Spot Report: Rondeau Bay, Ontario

What to Know Before You Go

Gear: Heavy/X-Heavy 7ft+ casting rod, 7.3:1 reel, 50lb+ braided line 

Tackle: Flipping jigs, 3-5/0 widegap offset hooks, Tungsten/Leads 3/4oz+ 

Baits: Black/blue creature baits, 8”+ worms, soft plastics texas rigged

Rondeau bay is located on the northern shoreline of Lake Erie and is a well-protected former coal barge bay. It is home to great numbers of largemouth bass, pike, and bowfin. Sometimes near Erieau on the southwestern end of the bay you might encounter some smallmouth bass that have come in from the lake to chase baitfish. The bay is very shallow, with an average depth of around 10ft, only getting slightly deeper near the lake inlet (16-18ft) 

Multiple launches are available, with the most popular being Erieau Marina. Rondeau Bay Provincial Park has a launch, but you must pay for park entry to access it, this is not such a bad thing, as it allows you to also use all the parks facilities. Lastly, the town of Shrewsbury on the west side of the bay has a free launch, but it is often “blown-in” by vegetation mats and can be difficult to launch from. It also has limited parking and only one ramp, which can be very time consuming on busy days.

Due to its heavy vegetation by mid-June, the primary tactic to use will be flipping, pitching and punching the many large “weed island” that form from boats chopping up vegetation. These large clumps of weed can often become a hundred feet across or more and drift around the bay. Focus on these weed mats, as this is where all the quality fish hide in the summer heat.  

A great fishing tip for Rondeau bay is to drive yourself into the weed mat as far as you dare (and are comfortable with) and using a heavy jig, or flip/pitch rig, you should be able to punch through the thin spots and holes in the floating weed mats. Dunk your creature bait in, let it sink until the line falls slack and then after a few moments, pop it back up to the underside of the weed mat, only to let it fall back down again. Repeat this process 2-3 times per punch before moving on to another hole in the mats.  

Heavy vegetation in the bay give bass almost zero visibility, so you are on the hunt for a reaction strike. For the most part, this bay is not one for finesse techniques, although dead-sticking a senko has produced results in the dog days of summer when the bass are lazy. 

The exception to the prior information is if you are fishing near the lake inlet (Erieau). In this area we see a bit more depth, and a reduction of foliage. Dropshotting this area is productive when the smallmouth are in, but that is not always guaranteed. In early spring, large pike can often be picked up in the area by slow rolling chartreuse spinnerbaits. 

One thing that is abundant (and a real pain) are bowfin(or snakehead) in the bay. They put up a great fight, but can be a pest to deal with once boated. It is advisable to have a set of jaw spreaders and/or fish grippers in the boat with you for these situations along with pike, which are much less common to find in the bay during bass season as the water temperatures get too high for them.  

Early season fishing here is tough, as there is no real vegetation or structure to fish and the aby is akin to a large empty bowl. Relatively featureless, and usually off-colour with poor visibility as the shallow bay has nothing to stop the waves stirring up the silty bottom. Large pike can be had if spawning, but the bass will not be around to be found. 

Overall Rondeau bay is an excellent choice for the beginner boater/angler as it is reasonably well protected in comparison to open-lake fishing on a great lake, and is comfortably fished by vessels of all size ranging from kayaks and canoes, all the way up to 21ft bass boats. With multiple launches and direct access from Rondeau Bay Provincial Park, it should be a top destination for any bass angler.