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Grand River (Southwest Ontario, Canada)

Location: The Grand River is in southwest Ontario, Canada, about 2 hours from Buffalo, 3 from Detroit, and an hour from Toronto’s Pearson International airport. From its source, it flows south through Grand Valley, Fergus, Elora, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, and Cayuga before emptying into the north shore of Lake Erie south of Dunnville, at Port Maitland.

Wading through the clear waters towards a pod of rising fish, surrounded by limestone bluffs, cedar trees, and clouds of mayflies, who’d have known that only a couple of decades ago this river was barren of trout? Government, community, and volunteers have made improvements to transform it into the most popular brown trout fishery in eastern Canada.

The Upper Grand tailwater has a solid brown trout fishery, and the amenities to make it a favourite destination for trout addicts. The Grand flows through the quaint villages of Fergus and Elora, towns that provide the services anglers look for that greatly add to the fishing experience. The downtowns are dominated by old limestone buildings holding friendly pubs, numerous B&Bs, fine dining, and local specialty shops. Despite its proximity to the major population centres of Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener/Waterloo, London, Detroit, and Buffalo, the river is rarely crowded.

Constant flows provided by the Grand River Dam—commonly called the Shand Dam—allow insect populations to flourish. The cold, nutrient-rich water feeds an abundance of aquatic insects that grow fat trout. Big fish feed heavily on the surface during the day throughout the season. From May through September, there is usually some sort of hatch that brings fish to the surface every day.

This fishery was created when the Ministry of Natural Resources initiated a stocking program in 1988. The stocking continues, and is supplemented by some natural reproduction. The growth rates rival many other trophy rivers. Grand River browns are solid, strong fish.

The Grand River tailwater varies in character throughout this 28km (15 miles) of trout water, easily reached via more than 20 access points. The river’s flow is usually between 4 and 7 cms (120-210 cfs). Much of the river has special regulations, where single barbless hooks are required; anglers must release all trout. This keeps the larger fish in the system to reward the skilled or lucky angler.