Fish for free this Family Day weekend

An ice fishing hut is shown on the lake.

Time to get out your rods and reels because fishing is free this weekend.

The province offers free fishing to Canadians four times each year and one of those times happens to be the Family Day long weekend.

There is plenty of ice fishing available across the region on Lake Couchiching, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay.

In Kempenfelt Bay, anglers can expect to catch perch, smallmouth bass, rock bass, sunfish and perhaps walleye. In these winter months, ice fishers can catch whitefish, lake trout and lake herring.

Don’t have a fishing rod? TackleShare, initiated by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, loans out rods and reels for free at locations like Ontario provincial parks, conservation authorities and libraries, including at the Barrie Public Library.

Barrie was recently named the second best fishing city in Canada for 2026 by FishingBooker, a worldwide platform for booking guided fishing trips.

The city was praised for its central location along the shores of Lake Simcoe and the important role fishing plays in local recreation and tourism.