists a free boat launch near the Haileybury Marina, a 15 minute walk on steep streets.
When is the marina open?
In 2026 the marina opened May 15 and closed October 11. It has daily slip rentals and fuel.