Home > Recreation > Fishing
Fishing
Mississippi Lake is home to a diverse fish community that provides enjoyment to residents and visitors throughout the year. Fishing is an important part of the recreational experience on our lake, but maintaining a healthy fishery depends on maintaining a healthy lake.
The Mississippi Lakes Association is committed to promoting responsible fishing practices and increasing awareness of the factors that influence the health and sustainability of Mississippi Lake’s fish populations.
photo courtesy of Steve Hall, Oct 2026
Species found in Mississippi Lake
Currently there is no stocking of fish, as this is a native fishery.
Mississippi Lake supports a variety of freshwater fish species.
Each species has different habitat and food requirements. Some prefer weedy areas and shallow water, while others depend on deeper water, rocky areas of specific spawning habitats.
A diverse fish community is an important component of a healthy lake ecosystem. Fish play a variety of roles in the food web, from consuming insects and smaller fish to providing food for larger fish and wildlife.
If you have photos of a different fish species, please send them to us at environment@mlakes.org and we will update our list of Fish Species found on Mississippi Lake.
produced for MLA by VistaPrint
A Healthy and Sustainable Habitat
A healthy fishery does not happen by accident. Fish need appropriate habitat throughout their life cycle. Depending on the species, this can include shallow-water vegetation, deep water, rocky areas, submerged logs, clean spawning areas and healthy populations of insects and other aquatic organisms.
Native Aquatice Plants - These are the GOOD plants which play a very important part of this habitat. They provide shelter for young fish, places for fish to feed and areas where aquatic insects and other organisms can live. Be careful not to remove valuable habitat for the fish, and read up on removal regulations
Invasive Aquatic Species - These are the BAD plants which usually exhibit excessively dense plant growth that can alter habitat, interfere with recreation and change the balance of the ecosystem.
These are the plants that are in the lake currently:
eurasian water milfoil
curly-leaf pondweed
european frog-bit
purple loosestrife
Learn more about the Invasive Aquatic Plants found in Mississippi Lake
MLA's efforts:
Visit our webpage for detailed information about invasive species monitoring and reporting.
See also our work on keeping boats from spreading species from lake to lake. Keeping whatever is in a lake from spreading to other lakes is a crucial aspect of ensuring water quality and reducing the spead of invasive species and disease. View our webpage on our Landing Blitz to encourage boaters to Clean, Drain, and Dry therie boats after every excursion on the lake.
MLA's
photo place holder
If you think you have invasive aquatic plants please pull one out, take a picture and call the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authoritiy at 613-253-0006 and they will advise.
Water Quality - Water quality is also key. Fish require suitable oxygen levels and water quality to survive and reproduce. Read up on what the MLA is doing to monitor water quality on Mississippi Lake.
MLA's efforts:
As part of the Water Rangers programs, MLA has conducted... See what MLA has been doing to test lake water and promote community involvement. See also the annual State of the Lake Reports (SOLR) on the quality of the water in Lake Mississippi.
In conjunction with MVFN, annual Loon Surveys... Loons are an excellent indicator of water quality. View the MLA's annual Loon Survey efforts, in cooperation with Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists, as an indicator of water quality.
photo place holder
Natural Shorelines - Natural shorelines are also a key element as it provides habitat for insects, amphibians, young fish and other wildlife. Hete is more information on how Nautral Shorelines help keeping the lake healthy.
photo place holder
Fish Habitat Enhancement - Underwater woody debris is a healthy component of lake environments. Sunken logs, trees, branches, and root balls provide excellent habitat for wildlife, including fish, turtles, birds, invertebrates and more. Beaver activity, wind, erosion, or water inflows from rivers or creeks naturally deposit such woody debris into a lake. need to shorten this section and transfer info to the Environment section. However, when development and other activities significantly reduce the amount of natural woody debris in lakes, communities can help by creating additional woody debris habitat such as in-water structure of brush piles or bundles. These brush bundles can provide fish with a food source, as well as shaded areas to rests, spawn and escape predators.
photo place holder
Spawning Bed Enhancement - Its also important that spawning areas are protected. Protecting these areas can be important to maintain fish populations, below picture of a spawning area:
Need short description of this section. How are spawning beds created and protected?
MLA's efforts:
This is what MLA has done on this topic
Bass spawning bed courtesy of Otty Lake Association
Responsible Fishing Practices
Whether you are fishing from a boat, a dock, from shore or through the ice, responsible fishing helps ensure that future generations can enjoy Mississippi Lake as much as we do today.
You can help protect our fishery by:
-
Following current Ontario fishing regulations
-
Obtaining the appropriate Ontario fishing license
-
Respecting size and catch limits
-
Handling fish carefully and practising catch-and-release
-
Never releasing aquarium fish or other unwanted species into the lake.
-
Properly disposing of fishing line and other fishing materials.
-
Cleaning, draining and drying boats and fishing equipment before moving between lakes.
-
Fishing Lead Free
Reporting Violations
All it takes is one individual to ruin it for everybody. Whether people don't know about habitat management, or don't care, the result is the same - a loss of fish in the lake and a loss of a popular passtime for many.
So, if you see somebody violating the rules or just plain not caring about what harm they are doing, please do something about it by informing the authorities:
Poaching and Wildlife Violations: 1-877-847-7667 (1-877-TIPS-MNR).
This connects you directly to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Tips Line, which operates 24/7/365 to handle hunting or fishing infractions in Ontarios Fishing Management Zone 18.
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)
This allows you to report violations completely anonymously.
Tell us about your experiences !
We invite you to send in your fishing stories. Was it your child's first catch?
Send your submissions to: environment@mlakes.org.