I’m going to break with my standard format of describing locations for fabulous kayak fishing and fly fishing to deal with the world-famous Grand River of southwestern Ontario.  The Grand is one of the classic fishing rivers in southern Ontario and, it is argued by some, in all of Canada.  I’ve fly fished both from my kayak and by wading in many locations on the Grand but this time I’m NOT going to describe them to you.  There is way too much to cover and there’s a much better alternative.

     You could fish every day for a year on the Grand and never have to cover water that you have already fished.  It’s source near the town of Dundalk is not far from Georgian Bay.  From there it continues southward, continuously adding water from it’s four main tributaries, the Conostogo, Eramosa, Speed and Nith rivers, as well as uncountable minor ones.  It finally enters Lake Erie at Port Maitland almost 300 km downstream.  In all, the Grand watershed encompasses over 7,000 sq. km. and also contains dozens of large and small lakes.

     If you are serious about fly fishing or kayak fishing the Grand you need to obtain 2 books, both of which can be ordered from the bookstore on the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) website at http://www.grandriver.ca/Store/store.cfm?id=Books .  They are named “Fishing Grand River Country” and “Paddling The Grand River” and cost $15 and $20 each, respectively.  These books are an indispensible source for essential information to actively fish these waters and you shouldn’t even think of fishing the Grand River without investing in both of them.  Most of southern Ontario is private property but all rivers can be accessed at public access points or at bridge rights-of-way where public highways and roads cross them.  These books will provide you with everything you need to know to safely enjoy fishing on the Grand and keep you out of trouble.  Every access point, every fish species and it seems like every foot of the river is described completely.

     Real time river flow information is also available on the Grand River Conservation Authority website at http://www.grandriver.ca/index/Agreement.cfm?sec=2

     Some interesting facts about the Grand River watershed:

In the photo below Rob is displaying a beautiful, 14″ Grand River rainbow caught
on a dry fly at dusk in mid-June, just upstream from Brantford.

A Grand River Rainbow Trout