Smallmouth Bass Lakes in Ontario

Government fish surveys have recorded smallmouth bass in 594 Ontario lakes, 25% of the 2,365 lakes in this atlas with sport-fish records.

Lakes: 594
Recorded since 2010: 436
Median size: 5.4 km²
Median max depth: 24 m
Latest record: 2918

Where smallmouth bass is most consistently recorded

Ranked by consistency: the lower bound of a 95% confidence interval on the share of the lake’s surveys that found it. A lake where 18 of 20 surveys found it ranks above one where 1 of 1 did. Lakes known only from stocking come last.

#	Lake	Surveys	Last record	Max depth m	Area km²
1	Little Basswood LakeAlgoma	27 of 29	2019	10	2.17
2	Bass LakeSimcoe	23 of 25	2012	9	5.49
3	Farren LakeLanark	16 of 17	2010	21	1.76
4	Boom LakeNipissing	10 of 10	2019		0.46
5	Tadenac LakeMuskoka	15 of 16	2014		2.71
6	Clear LakePeterborough	8 of 8	2008	13	11.3
7	Grindstone LakeFrontenac	7 of 7	2012	20	1.61
8	Berford LakeBruce	7 of 7	1999		4.13
9	Lower Island LakeAlgoma	14 of 16	2021	8	0.58
10	Cloud LakeThunder Bay	17 of 20	2015	15	4.03
11	Clam LakeSudbury	160 of 230	2021	10	0.82
12	Head LakeKawartha Lakes	34 of 45	2015	7	9.44
13	Harris LakeParry Sound	6 of 6	2019	18	3.6
14	Shabomeka LakeFrontenac	6 of 6	2014	27	2.56
15	Gould LakeBruce	6 of 6	1999	8	1.15
16	Crowe LakeHastings	32 of 43	2014	15	10.4
17	Smoky LakeParry Sound	16 of 20	2011	24	2.02
18	Cameron LakeBruce	50 of 73	2013	17	2.33
19	Belmont LakePeterborough	34 of 48	2014	16	7.85
20	Little LakeSimcoe	23 of 31	2020	10	4.01
21	Great Mountain LakeSudbury	15 of 19	2011	37	2.01
22	Sparrow LakeMuskoka	31 of 44	2014	12	11.2
23	Gillies LakeBruce	16 of 21	2012	32	2.17
24	Big Deer LakeParry Sound	16 of 21	2011	15	1.64
25	Christie LakeLanark	12 of 15	2010	18	6.56
26	Smoke LakeNipissing	12 of 15			6.65
27	Salmon Trout LakeHastings	14 of 18	2011	12	1.01
28	Miller LakeBruce	23 of 32	2012	6	3.17
29	Farlain LakeSimcoe	21 of 29	2014	5	1.09
30	Sunbow LakeThunder Bay	11 of 14	2008	21	5.61
31	Charlotte LakeRenfrew	4 of 4	2014	24	1.13
32	Kishkebus LakeFrontenac	4 of 4	2014	27	0.87
33	McCharles LakeSudbury	4 of 4			2.26
34	Tyson LakeSudbury	4 of 4		37	11.1
35	Kashwakamak LakeFrontenac	30 of 46	2014	21	11.7
36	Boat LakeBruce	20 of 29	2012	2	5.41
37	Brule LakeFrontenac	20 of 29	2010	55	5.81
38	Lake CouchichingSimcoe	38 of 60	2013		47.1
39	Lang LakeSudbury	12 of 16	2011	18	3.97
40	Bigwood LakeSudbury	12 of 16	2010	59	2.79
41	Lake TemagamiNipissing	67 of 113	2018	73	240
42	Four Mile LakeKawartha Lakes	15 of 21	2013	18	7.56
43	Indian LakeLeeds and Grenville	10 of 13	2018	26	2.85
44	Big Rideau LakeLanark	70 of 120	2019	91	48.1
45	McKenzie LakeNipissing	13 of 18	2009	27	3.12
46	Bark LakeHaliburton	6 of 7	2011	12	1.59
47	Big Salmon LakeFrontenac	6 of 7		40	1.62
48	Mississagua LakePeterborough	18 of 27	2013	44	7.2
49	Skootamatta LakeLennox and Addington	23 of 36	2017	27	12.2
50	Mink LakeRenfrew	12 of 17	2010	12	5.53

Top 50 of 594 lakes. Download the full list (CSV). Source: Ontario’s Aquatic Resource Area survey summaries and fish stocking records (Ministry of Natural Resources, OGL-Ontario). Data as of October 9, 2026. A record means a survey caught or observed the species, not that it is abundant today.

Smallmouth Bass Lakes in Ontario

Where it is found

Where smallmouth bass is most consistently recorded

Other fish in Ontario