Trout Fishing In Ontario for Young and Old
Learn everything in general about trout fishing below that you need to know to get started fishing in Ontario hot spots, lakes, rivers, streams and ponds. From Sarnia, to London to Niagara, to Toronto, to Kingston to Cornwall and then North to Algoma Country, you can find trout fishing like no other in Ontario.
For the young man that just followed his grandpa to fish for the first time, you are a new trout fisherman and you deserve a thorough trout fishing talk so you too can become an expert; and to the experienced, lets learn some new tricks together. I will begin by asking, and leaving you with a thought: Do you know that a trout gets progressively larger after they have been caught? Now on to the sensational trout fishing ultimate guide below.
Trout Fishing Elite 101 201 301 Handy Guide
Quick facts about trout
These fish mostly die before their first birthday. Mortality rates in their first year of existence are usually 95% or greater, but falls to between 40 – 60% after they have survived a few years. The Brown Trout may grow up to 20 years, they usually do not get scales during the first month of their life and they have an ability to change their colors according to mood. They get darker due to aggression and lighter as a sign of submission.
Trout teeth
Trout have teeth on the roof of the mouth, which we can use to trace the Greek origin of their name
. This tooth called the vomerine teeth helps to discern a trout from a salmon.
These teeth are a strong double row, but in adult salmon found in freshwater, they are usually small and a single row or absent.
Trout Size
Certain species of trout grow to be very large; the wild brown trout is a perfect example. It is on record that a 31kg trout was netted in Lake Maggiore, Switzerland in the year 1928. The record for Britain stands in at 14.4 kg. Another large brown trout was caught in the Manisttee River area in Michigan at 18.8 kg.
Types of Trout Fishing in Ontario
There are 4 main kinds of trout that are usually fished for in Toronto, and Northern Ontario. The most popular types are:
- Rainbow
- Brown
- Lake
- Speckled/Brook
Trout Nutrition for Ontario Residents and Tourists
Servings of trout contain tremendous nutrients including vitamin A, an antioxidant that disarms disease-causing molecules popularly called free radicals, the B complex vitamins, which includes thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate which aids digestion and helps extract energy from food. It is also rich in other essential nutrients such as protein (amino acids), calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, zinc, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, manganese and selenium among others
Guide to eating sport fish in Ontario
When fishing your favorite hot spots in Toronto, or the rest of Ontario remember that the larger the size fish, the less you are to consume on a weekly basis.
In general but not always depending on location it is known that the smaller fish can be consumed in greater quantities from our Toronto area, and Northern Trout Fishing hot spots.
Before eating too much delicious trout, please check both the Guide to eating Ontario sport fish, as well as the Fishing Regulations in Ontario Guide to make sure your doing everything healthy and legal. Here is pictured a superior fish smoker at a super great price.
Don’t forget your License to Fish trout in Ontario
People under 18 and over 65 do not need a license as of this writing that we are aware of in Ontario. However, you still must abide by the catch and keep possession limits as set forth by the government. There are however fishing amnesty days in Ontario.
Periods where families can fish without the financial burden of picking up licences for those specified days. This may be handy for those who do not fish regularly but would love to make a vacation out of fishing for a few days annually. Get the Ontario Licence Guide Here.
Trout Fishing Free Recreational Fishing License Now for Canadian Forces
New for Jan 2019, all active and retired members of Canadian Forces can now enjoy the recreational fishing licence free. See this link here for more information. Thank-you for your service and we wish you many big trout on tight lines to come.
Going Trout Fishing Where to Find Them
One must also find a perfect river that is either stocked or just naturally has trout. Different wildlife management booklets native to your area should have this information listed in it so just select the spot closest to you. In most cases, rivers with naturally reproducing trout populations may have stricter tackle and bait restrictions. Always check your local fishing regulations before you head out. Trout, river, pond, and lake fishing, lets take a look at them now:
Trout Fishing Browns and Steelhead River Fishing
Many rivers and lakes in the US and Canada have excellent trout fishing and asking any bait and tackle shop will help you find some. But they wont give up their favorite fishing holes. Most times word of mouth works best. Ask around your local area to see where the fish are biting.
Checking forums, and reports can also sometimes yield fishing hot spots, but again, take some with a grain of salt. But lucky for you in Ontario, I have given you all the hot spots, no secrets here. Catfishing.ca wants you to catch trout and have fun. Take a kid fishing they will love it.
Watch the current
Knowing what to look for and study the current of a river, because if you understand how a river or stream is shaped by moving water you’ll be able to find trout very easily. During dawn or dusk, that characteristic deep pool that is created by the current will most likely hold a big trout just as the smaller trout can also be found in them as well. Drop offs, holes, the bottom of any water falls, around fallen trees, and pools just outside of heavy current areas that have water and nutrients circling into them are the best spots to look for.
Overhanging trees are trout hot spots
My favorite is big trees and tree branches that overhang the river. There are lots of bugs that are sure to be hitting the water from these on a recurring basis. The fish get to know this too and will hang out near these bug dropping zones.
The same spots you will be fly fishing into. Just make sure to not get your line caught!
Sometimes spinning gear is best for these areas. You can still fish dry and wet flies from your spinning set up its just not as fun if your used to fly fishing for trout. My favorite flys of all time are these pictured. Click on the image to grab some yourself. Bright and colorful and fish love them!
Best Trout Fishing Ponds
Trout Pond Fishing Guaranteed Fun and Catches for all
Ponds are often set up at various locations inland and are stocked with farmed trout. Most often these are rainbow trout that are stalked and they are fun to catch. The trick is, they usually do not allow live bait and the use of only of lures to catch these tricky rainbows. But some do allow live bait, and baits of all kinds, in which you may want to bring your own homemade baits. Look in your local phone guide for trout ponds. Or google trout ponds near me, and this should help but we also have listed some popular ones below. Email me to add yours to the list.
London Ontario Trout Fishing Ponds
Trout Haven Park Campground and Trout Pond Park St, Strathroy, ON N7G 3H5
Komoka Springs Trout Farm 9803 Glendon Dr, Komoka, ON N0L 1R0
Kitchener, Cambridge,Waterloo Area
Toronto Trout Fishing Ponds
Trout Pond north of Toronto at Burds Trout Fishing in Stouffville
Linward Acres Trout Pond Campbelcroft
Halton Hills Trout Farm and Public Fishing
Stocked Trout Fishing Tips
When fishing stocked trout, usually from trout ponds and old gravel quarry beds its best to use spinners.
The best fishing tip if its a stocked pond is to bring with you an assortment of small spinner baits. Mepps has alot of good ones to help you get stocked trout out of the pond and onto your plate.
Bring Spinners
Keep in mind that most stocked ponds do not allow the use of live bait for fishing and insist that you use artificial lures. From years of experience, and having had 4 boys and brought them to numerous fishing ponds, I can tell you that spinners are the best. We always were catching more fish than everyone else at the pond, especially with my secret go to spinner lure I always used.
Take Cash with you
Another tip is to bring along enough cash to pay for your trout to take home. The problem with catching lots of fish means you have the good problem of having to pay for them. The stocked ponds usually charge by the pound of fish you catch and thats how they make their money. So if you catch 5 fish and they weight 3 lbs each then you will be paying for 15 x the going rate being charged.
Clean trout yourself or find a stocked pond that does it for you
Some ponds gut and take the heads off the fish for you, others do not, and some give you the choice.
Its often cheaper to clean them yourself, but its also handy to just pay someone else, so your ready to cook when you get home instead of having to clean fish as well.
Best Trout Fishing Spots in Ontario
Sarnia Ontario River Trout Fishing Under the Twin Bridges
Fishing from the mouth of Lake Huron for big rainbow and brown trout is a favorite here. Fish are stocked annually including both trout and salmon by the Bluewater Anglers. The water is fast and cold with lots of rocks of all shapes and sizes out in the water. From pebbles, up to boulders scattered all around the large rainbows and browns love the areas rocky shores and source of nutrients flowing into the St Clair river from Lake Huron.
The trout fishing is best from here at the bridges, just down past the Shell dock on the St Clair river, where I usually turn and head back along the shoreline. I then travel back up, past the gravel docks of Sarnia, and across the government docks area of Sarnia Bay, into and around them, and back up the river under the Bluewater Bridges and into the lower mouth of the lake up to about the Perch Creek area and turn and head back around again.
Fishing by boat or on shore any spot you can find in this area has been known to consistently catch rainbow and brown trout for as long as I can remember. Especially with our good friends and great volunteers from the hatchery in Sarnia.
There is local salmon derby each spring. Make sure to get there and buy a ticket and I might pass you by while trolling.
Don’t forget to fish for yellow perch in this area while your here too. There are a few perch holes you can run into.
Sarnia bay also holds northern pike in and around the bay and the rock pier on both sides. Do not head down to the river without little cleos and roe bags.
Toronto Ontario Best Fishing Hotspots
There are lots of Toronto area hot spots to fish from with Lake Ontario being a deep and productive salmon and trout fishery. Numerous salmon and fishing derbies are held in Lake Ontario each year and not to be missed by the fishing derby enthusiast. The Great Ontario Salmon hunt is the largest tournament, with tons of huge prizes to be won, make sure and catch the big one at the big tournament.
With the Niagara river flowing into the lake and the lake flowing out to the St Lawrence River, this area is a trout and salmon fishing meca for the large population of people living on Lake Ontario.
Here is a list of great Toronto fishing spots:
- Toronto Islands
- Rouge River
- Tommy Thompson Park
- Marie Curtis Park
- The Pickering Power Plant
- G Ross Lord Park
- Grenadier Pond
- Duffins Creek Marsh
- Marina and Marsh area of the Humber River
- Frenchmans Bay
- Ashbridges Bay Park
- Colonel Samuel Smith Park
- Bluffers Park
- From the Niagara River
- All the way up to the Thousand Islands
If your looking for a private fishing club just north of Toronto there is the Franklin Fishing club in Mount Elbert. They have a lake and a couple trout ponds, teach fly fishing etc. Membership owned Facility.
Catching Brook Trout Fishing in Ontario Algoma Country
White River Trout Fishing in Ontario North Country
Algoma country is beautiful white river trout fishing in natural habitats and full of wild native fish species of brook trout aka speckled trout. Beautiful fun fish to catch with a fly rod and reel or spin casting with ultra light to medium light tackle. Add brook trout from Ontario’s north Algoma country to your fishing bucket list.
Being out on a natural stream in the woods is quite something. Peaceful and relaxing, soul cleansing down to earth with mother nature and the fish. Smoking up these speckled brook trout is something you have to try if you haven’t already. You can also find lots of mid sized lake trout in Algoma country in the 10 lb range. Or 30 lb monsters plus if you fish the big Lake Superior.
Great Lakes Trout Fishing
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario, Lake Huron and Lake Superior are Lake trout hot spots with big lakers ripe for the taking. Fish the deep parts of these lakes once summer comes. The lake trout fishing becomes tougher as these fish seek deeper waters much farther out from shore.
All 3 lakes are excellent all around for rainbow and brown trout fishing as well. Lake Ontario is a deep lake and home to king salmon and trout that grow quite large. Lake Ontario from the Niagara up to Kingston is a great lake to fish from shore for trout at certain times of the year. Head out to the deep drop offs of the lake for boat fisherman trolling deep for big fish especially early to late summer. These trout and salmon fish head deep to find cooler waters.
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is not so much of a hotspot and known for spectacular walleye and yellow perch fishing. However, it is still good for rainbows if you fish the deep parts of the lake
. There are two spots in Lake Erie you can hit for trout but they are the deeper areas in the mid basin and eastern basin. Forget about looking for trout in the western basin of Lake Erie or Lake St Clair as these are not good trout fishing zones.
Lake Ontario and the Niagara river yes. Really good. So is Lake Huron but more so to the north of Goderich and better yet Kincardine and up through Tobermory and all around Owen Sound and in Georgian Bay.
St Clair River, Lake Huron
Lake trout and salmon are good in the North part of the St Clair River and around Kettle Point but only when the temperature is cool. The southern part of Lake Huron is shallow and once summer creeps in the fish are headed North to deep lake waters.
There is a small pocket at the southern tip of Lake Huron 70-90 feet deep. That and the fast current of the St Clair river however does keep some trout year round but not many until fall, winter and spring hits again.
Fish from the Shell dock up to the Bluewater bridges and circle back around again when trolling. From there and way better yet still your best bet is to head north to Goderich on up to Georgian Bay. Lake Huron is shallow on the southern tip and most trout and salmon after the spring run head north in the lake to the deep areas. Are there fish to be caught in lower Lake Huron, yes, but after spring things decline drastically and you need to head north.
The southern tip of Lake Huron is more walleye and catfish oriented. From Sarnia to Kettle Point walleye and catfish are your best bets. This is where the commercial fishery sets their trap nets in this zone, so be sure to watch for the flags and net block in the waters just out from shore.
Lake Superior
Lake Superior goes without saying, its cold and deep year round and an excellent big trout fishery. Ice fishing on Lake Superior has produced some monsters for shore anglers in the winter who might not ever get a chance to catch one of these huge fish. Fish all over this lake for big lake trout. Fishing at the mouths of all rivers leading to Lake Superior are excellent for trout. Head out in your boat and troll along ridges and drop offs for big trout during boating season.
Your best bets for the most production of salmon and trout who like the same waters is to fish Lake Superior, and Lake Ontario. Avoid Lake St Clair and western Lake Erie for the most part when it comes to trout. As for Lake Huron its never been the best so make it your last choice after Lake Ontario and Lake Superior, with the exception of the Georgian Bay area. The area of Georgian Bay is where you want to go trout and salmon fishing most of all when it comes to Lake Huron.
Trout Fishing Hooks and Bait
Good Trout Bait
Night crawlers and minnows constitute the best live bait for trout. These may include earthworms, mayflies, various fly larvae, wax worms, grasshoppers, crickets, and fish eggs.
A fisherman’s trick is to observe what lives on the shore of the fishing area to understand and see what might be native to a trouts diet for optimum results.
For example, bugs falling from trees, minnows pooled up in schools near shore, worms washing in from muddy shore banks, fly hatches, etc.
They Love Spoons
Research has shown that certain species of trout particularly the lake trout is known to have the love for biting on a small silver spoon.
You may capitalize on this by using a lure that mimics a spoon if you don’t have one but if your looking at serious trout fishing you will be needing a serious spoon collection and body baits resembling minnows and small fish.
Fly Fishing for Trout is Awesome
Letting go a small amount of bait into the water can help manipulate the fish to want more and get closer. Just make sure that chumming is in the regulations for your area, otherwise don’t do it. Also, fly fishing, is a type of sport fishing involving an artificial fly serving as bait, and is highly effective at catching fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and unique specifically weighted line.
It is a wonderful way to get out on the river and enjoy some time with the trout. We should also step out to fish with very humble expectations if your a beginner. Get some practice casting and avoid those overhanging tree branches.
Common Trout Lures
Trout love live bait but they also like artificial lures. Drift fishing is best done with live bait or roe. Fly fishing with flies, wet or dry and trolling is done with artificial lures. Some of the best include:
- spinners
- body baits
- spoons
- plastics
- squids
Power Bait
Some anglers have a preference for Power Bait but you need to be aware that this works on Stocked Trout that were raised in the farm. It will never work on a native trout; they won’t bite as the bait does not resemble most things they feed on daily.
So this works and it doesn’t work. It all depends where and how you fish it. In ponds and slow moving rivers yes. Fast moving rivers or in lakes no. The bait is live or artificial that resemble live baits.
However, power bait is two different things. One kind is a liquid that you can spray or squirt on lures or live bait for that matter as a fish attractant. This flavor is to hopefully keep the fish from spitting your metallic lure if it likes the flavor, its to keep a fish that’s not hooked from spitting the lure sooner that it might have.
The other is a paste, which you fish from hooks. This paste is an attractant and usually bright colored, pink, red, or orange. The use of roe mesh or loops to hold it in place are what you will be looking to do when using paste power baits.
What Hooks to Use for Trout
Generally razor sharp fish egg hooks for roe. Jhooks for fishing worms and treble hooks when using spinners, body baits and spoons. Choose your size according to both bait size and clarity of the water. Whatever you do make sure the hook is of the best quality and super sharp, hardened steel that wont bend or break.
You may be fighting big fish for a long time and the hooks need to be strong. Especially the small hooks most often used for fineness fishing in clear streams and rivers.
Note that some lake trout fisherman prefer large single hooks behind their spoons rather than treble hooks and find these much better. I like large single hooks on my squids, and my big spoons. Trebles on small spoons, spinners and body baits. Pictured are top Trout hooks for drift fishing roe bags, and single two or three salmon and trout eggs for finesse natural drift fishing.
Rainbow Trout Fishing Techniques
Remember to bait your hook like a pro. When using worms start at the head of the worm and poke the hook through the tip and follow the shape of the hook with the worm until just a quarter way up the rounded part of the hook and then pierce through.
Now you can let the whole worm dangle, cut its length to what you want, or re hook once more for more of a ball like presentation. If your like to use roe or corn, just place a couple pieces on to the hook and slide them up just to the eye portion of the hook.
Trout Fishing Rigs for Streams and Rivers
You attach split shot weight to the line to serve two purposes, it allows you to cast very smoothly, and it also allows you to control how fast your bait will drift, if at all.
Just place the weight about 2 feet above the hook and be sure to pinch the weight hard enough that the weights will not move on the line, but loose enough that you can change their position on the line as it suits you.
You may use a pair of needle nose pliers for this.
Best Set Up for Trout Fishing
Another trout fishing rig for streams is to use a float fishing rig. Float or bobber on top, then 1 2 3 or 4 split shots depending on stream/river depth, speed of current. Then the hook. Start with a larger size split shot just a foot or 2 under the bobber and then progressively smaller split shot down a foot to two feet below one another and finally the hook.
If the stream is shallow you may just be using one split shot below the float or none at all and using just the weight of the worm or spawn bag alone as weight. If the rivers deep I have run a float and 4 split shot 2 feet apart from each other, for an 8 foot rig. Perfect length for clear water fishing 10 to 20 feet deep.
Catching Your Own Trout by Sport Fishing is Special
While we all love the delicacies we can make with trout, this fish became famous as a sought after game fish.
It also is seen that the love for trout is higher among individuals and families that engage in sport fishing. Varieties of farm-raised trout are supplied to recreational areas or clubs for this purpose. Catching, cleaning and cooking your own delicious trout is a one of a kind special feeling.
Trout fishing is very popular for family outings at local trout ponds and make for an excellent one day vacation trip.
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Buying Trout
However, for the non fisherman, trout is a popular catch in the fish market also; they are usually sold frozen or sometimes delivered fresh to restaurants, grocery stores and other institutions that use them for mostly research purposes. The packaging of fisheries and sea foods has evolved into a highly sophisticated modern era.
Trout are marketed and sent out as dressed or boned as well as boneless fillets. They may be stuffed or breaded also depending on your taste. Trout are sometimes caught, processed, flash frozen and then packaged to ship out in less than two hours.
Done Trout Fishing? Now Clean and Cook your Trout
So, why not enjoy all the good things about trout in an adventure-packed day, which includes the fun activity of catching them, a quick and easy way to prepare them. Then selecting from a variety of recipes online, and enjoy its high protein content and wonderful taste.
There’s nothing better than reaping the rewards of your own hard-earned labor in the form of delicious sustenance. Your back now, and its time to fillet that trout and bake, fry, bbq, or smoke it. I hope you enjoyed your trout fishing with us. Please share this article with others for me if you found it helpful.
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