Hooked: 8 Things I Learned Fishing in Chatham-Kent’s “Hidden Playground”

I am not an avid angler. For all I know, I could be holding the rod completely upside down—and truthfully, I wouldn’t care. Does it really matter what angle, grip, or technique you’re using? When you feel that distinct “tug,” you know you did it right, and you feel a true sense of satisfaction when you see what’s waiting at the end of the line. My appreciation for fishing has always been rooted in memories, quality time spent with people I love, and the peace you only find near the water—right up until something pulls back.

Having spent years on local waters, here are the eight biggest lessons I’ve learned along the way.

1. Hold Onto the Rod (Especially the Snoopy Pole)

It all started in Erieau, where my dad rented a boat to take my brother and me out on Rondeau Bay. My dad, bless his heart, tried teaching me how to fish with more patience than I deserved. He covered the basics: how to bait a hook, look behind you so you don’t snag someone in the head, and how to cast without launching the gear straight into the lake. Mind you, he forgot to mention one crucial detail: I actually needed to hold onto the rod while releasing the button on my trusty Snoopy pole. We survived that particular adventure, though the fish were likely more confused than threatened by my technique.

2. The Sound of Silence…Interrupted

As soon as my line hit the water, initial excitement immediately gave way to boredom. Staring blankly at the water waiting for a nibble, I could sense the growing frustration radiating off my dad and brother. My dad tried convincing me that the real point was simply being together, but there was one fundamental boat rule I found offensive: no talking.

“Stop talking” is a concept my spirit refuses to adopt. Whenever my brain hears the command to be quiet, it translates it into a frantic internal prompt to fill the silence with an extremely detailed, five-minute, entirely useless story. I genuinely thought I was sparing my family from being alone with their own dark thoughts by sharing mine instead. Mostly, I treated the silence rule like a personal challenge.

3. Fish Cannot Hear You Through the Rod

For decades, I was a victim of “Operation Fish Tale.” To secure five minutes of peace, my father and brother concocted a piece of deceptive folklore I believed until very recently: “The sound vibrations from your voice travel down the rod, zip along the line like a telegraph wire, dive into the lake, and whisper warnings directly to the fish.”

The moment of truth arrived during a conversation with Cody Stanford, captain of C&C Charters in Chatham-Kent. When I shared my theory on fish acoustics, he met me with a look of such profound, dumbfounded pity that reality crashed down instantly. Realizing fish cannot hear my rambling through the rod was liberating—and it led me to a better question: if the fish weren’t hiding from my voice, why is the fishing in this region so legendary?

4. Chatham-Kent is One Giant Watery Playground

If you are going to embrace this hobby, Chatham-Kent is a solid place to start. Wedged between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, with a tangle of bays and rivers running through the middle, it’s basically one giant fishing playground. Deep water, shallow water, trout, bass—you get all of it here without leaving the region.

• Lake Erie: Known for deep-water trolling for walleye and rainbow trout that fight like they owe you money.

• Lake St. Clair: World-renowned for bad-tempered bass and enormous wild muskie.

• Bays & Rivers: Rondeau Bay turns into a world-class crappie spot in spring, while Mitchell’s Bay, St. Luke’s Bay, and the Thames River offer year-round panfish, bass, and migrating walleye.

• Winter Ice Fishing: When winter arrives, spots like Mitchell’s Bay transform into miniature cities of ice huts where anglers chase jumbo perch while slowly losing feeling in their toes.

5. Lake Erie Made an Incredible Walleye Comeback

Down on the southern edge of Chatham-Kent, the deep open waters off Erieau and Wheatley offer a completely different experience. Biologists call Lake Erie the “walleye highway” of Canada—over 100 million catchable walleye currently cruise the lake. That is a wild number considering pollution and overfishing nearly wiped them out in the 1960s.

As the shallowest and warmest Great Lake, Lake Erie provides a longer growing season and an endless buffet of baitfish. Every spring, millions of walleye spawn in the shallow Western Basin before moving east into the cooler, deeper Central Basin as summer warms the surface. Wheatley catches them early in that migration, while Erieau’s deep, cold, oxygen-rich waters keep late-summer fishing hot.

6. Perch: Local Royalty vs. Western Nuisance

In Chatham-Kent, yellow perch is more than a catch; it’s a regional identity. Prized for being mild, sweet, and easy to catch, perch stick around nearly all year long. Because they school tightly together in shallow, nutrient-rich waters, filling a cooler in an hour is a common local feat.

Interestingly, a fish’s value depends on its neighbourhood. While Chatham-Kent treats perch like local royalty, wildlife managers in British Columbia consider them an invasive nuisance and actively work to eradicate them. Beyond Lake Erie, perch are abundant in Lake St. Clair, as well as the Thames and Sydenham Rivers.

7. Lake St. Clair Has a Self-Cleaning “Reset Button”

If Lake Erie is the highway, Lake St. Clair is the prestigious private club. It is one of the last places on Earth with a fully self-sustaining muskie population that requires zero hatcheries.

This is thanks to the “flush effect.” Cold, oxygen-rich water from Lake Huron completely replaces the entire volume of Lake St. Clair every four to seven days. This natural filtration, combined with the St. Clair River Delta and dense muskgrass wetlands, provides the perfect habitat for giant, 50-inch muskies. Combined with local catch-and-release practices, the fishery stays world-class.

8. You Need to Learn the Fine Print (Zone 16 vs. Zone 19)

Before casting a line, you need an Outdoors Card and either a Sport Fishing Licence (S) or a Conservation Fishing Licence (C) (which cuts limits roughly in half). Most open waters fall under Zone 19, while inland waters and bays fall under Zone 16.

Chatham-Kent Zone 19 Cheat Sheet (Open Waters)

Chatham-Kent Zone 16 Cheat Sheet (Inland Waters & Bays)

Local Regulations & Free Fishing Days

• Ice Fishing Rules: You can run two lines in Zone 16, but they must remain within 60 meters (196 feet) in clear view. Mechanical spring-loaded hook setters are illegal.

• Ice Hut Rules: Non-fabric huts in Zone 16 require free registration displayed on the exterior. Fabric shelters under 7 m² (75 ft²) are exempt. Huts must be removed by March 15 (or before ice breakup).

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• Free Fishing Events: Ontario offers licence-free fishing on Family Fishing Weekend, Mother’s Day Weekend, Father’s Day Weekend, and Family Fishing Week. Conservation limits still apply!

I’ve learned two big lessons from my years as a mediocre angler: patience is a virtue, and I will not get hooked by the same bait twice.

I’m still biding my time to settle the score for “Operation Fish Tale.” When my next invitation back on the boat comes, I’m bringing a high-powered megaphone. I’ve got years of lost conversational time to make up for, and now that I know fish can’t hear me through the rod, I’m sharing every thought at full volume.

Get out there and make some memories of your own—whether you’re a seasoned pro or still rocking a Snoopy pole. Just keep an eye out for me on the dock. If you spot someone hauling a tackle box and a megaphone, you’ll know I finally made it back on the water.

Author, Jolene Van Dyk ,REALTOR®