Click lake name links below to view lake records for each lake
Gloucester Pool
Actually two lakes, Little Lake and Gloucester Pool connected by two narrow channels, both speed zones. This is a very popular lake for Barrie Bassmasters and we have had a tournament there every year. It is a very friendly lake to fish with lots of islands and bays, so wind is rarely an issue. There is lots of variety here with a great population of both largemouth and smallies. Lots of lily pads and docks as well as deeper weeds for the largemouth, small rocky humps and islands for the smallies although in many areas the bass are mixed and you may get either on any cast. Very clear water. Lots of other fish as well, lots of pike and crappie, some muskies and the ocassional walleye. There is a launch at the end of South Port Severn Road, but parking is quite limited. We always fish G Pool and for good reason. Our success rate there has been 93,98 and 97 over the last 3 years with fish averaging over 2 lbs. Unlike many of our lakes the pool is producing a lot more largemouth then it used to with the smallies weighed in diminishing in number.
Lake Muskoka
A beautiful lake and a main attraction in Mukoka District, predominately a Smallmouth factory as most of the lake is made up of rock and very steep drops offs. There are quite a few islands that tend to hold some quality Smallmouth. If you like top water baits, spinner baits and jerk baits, Muskoka is like a kid in a candy store for the Smallmouth angler. Although not many, there have been some excellent Largemouth caught, one caught in one of our club tournaments by Don Rowbotham, weighing a whopping 6.15lbs! which still holds our lake record for biggest fish for the club. There are also monster Pike that swim the waters here and Lake Trout in the ice fishing season is also said to have some good numbers out in the deeper sections of the main lake and islands. The public ramp in Gravenhurst is a double ramp with plenty of parking in the dirt lot, there is even a third ramp just off to the side of the ramp
Six Mile Lake
This is a great lake for fun fishing. Clear water, lots of weeds. lots of bass, very little pressure with a very scenic location. Barrie Bassmasters have held a tournament her most years for the last 10 years or so. There is about an equal number of smallies and largemouth. Smallmouth tend to average slightly larger then their cousin. This is a difficult lake to navigate, and you will do well to bring a GPS as there are lots of islands and all the shorelines look the same. Very easy to get lost. Tons of rocks just below the lake surface, but the cottager’s association does a great job of marking danger spots. You can get a lake map at Six Mile Lake Marina, but a GPS is still your best bet. There is almost every type of cover here possible, lilly pads, lots of millfoil and coontail, trees in the water, docks and rocky areas for smallies. Unless you are fishing very shallow you are likely to get either type of bass on every cast. Lures to use: The fish here tend not to be very fussy, spinnerbaits, worms, tubes and especially top water, mostly poppers all work. A favourite lure here is a Zoom trick worm rigged wacky style, for both largemouth and smallies. There are lots of pike in this lake, very few walleye, some crappie and no muskies. Other than Muskoka the weights here for our tournaments tend to be the lowest with very few big fish. Launch at the provincial park or the free ramp adjacent to 6 Mile Lake Marina. Limited parking here especially on weekends.
Lake Couchiching
This is a very popular tournament lake. It has great populations of both largemouth and smallmouth bass as well as lots of pike and the occasional walleye or muskie. Lots of perch both summer and winter. For largemouth there is not a lot of shallow lily pads or other vegetation. The shallow water cover is mostly docks with a few overhanging trees and a few areas of bulrushes. Most of the largemouth are taken from the extensive weed flats and humps all over the lake and from the various rock cribs left in the lake from logging or from old docks. Smallmouth seem to everywhere(on a good day) but the north end seems to be the best especially in the fall. The fishing on Couch has been getting better and better as the years progress. Our results in our club tournament in 2014 were the best we ever had and 2015 was even better with the average bag weighing in at 9.70 lb. Although they were both great results in 2014 it was mostly smallies but in 2015 largemouth were the way to go. The best launch is at Orillia but there is also a launch at the north end at Washago.
Lake Simcoe
This is the largest lake that we fish and holds all the records for big fish, team bags and individual bags. Smallmouth bass are the target here in tournaments. In our open tournament in Oct 2015 there were only 13 teams but 6 teams weighed in a smallie over 6 lb inc the monster weighed in by the team of Pat Campbell and Matt Holland that weighed 7 lb even. Five of the teams weighed in over 25 lb inc the winners Steve Rowbotham and Greg Amiel with 29.95 for 5 smallies. However most of our members either love it or hate it. It easily holds the record for the least successful tournament with a success rate of only 29% (25 bass for 22 anglers) A large lake with boat ramps all around. We usually launch from Barrie for our tournaments and there are launches in Orillia where the larger tournaments start. The lake has excellent perch and pike fishing as well, both summer and winter. Lake trout seem to be making a comeback and many anglers fishing the late fall catch the occasional lake trout. If you are looking for a trophy smallie this is the lake for you.
Lake Dalrymple
Lake Dalrymple: Located about 45 minutes from Barrie just east of Orillia this has become a very popular lake for Barrie Bassmasters. We basically ignored it until our first tournament there in 2008 and then didn’t return until 2014. However it rates as one of our best lakes with an average success rate of 78%. It is actually two lakes, upper and lower connected by a creek. Most fishermen however fish in the lower lake where we launch. There is a great population of both largemouth and smallies and like many of our lakes the smallies seem to just get bigger and more plentiful as the years go by. There is a large population of pike with early season opening, fabulous crappie fishing if you can time it right (some huge ones) and a fair walleye population. There are even a very small number of muskie. There are launches at both Lazyee Acres and Meadows End campsite and a free gravel launch next to the bridge at the narrows.
Balsam Lake
Balsam Lake is another fantastic fishery that is part of the Kawartha’s and part of the Trent Canal system, it is linked by Mitchell Lake on the West side and Cameron Lake on the East. With Zebra Muscles now littered throughout the Trent Canal system, it has caused Balsam to be filtered into a gin clear water lake. Smallmouth have really flourished here over the years, not too many over 5lbs but quite a fair number of 2.5-3lb caught. Smallies can be found around the islands, flats, weed lines, humps and shoals scattered throughout the lake. While the Largemouth fishing is still great, the numbers on the other hand have dropped a bit from past tournament results. A couple of years ago Largemouth were the primary target as there are some giants out there, with one weighing 6.4lbs back in 2006 at our annual open tournament. The Milfoil in the lake can sometimes produce some huge Largemouth, there are a fair amount of clumps scattered throughout, as well as the famous Lily Pads, Reeds, Docks. A lot of anglers also target the massive Muskies this lake has to offer, as well as the tremendous Walleye, Panfish and Pike. There are many launches on the lake, for our tournaments we like to use the Provincial Park as there is plenty of parking and 3 launches.
Lake Of Bays
Lake Of Bays is a beautiful lake to fish, it is just loaded with Smallmouth as it is mostly made up of steep rock shelves, islands, deep water and humps. It has very little vegetation so these Smallies are cruising a lot following baitfish around. The top water and jerk bait bite on this lake is absolutely crazy, A smallmouth will just crush your bait so you better hold on for the show. There are also Largemouth in this lake, though not nearly as many as their cousin. The Largies that are caught here are like Lake Muskoka, generally very big, 5-6lbs. There are a great number of massive Pike here which are also targeted by many anglers, as well as a fair amount of Lake Trout in the deeper water. There is a decent launch right in the town of Baysville.
Sparrow Lake
Sparrow Lake is located about 45 minutes north of Barrie. It is a relatively small lake but has a significant river portion, both upstream to Couchiching and downstream as the Severn River. Although it has some deeper water there are lots of shallow bays with lots of wild rice, lily pads and other shallow vegetation. There is a good population of both smallmouth and largemouth as well as a decent number of walleye and a surprising number of muskie. Of course there are pike and Barrie Bassmasters holds a pike tournament there every year on the first Saturday in June. There is a pretty good population of crappies and many anglers target them in the spring. It is not a regular lake for us for Club bass tournaments which is surprising since our results have been very consistent. In our 3 most recent club events our success rates have been 77%, 80%, and 74%. The average size has also been very similar at 1.99lbs, 191lbs and 197lbs. Whether you like to fish super shallow or deeper there are fish here for you. This is part of the Trent Severn waterway and so has a lot of boat traffic on summer weekends. The only good launch is at Lauderdale Marina at the south end where we hold our pike tournament.
Georgian Bay
Coming Soon!
Bass Lake
Bass Lake is located just 25 minutes North of Barrie and just 10 minutes West of Orillia. It is a fairly small lake for any serious tournament but definitely a great lake for a fun day on the water for numbers, the average size of Bass in this lake range roughly 1.5 – 2lbs. There seems to be more Largemouth caught in this lake but there are a decent number of Smallies as well and they like to jump for the sky when hooked. The Largies can be found in their normal places, Reeds, Weed Clumps, Docks, Timber etc. The Smallies generally like to cruise around the weed edges and flats. 30-40 Feet seems to be the deepest spot, there is a good amount of vegetation, with most of it being at the west end of the lake. The Provincial Park has a decent ramp there to launch but there is a fee of roughly $15. In the spring fairly large Crappies can be caught in the west end, tricky at first to find them but when you do, you can catch some giants.