You can fish without a licence this Father’s Day weekend, and also visit more than 100 provincial parks for the day with no charge on Sunday.
The Ontario government has announced families can fish across the province on Saturday and Sunday (June 19 and 20) without having to purchase a licence or carry an outdoors card.
Usually, anyone older than 18 and under 65 (except for veterans and active members of the Canadian armed forces) must purchase an outdoors card and a fishing licence to fish legally in Ontario.
While there is no requirement to have a fishing licence this weekend, anglers will still need to follow conservation licence catch limits, obey size limits and sanctuaries, and adhere to all other fishing regulations.
The province is also offering free day-use permits at more than 100 Ontario Parks on Sunday, with 17 of the provincial parks — including Algonquin and Presqu’ile in the greater Kawarthas region — offering the ability to book a daily vehicle permit in advance of your visit.
For more information, visit ontarioparks.com/dayuse.
For people fishing or visiting a provincial park, the current outdoor gathering limit of a maximum of 10 people still applies.
Provincial parks in the Kawarthas
Parks in the Kawarthas region include Balsam Lake near Kirkfield, Emily near Omemee, Ferris near Campbellford, Kawartha Highlands north of Buckhorn, Lake St. Peter north of Maynooth, Mark S. Burnham in Peterborough, Petroglyphs near Woodview, Presqu’ile near Brighton, and Silent Lake near Apsley.
If you’re willing to travel a little north of the Kawarthas, there’s also Algonquin Provincial Park — the most popular provincial park in Canada with more than 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometres of streams and rivers.
