Walleye Fishing

Rugby Lake is one of the great Walleye fisheries that you can drive to in Northwestern Ontario. Walleyes are most common in the 15-inch to 24-inch range but there are plenty of bigger fish up to 30 inches. In a week of fishing you should catch a couple of Walleyes in the 5 or 6-pound range. Throughout the year a few lucky guests will catch trophies exceeding 30 inches and 10 pounds but Walleyes like that are rare, which is why they are considered trophies.

Northern Pike Fishing

Northern Pike are the top predators in Rugby Lake. They have perfect habitat with lots of food so they can be found in good numbers and can get big. On an average day you will catch 10 to 20 Northern Pike while fishing for other species. On a good day if you are targeting Northern Pike you should be able to catch 40 or more. The average size Northern Pike in the lake is around 24 inches, which is larger than most lakes. Rugby Lake is known for its Walleye fishing and that's what 90% of guests come for. With this in mind many of the big pike get caught and released by guests fishing for Walleye. Several times a week Northern Pike around 10 pounds get caught. A few lucky guests will catch Northern Pike in the 15 to 20 pound range during the summer season.

Smallmouth Bass Fishing

Rugby Lake was made for Smallmouth Bass. There are tons of minnows in the weeds and along the shore for the bass to feed on. The rocky points and shoals supply an abundance of Crayfish (Crawdads), which is their favorite food and the sandy shores and many feeder streams supply perfect spawning grounds. If you are targeting Smallmouth Bass then on a good day of fishing you should catch around 30 in the 1 to 3 pound range. In a week of just bass fishing you should catch a couple in the 4.5 to 5 pound range.

Perch & Crappie Fishing

Perch is open all year and with a sports fishing license you can keep 50 of them. Perch are considered one of the best tasting fresh water fish, and a great way to get enough fish for a big fish fry.

Crappy have really taken off in the last couple years. You will catch a lot! Average size ranges between 9.5 inches up to 12 inches. Crappy is a new species to Rugby Lake only being discovered in Broadscale Monitor netting in 2009 and they are still being studied. In trap netting targeting crappy; last September 60% of all the fish caught were Crappy.