Fishing for trout in the Grand River

The Grand River is well named as it stretches over 7000 sq kilometers between Dundalk and Lake Erie, including the river itself and various large and small lakes. This is an enormous area to fish and you could spend every weekend just fishing this river.

The Grand is a favorite for fishing because it contains rainbow trout, brook trout and brown trout as well as almost 80 other species of fish, including the popular smallmouth and large mouth bass as well as walleye. While this is a large watercourse, you will find at peak times that there are many anglers on the river and you may find yourself sharing a pool.

The Upper Grand River is an excellent trout stream and provides many opportunities for first class fishing. It is best known for its Brown trout. While the average Brown trout in these waters grows to between 12 and 18 inches, 24 inch trout are caught fairly often as the feeding for trout in the Upper Grand is particularly good.

The Middle and Lower Grand is well stocked with a range of fish but Steelheads are particularly good for the trout fisherman.

There are some special catch and release regulations on The Grand River and you need to be aware of these. This also means that in most areas of the Grand, it is fly fishing only or the use of barbless hooks and no live bait so that the catch and release regulations can be adhered to. This does mean that there are plenty of fish for those who live in Toronto, or even Buffalo and Detroit, as a short drive from the city will take you to good fishing spots.

However, fishermen encounter major problems fishing in the Grand as most of the rivers in southern and southeastern Ontario run through private property. While many private property owners are very willing to give permission for fishing from their property, an angler cannot rely on this and the number of anglers around the larger cities suggests that it is not practical for landowners to open their lands to everyone who wishes to fish in the Grand. Besides, you do not wish to plan your fishing trips around possible approval to fish in a particular spot.

You are well advised to consult those publications which indicate fishing access points that are open to the public. As a last resort, you can always access the river at a bridge where the highway crosses the river. Wherever you access the river, it is always worth a trip to the Grand where the fishing is just as grand.