Freshwater Fish and Fishing in Canada Quiz

Answer: Alberta

The Bow River in Alberta is a popular spot for catching both brown trout and rainbow trout. Although the average size of these fish caught in the Bow River is 16-18 inches (40.6 cm - 45.7 cm), some truly large specimens are regularly caught. These larger ones can easily exceed 24-26 inches (61 cm - 66 cm). Those are big fish!

Answer: Trout

In 2000, the survey suggested that an estimated 34.6 million trout headed the list of fish kept. Fish rounding out the top five of those kept include walleye, perch, northern pike, and bass. Altogether, the survey suggests that Canadian anglers annually caught over 233 million fish, but kept only about 84.6 million. Considering that in 2000, Canada's population was 30.7 million, that's a lot of fish!

Answer: Muskie

Canada is known for its many top muskie lakes. It is typical for muskie anglers to catch several a day in some lakes. Ontario is their primary home, where they live in the Lake of the Woods, Eagle Lake, Lac Seul and Georgian Bay in Lake Huron and many other smaller lakes. Muskie fishing is almost exclusively catch-and-release in Canada.

Answer: Northwest Territories

Great Bear Lake has an area of over 12,000 square miles and a peak depth of 1460 feet (31080 sq km/445 m). It is the largest lake completely within Canada's borders and also the fourth largest lake in North America. Given its size, it is no wonder that some of the largest freshwater fish in Canada can be found here.

A world rod and reel record was set in 1995 when a trophy lake trout weighing 32.65 kg (72 lb 0 oz) was caught in Great Bear Lake.

Answer: The fish are genetically modified

The Konrad brothers each caught fish from Lake Diefenbaker in the early 2000s that weighed over 43 pounds (19.5 kg). Although the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the angling world's record- and ethics-keeping body recognized each catch as a world record at the time, there was some controversy because of the nature of the fish. Most lake trout are smaller than those caught by the twins.

The issue is that the lake trout in Lake Diefenbaker were accidentally released from a fish farm where they had been genetically modified to grow larger.

The fish are sterile, so all energy that would normally go towards reproduction is used for growth. The IGFA still recognized the records that will be unlikely to be broken unless another large lake trout is caught on Lake Diefenbaker.

Answer: Lake Erie

Yellow perch is a freshwater fish that can be found in many areas in North America. The fish is often sought by anglers who enjoy eating their catch because of its mild flavour and relative ease in catching. Yellow perch have been commercially harvested in the Great Lakes using a variety of nets.

This is an important economic industry in Canada. In an estimate from 2002, it was found that the yellow perch catch in the Great Lakes was 3,622 tons with a value of $16.7 million.

Answer: Yellow pike

The walleye is also colloquially known as the pickerel in many areas of Canada, but this fish is not related to true pickerels. Walleyes get their name from their large, front-facing eyes that appear as though they are staring ahead at a wall. The orientation of the eyes gives anglers an advantage in the dark because the eyes have a light-gathering layer that allows them to see in darker water.

This layer causes a reflection, similar to that seen in many nocturnal animals, that anglers can see from above when they fish at night.

Answer: After several days of warm, stable weather

The black crappie can be found in many lakes across Canada. They prefer still water, and feed early in the morning, and around midnight. They are easy to catch during their feeding times if the water is relatively warm. They seem to hate cool water and essentially stop showing interest in bait and lures if the weather and the water turn cool.

The good news is that as soon as they warm up again, they quickly get back to normal and become a fish that is eager to feed once again.

Answer: Jaw, dorsal fin, colour

These two bass species are quite similar. One way to tell the difference is their actual size. Largemouth bass can grow larger than ten pounds (4.5 kg) while smallmouth bass do not grow larger than that. You can also check the jaw - largemouth upper jaws extend above the eye when open, while smallmouth upper jaws remain level with the eye when open. Largemouth bass also have a deep notch between their two dorsal fins while smallmouth bass have no notch between the dorsal fins. Finally, largemouth bass have a greenish body with horizontal lines, while smallmouth bass have a brownish body with vertical lines.

Answer: False

Ice fishing happens when holes are drilled in lake ice so that fishing lines can be dropped to the unfrozen water below. Even most areas in Canada's far north do thaw in the summer. Depending on the freeze-thaw cycle, most freshwater lake fish can continue to be caught all winter.

Many place ice huts out on the lakes all winter to protect themselves from the elements while they fish. These huts can be quite fancy, with wood stoves, comfortable seating, beds, and even kitchens and composting toilets.