Come to Windsor-Essex for some amazing fishing!
The fishing in the Windsor-Essex region is plentiful. With proximity to both Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River linking the two, our waterways are blessed with a large variety of hard-fighting and tasty fish species for us all to enjoy.
We have asked three local fishermen for their thoughts on the local fishing scene and what makes it special.
Capt. Kyle Moxon - Moxon's Guide Service
“The uniqueness of fishing Windsor-Essex is that we have so many species of fish here—and it’s all world class,” states Moxon, who has been providing guiding services since 2014. Moxon got into fishing at seven years old through a family friend. It became a passion for him as an escape, taking his mind off childhood problems.
He keeps his charter services mobile, trailering his boat to where it is needed as opposed to docking it, to better accommodate different anglers.
“We have Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River all within a short distance. Lake Erie is rated the walleye capital of the world, Lake St. Clair is one of the top lakes in the world for smallmouth bass, and St. Clair is also rated one of the best lakes for muskie.”
Justin Awram - Owner, LSC Pro Tackle
“The fishing is very diverse, and you can do a lot of different things,” states Justin Awram, owner of LSC Pro Tackle in Emeryville. “For fishing here, we have such a variety of fish. If you want to fish walleye, perch, muskie, bass, bluegill—we have a really big variety. Also, for every fish, you can say it’s world-class—it’s really good fishing.”
Awram says that there is so much good fishing in Windsor-Essex, that it’s hard to pick a favourite fish. “It’s hard to say. I don’t know if there is any best one, but I do like fishing muskie. I just got into muskies a couple years ago after starting the store. They are very elusive, so when you get a bite, it feels good—and, when they do bite, it gets your adrenaline pumping.”
Awram got into fishing in his late teens after he inherited his grandfather’s old fishing rod, which his father found in the shed. “That sparked it, and ever since then I’ve been really into it. I wanted to be my own boss, and I really like fishing, and there wasn’t a fishing store around here, so I started it and took the risk on it.”
He says something that makes Windsor-Essex fishing special is the spring walleye run. “It’s very unique and we get a lot of people that travel here specifically for it because we get so many walleye running up in the river.”
Capt. Ron Graves - The Butcher Buoy
After working 40 years as a butcher, Capt. Ron Graves retired in 2004—went fishing.
“I was born and raised on a small farm, used a stick and string to catch chubs in our ditch,” recalls Graves, a resident of Blenheim and captain of the 30-ft. Butcher Buoy, a charter boat that graces the waters of Leamington, Erieau, and Pelee Island. “My first job was at Bates Fisheries outside of Rondeau Park—loved the lake!”
With decades of experience under his belt, Graves started working as a part-time charter captain in the 1970’s, until 2004, when he retired from his primary vocation. Since then, he has been at it full-time, doing what he loves.
“I target mostly walleye, steelhead, and limited numbers of chinook and coho salmon,” he explains. He says that part of what makes Windsor-Essex special as a fishing hotbed is both location and proximity. “Windsor-Essex sits in the middle of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair,” both known for great fishing, “close to our northern neighbours in Michigan.”
Whether it be Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, or the Detroit River, the Windsor-Essex Region has the perfect fishing experience waiting for you.
