Ontario Lake Depths

Cod family

Burbot

Lota lota · also called ling, eelpout, lawyer, freshwater cod

Native to OntarioRecorded in 88 Ontario lakes
Illustration of a burbot in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Typical adult
38–84 cm (15–33 in)
Found in
Deep, cold water of lakes and large rivers, to 90 m (295 ft)
Spawns
Under the ice, January to March, in water of 1–4 °C (34–39 °F)
Eats
Insects when young; mostly fish such as cisco, perch and sculpins later

Where burbot have been recorded

88 of the 1,347 Ontario lakes on this site with angler catch reports list burbot, across 18 counties and districts. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Lake Nipissing, Nipissing DistrictLake Simcoe, York RegionMinnitaki Lake, Kenora DistrictDog Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictWanapitei Lake, Sudbury DistrictManitou Lake, Manitoulin DistrictPanache Lake, Sudbury DistrictSturgeon Lake, Kawartha LakesNorthern Light Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictLake of Bays, MuskokaLake Rosseau, MuskokaLake Joseph, MuskokaNagagami Lake, Algoma DistrictBig Rideau Lake, Leeds and GrenvilleBark Lake, Renfrew CountyKawagama Lake, Haliburton CountyAgnew Lake, Sudbury DistrictWakomata Lake, Algoma DistrictRound Lake, Renfrew CountyBobs Lake, Frontenac CountyPagwachuan Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictAbram Lake, Kenora DistrictPaguchi Lake, Kenora DistrictLower Shebandowan Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictAylen Lake, Nipissing DistrictTrout Lake, Nipissing DistrictKukagami Lake, Sudbury DistrictIvanhoe Lake, Sudbury DistrictWakami Lake, Sudbury DistrictLake Clear, Renfrew CountyNosebonsing lake, Nipissing DistrictAhmic Lake, Parry Sound DistrictCentennial Lake, Renfrew CountyGrey Trout Lake, Kenora DistrictRestoule Lake, Parry Sound DistrictRound Lake, Timiskaming DistrictWindy Lake, Sudbury DistrictGull Lake, Haliburton CountyHaliburton Lake, Haliburton CountyKahshe Lake, MuskokaLong Lake, Timiskaming DistrictThree Mile Lake, MuskokaMoira Lake, Hastings CountyRollo Lake, Sudbury DistrictRamsey Lake, Sudbury DistrictCassels Lake, Nipissing DistrictBoshkung Lake, Haliburton CountyKushog Lake, Haliburton CountyMinistic Lake, Sudbury DistrictConstant Lake, Renfrew CountyLake Cecebe, Parry Sound DistrictRaven lake, Timiskaming DistrictKennebec Lake, Frontenac CountyCumming's Lake, Algoma DistrictHannah Lake, Sudbury DistrictHawkeye Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictThree Mile Lake, Parry Sound DistrictCanoe Lake, Nipissing DistrictHarris Lake, Parry Sound DistrictTorrance Lake, Cochrane DistrictBella Lake, MuskokaMaple Lake, Haliburton CountyMount Lake, Algoma DistrictSteenburg Lake, Hastings CountyMoose Lake, Haliburton CountyMcMahon Lake, Algoma DistrictShabomeka Lake, Frontenac CountyWeequed Lake, Sudbury DistrictWadsworth Lake, Renfrew CountyCross Lake, Nipissing DistrictBig Mink Lake, Hastings CountyMoore Lake, Haliburton CountyUpper Island Lake, Algoma DistrictSucker Lake, Parry Sound DistrictDiamond Lake, Renfrew CountyWest Neely Lake, Cochrane DistrictSmokey Lake, Algoma DistrictWhitney Lake, Timiskaming DistrictMorrow Lake, Renfrew CountyGreens Lake, Sudbury DistrictMenet Lake, Renfrew CountyThunder Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictHart Lake, Algoma DistrictPaquette Lake, Algoma DistrictWaterford Ponds (Middle Pond), Norfolk CountyLoon Lake, Sudbury DistrictJohnson Lake, Sudbury DistrictWhitefish River, Sudbury District

Recorded here Other lakes with catch reports

How we know

  • 88lakes where an angler logged one in Fish ON-Line; on 52 of them a single trip, one angler’s report

Self-reported by anglers, not a Ministry survey. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: a lake appears here only once an angler has logged this fish there.

Inland lakes on this list run from 13 to 221,497 acres (median 1,999) and from 5 to 408 ft deep (median 100 ft).

When and how anglers catch burbot

From 160 trip reports naming burbot on the lakes above, logged by anglers in Ontario’s Fish ON-Line app. These are self-reported trips, not a Ministry survey: they show when and how people fish for them, not how many fish a lake holds.

Trips by month

The busiest month is February (36% of trips); 60% were logged December–February (lighter bars).

How they were fishing

From a boat15%
From shore8%
Through the ice78%

Share of the 160 trips that recorded boat, shore or ice.

Fish reported

365 burbot reported on these trips. Anglers kept 30% of the ones they reported and released the rest. The app records no sizes.

Lakes on this site with the most trips

  1. Big Mink Lake, Hastings 7
  2. Lake of Bays, Muskoka 6
  3. Hart Lake, Algoma District 5
  4. Boshkung Lake, Haliburton 4
  5. Lake Clear, Renfrew 4
  6. Lake Nipissing, Nipissing District 4
  7. Loon Lake, Sudbury District 4
  8. McMahon Lake, Algoma District 4
  9. Nosebonsing lake, Nipissing District 4
  10. Paquette Lake, Algoma District 4

Trips that logged this fish on each lake. A busy lake gets more trips; this is not a ranking of fishing quality. 52 of the 88 lakes are listed on a single trip, one angler’s report.

Often found with

Share of these lakes that also list each fish.

How to recognize it

A long, slender, slimy-looking fish, mottled yellowish to brown, with a single whisker on the tip of the chin. It has two dorsal fins, a short one followed by a long one, and a long, low anal fin.

Don’t confuse it with

Bowfin — Bowfin has one long dorsal fin, a bony plate under the jaw and no chin whisker.

Life in an Ontario lake

Burbot are found in lakes and rivers across most of Ontario, apart from the southwest. They spend most of the year in the deepest, coldest part of a lake, coming into the shallows mainly at night to feed. In Lake Superior they have been recorded far deeper than 100 m.

They are unusual in spawning in mid-winter under the ice: groups move onto shallow sand or gravel shoals at night and spawn in a tangled ball. Growth is quickest in the first four years, to about 50 cm, and most live 10 to 15 years. Few anglers target them; many are caught by chance while ice fishing for lake trout, usually on minnows fished right on the bottom.

Source: the sources below.

Rules and eating

Before fishing, check the current Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary for your Fisheries Management Zone, any exceptions for the waterbody, and your licence type. Angler catch reports show what people logged, not what is legal to catch or keep. Fish ON-Line itself (how to use it) maps the zones and exceptions. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check the Guide to Eating Ontario Fish.

All 88 lakes with burbot

Show every lake, by county

Algoma District 9

Cumming's Lake, Hart Lake, McMahon Lake, Mount Lake, Nagagami Lake, Paquette Lake, Smokey Lake, Upper Island Lake, Wakomata Lake

Cochrane District 2

Torrance Lake, West Neely Lake

Frontenac County 3

Bobs Lake, Kennebec Lake, Shabomeka Lake

Haliburton County 8

Boshkung Lake, Gull Lake, Haliburton Lake, Kawagama Lake, Kushog Lake, Maple Lake, Moore Lake, Moose Lake

Hastings County 3

Big Mink Lake, Moira Lake, Steenburg Lake

Kawartha Lakes 1

Sturgeon Lake

Kenora District 4

Abram Lake, Grey Trout Lake, Minnitaki Lake, Paguchi Lake

Leeds and Grenville 1

Big Rideau Lake

Manitoulin District 1

Manitou Lake

Muskoka 6

Bella Lake, Kahshe Lake, Lake Joseph, Lake Rosseau, Lake of Bays, Three Mile Lake

Nipissing District 7

Aylen Lake, Canoe Lake, Cassels Lake, Cross Lake, Lake Nipissing, Nosebonsing lake, Trout Lake

Norfolk County 1

Waterford Ponds (Middle Pond)

Parry Sound District 6

Ahmic Lake, Harris Lake, Lake Cecebe, Restoule Lake, Sucker Lake, Three Mile Lake

Renfrew County 9

Bark Lake, Centennial Lake, Constant Lake, Diamond Lake, Lake Clear, Menet Lake, Morrow Lake, Round Lake, Wadsworth Lake

Sudbury District 16

Agnew Lake, Greens Lake, Hannah Lake, Ivanhoe Lake, Johnson Lake, Kukagami Lake, Loon Lake, Ministic Lake, Panache Lake, Ramsey Lake, Rollo Lake, Wakami Lake, Wanapitei Lake, Weequed Lake, Whitefish River, Windy Lake

Thunder Bay District 6

Dog Lake, Hawkeye Lake, Lower Shebandowan Lake, Northern Light Lake, Pagwachuan Lake, Thunder Lake

Timiskaming District 4

Long Lake, Raven lake, Round Lake, Whitney Lake

York Region 1

Lake Simcoe

Sources

← All fish of Ontario