Don River – E.T. Seton Park, Toronto
E.T. Seton Park, 1057 Leslie St, Toronto, ON M3C 3K8











About this water
Toronto's most central river fishery — big common carp and scrappy smallmouth within a subway ride of downtown.
Urban river with shallow riffles and deeper bend pools. Turns muddy quickly after rain. Consume-with-caution advisories apply — check the Guide to Eating Ontario Fish. FMZ 16.
FMZ 16 regulations — Southwestern Ontario & Lake Simcoe
The most southerly inland zone in the province. It includes all of southwestern Ontario, is predominantly made up of large river systems, and includes Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching. It has the largest urban population of any fisheries management zone. The Great Lakes themselves are separate zones (13, 14, 19 and 20).
- Lake Simcoe lake trout: Jan 1 – Sept 30; S-2/C-1 (one over 45 cm).
- Lake Simcoe whitefish: Dec 1 – Mar 15; S-2/C-1.
- Smallmouth bass: 4th Saturday in June – Nov 30; S-4/C-2.
- Rainbow trout (tributaries): Apr 1 – Sept 30 & 4th Sat Nov – Mar 31; check specific rivers.
Zone check: FMZ 16 confirmed from this water's coordinates against the official Ontario zone boundaries (reviewed 2026-08-12).
Summary only — always confirm current seasons and limits on the Ontario MNRF FMZ 16 page before your trip.
Seasonal availability
Open-season windows for the species found at Don River – E.T. Seton Park, Toronto, taken from the FMZ 16 regulation summary. Green months are within a published open season — they are not a prediction of how well fish will bite.
No FMZ 16 season line published in our summary for: Carp, Bluegill, Northern Pike. Check the official page before keeping these species.
Summary only, and seasons change annually. Confirm dates on the Ontario MNRF FMZ 16 page before your trip.
Fishing tips
- Simcoe ice fishing is world-class — perch on shallow flats, lakers on deep rock piles.
- Grand River smallmouth respond to tube jigs in current seams.
- Pre-bait a slow bend pool with corn for 20 minutes before casting — Don River carp settle fast and feed hard.
- Access: Free lot off Leslie St with paved trails following the river.
Solunar Calendar— Don River – E.T. Seton Park, Toronto
Waxing Gibbous
93% illuminated · Age 12.2d
🌔 Tue, Aug 25
93% · Rating 93🌔 Wed, Aug 26
97% · Rating 98🌕 Thu, Aug 27
100% · Rating 100Major windows (~2 h) cluster around moon transit and antitransit; minor windows (~1 h) around moonrise and moonset. Local approximations — verify against a printed almanac for planning.
Gear setup
- Setup:
- Medium-heavy for carp; light spinning for bass
- Rod:
- 7' medium-heavy spinning rod
- Reel:
- Size 3000–4000 spinning reel
- Line:
- 15 lb braid with fluorocarbon leader
- Best bait:
- Sweet corn, Worms, Bread
- Best lures:
- Small crankbait, Tube jig, Inline spinner
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