Ontario FMZ 19 and 20 Rules for the River

On the Ontario side of the Niagara River, the falls decide which rule set covers your line. Water upstream of the falls sits in Fisheries Management Zone 19 and water downstream of the falls sits in Zone 20, and each zone sets its own seasons, catch limits and exceptions. This guide lays out that split, the key limits that change at the falls, and where Ontario.ca places zone-wide rules, species exceptions and sanctuaries.

Where does the falls line divide the river?

The Zone 19 page places the Niagara River upstream of the falls in Zone 19, alongside the Detroit River and the St. Clair River. The Zone 20 page places the Niagara River downstream of the falls in Zone 20, alongside Hamilton Harbour. That single line matters for trip planning because zone-wide seasons and limits apply to all waters in the zone except for waters and species named under species exceptions, waterbody exceptions and fish sanctuaries.

If you fish near the falls, match your bank or boat position to that upstream or downstream label before you read a season table. The pages also point readers to Fish ON-Line or a PDF to view the Zone 19 and Zone 20 maps, and to general fishing regulations for more information on how to use the summary. For context on what swims on each reach, the species and seasonal patterns guide follows the same upper-river and lower-river split.

What does zone-wide mean on the water?

Zone-wide seasons and limits are the starting point. They cover all waters in the zone unless a species exception, waterbody exception or sanctuary names a different season or rule for that water or species. Both pages use S and C codes beside each limit, and both set an aggregate limit for trout and salmon including splake of S-5 and C-2 as the total daily catch and possession limit for all trout and salmon species combined.

The pages also list species that remain closed. Lake sturgeon is closed all year in both zones. Brook trout and splake are listed as not present in the zone and closed to fishing all year in both zones. In Zone 19, warmouth is listed as endangered in Ontario and may not be caught or possessed under a recreational fishing licence. In Zone 20, American eel is listed as a specially protected species and may not be caught or possessed under a recreational fishing licence.

How do bass seasons change at the falls?

Bass show one of the clearest splits. In Zone 19, largemouth and smallmouth bass combined are open from the fourth Saturday in June to November 30, with limits of S-6 and C-2. In Zone 20, the bass entry lists an early catch-and-release season from January 1 to May 10 with S-0 and C-0, then a regular season from the third Saturday in June to December 31 with S-6 and C-2, and it also lists the same early catch-and-release dates with a regular season from the first Saturday in July to December 31 with S-6 and C-2.

The Zone 20 page states that aggregate bass limits apply at S-6 and C-2. Read the dates as written for the zone you are in, and do not carry the upstream bass window downstream or the reverse. The difference in closing dates and in the early catch-and-release window means the same calendar day can allow harvest in one zone and require release or prohibit bass fishing in the other.

Why do walleye, pike and trout limits look different?

Walleye and sauger combined stay open all year in Zone 19 with S-6 and C-2. In Zone 20, the same group is open from January 1 to March 1 and from the first Saturday in May to December 31, with S-4 and C-2 and not more than one fish greater than 63 centimetres. Northern pike also shifts from open all year in Zone 19 with S-6 and C-2 to January 1 to March 31 and the first Saturday in May to December 31 in Zone 20 with S-6 and C-2. Check dates and limits on the Zone 19 summary page before you compare records across shores.

Which trout and salmon entries should you compare?

Trout rules keep some limits unchanged and change others. Brown trout is open all year in both zones with S-5 and C-2. Pacific salmon is open all year in both zones with S-5 and C-2. Lake trout in both zones is open from January 1 to September 30 and from December 1 to December 31 with S-3 and C-1. Atlantic salmon is open all year in both zones with S-1 and C-0, but the Zone 20 entry adds that the fish must be greater than 63 centimetres. Rainbow trout is open all year in both zones, with S-5 and C-2 in Zone 19 and S-2 and C-1 in Zone 20.

Where do exceptions and sanctuaries apply?

Exceptions appear below the zone-wide table and override it for the named water or species. The Peace Bridge to Niagara Falls muskellunge exception is the Niagara-specific exception published on the Zone 19 page. The Zone 19 page also carries a waterbody exception for all waters of FMZ 19 stating that two lines may be used when angling from a boat in open water. No matching boat-line exception is listed for Zone 20.

Fish sanctuaries add closed times for mapped areas. The Zone 19 page lists no fishing from May 15 to the Friday before the fourth Saturday in June in the eastern half of the Inner Long Point Bay in Walsingham and Norfolk Townships in Lake Erie. It then lists no fishing from June 1 to July 15 for four Lake Erie areas described with surveyed boundary points near the Town of Fort Erie, near Port Colborne at Cassaday Point to Weaver Road, and two Gravelly Bay areas including the inlet north of Nickels Beach and the water northwest of a line from Sugar Loaf Point to the H. Knoll Lakeview Park Marina breakwall.

Place your access point on the Fish ON-Line map or the PDF map, read the zone-wide season for that zone, then read the exceptions and sanctuary lists for the same zone before you rig a second line or keep a fish. For planning across the border, keep the Ontario and New York rules side by side and let the falls line set which Ontario table you follow.