Ontario's only freshwater cod, an eel-like bottom-dweller most active in the dead of winter.
Fishing patterns describe when and how fish may feed, not when fishing is legally open. Check zone regulations and waterbody exceptions before you fish.
🌡️ Preferred water temp
2–10°C (36–50°F) — genuinely a cold-water specialist most fish avoid.
⏰ Best time to catch
After dark, especially under mid-winter ice during their spawning period.
Burbot habitat and preferred water temperature
The freshwater cod: glued to the bottom of cold deep lakes and rivers, spawning under mid-winter ice.
Best time to catch Burbot
After dark, especially under mid-winter ice during their spawning period.
Burbot fishing techniques by season
Spring
Post-spawn fish feed deep; an incidental catch on bottom baits.
Summer
Very deep and mostly ignored.
Fall
Starts sliding shallower as the water chills.
Winter
The peak fishery — glow spoons and dead bait pounded on bottom after dark.
Best lures for Burbot
Glow jigging spoons tipped with cut bait or minnows; fish the bottom foot, at night.
Lakes with recorded Burbot
A selection of larger named waterbodies from the survey records. Open a profile for lake details and regulations, or see its location on the map.
Lake Huron
Lake Abitibi
Lake Nipissing
Lake Simcoe
Big Trout Lake
Trout Lake
Lake Timiskaming
Winisk Lake
Sturgeon Lake
Lake Temagami
Kesagami Lake
Open the map and filter by Burbot to see every Ontario waterbody where it's been recorded, with depth, regulations and live conditions for each one.