Trout rivers near Arnprior?

[PriorMike]

G'Day,

I'd like to find a river to fish for trout near where I live in Arnprior. I figure finding info on where to start would be easy since I live a street or two over from the Madawaska, but I've checked MNR guides and can't seem to find anything. I see folks fishing the Mississippi west of the 5 span bridge, or on the faster sections of the Clyde near Lanark...? Anything near Galetta?

I'd be sticking to a spin rod from shore. Any help would be great.

[Todd B.]

If you're looking for trout rivers head down to upstate NY. Not only do they have the cold water rivers, they do a great job of stocking/managing them as well.

[campnfish]

I have looked for a long, long time for trout in creeks /rivers around here and they are few and far between.

You have to go way, way back in the bush where all the right conditions for trout are there, and even then they have to be in the mood to bite.

That being said, head up towards Algonquin park and explore some of the smaller creeks that flow out of the park into the larger rivers.

[ganman]

Forget Algonquin. The rivers are outflows of lake surface water. They are warm and do not have gradient to sustain trout. There are a few exceptions with spring fed sections of some rivers such as the Crow, Nipissing and Tim. But those are excursions that are deep in the Park and you need at least a 3 day 50 mile canoe trip to find a situation that may be iffy at best.

Do as Todd said. Head down 417 to Casselman, then down to Cornwall and across to NY State. You will see the mountains off in the distance and you'll know you are heading for trout country. Only 1/2 hour south of the border you will find the Salmon River, Chateauguay, Little Salmon, Trout River, Little Trout, Marble River and many other wonderful streams.

Before you go check out the NY DEC website and check out Public Fishing Rights for Franklin County (the amount of public access is truly astounding) check the stocking reports on rivers. Print any relevant info at home. When you get to NY go to a Walmart or Kmart and buy a NY State Atlas and Gazeteer (about $15) its invaluable. Take some time to study it with the info.

There are more interesting and picturesque places to go eventually but for your maiden trip the town of Malone is not a bad place to start. Best to do an over nighter, prices are cheap and lot's of streams within 15 minutes. You can sneak in some fishing if you take the wife and kids for the Franklin County Fair in late August(a great old fashioned country fair).

Make sure you hit Bokies Drive-In on the east side of town. You have to try the local foot long Glazer Michigan hotdog.

The best part is...most of the time you will have a stream all to yourself and you will catch fish.

[PriorMike]

Thanks for the info guys.

Heading to NY sounds like a good trip, but I was looking closer to home to do some evening fishing, know what I mean?

Still good stuff to consider.

[Jimmy_1]

I'm reading this with a lot of interest.

I head to Watertown quite frequently ( I like paying $15 for beer instead of $40 )

But the dudes at Gander are no stinking help with trout streams.

I know Oneida lake is huge and apparently has lakers but I want stream trout. I don't see any public access areas to park and walk from the I-95.

If anyone knows of anything around Watertown/Syracuse let me know. I don't head the Massena/Ogdensburg way very much.

Thanks!

[campnfish]

What about around Low, QC? Never been, but I got some advice on here that it was a good starting point if you're looking for stream trout.

@ Jimmy - the beer is cheaper in La Belle Province too! Win-win! And you get to avoid those speed traps between the boarder and Watertown lol.

[Jimmy_1]

Campnfish

Its $21.99 for 20 Pabst in La Belle Provence. It's $14.88 at Wal-Mart for 30 in Watertown. But most certainly cheaper whan Wynetario!

My objection is what Quebec charges for non-resident fishing licenses. $70 is a lot to pay if you aren't really going to fish there a lot. $11 a day is steep to!

I find most states charge a reasonable price for non-residents. I obtain my GA, SC and FL out-of-state visitor fishing licenses almost annually. I have never paid more than $22 for a month. Usually some piers I fish I don't need a license as I am covered under the Piers license (depends on the state) and its costs me between $5-$11 to fish the pier for the day!

I don't mind going into watertown and will likely be in the US in 2 weeks time for a few days.

[Todd B.]

The NY Public Fishing Rights Maps are a great resource for planning a trip down to NY.

[ganman]

I'm reading this with a lot of interest.

I head to Watertown quite frequently ( I like paying $15 for beer instead of $40 )

But the dudes at Gander are no stinking help with trout streams.

I know Oneida lake is huge and apparently has lakers but I want stream trout. I don't see any public access areas to park and walk from the I-95.

If anyone knows of anything around Watertown/Syracuse let me know. I don't head the Massena/Ogdensburg way very much.

Thanks!

Jimmy there is nothing between Watertown and the border. You have to go to Tughill Plateau south and east of Watertown. There are tons of little brookie creeks and some big rivers as well. Don't go to the Sandy Creeks they are warm and have no water. Head a farther along....maybe an hour from Watertown. The headwaters of the East Branch of the Salmon River about 1/2 hour east of Pulaski near Redfield and Osceola (upstream of the Salmon River Reservoir) is a great stream as is the East Branch of Fish Creek a little further east. On the east side of the Tughill is the Black River Valley. Here are the headwaters of the Black River. Above Lyons Falls is the trout water but go further upriver to Port Leyden - Boonville and Forestport. On the eastside of the Black River are a bunch of tributaries, Crystal Creek, Independence River, Otter Creek and a bunch of other smaller creeks.

Not much along 81 between Pulaski and Syracuse unless you go east about 1/2 hr. Near the town of Camden is the West Branch of Fish Creek and the Mad River.

There are some really good streams close to Syracuse. Ninemile Creek, Limestone Creek, Chittenango Creek, Butternut are great streams.

The crown jewel of in that part of the state is West Canada Creek down Rt. 12 near Trenton Falls and Poland NY. Fish downstream of the reservoir. The water comes out of the bottom of dam and stays cold all summer.

Some of these streams are real wilderness creeks and rivers where you won't see a soul. Others flow thru farmland and villages and you will see people but you won't see many other anglers. Tons of public land plus in NY the state purchases fishing rights from landowners. They mark the streams with little markers. The rights extend 15 feet from the bank and you have to be fishing (not camping,, picnicking etc..) Some streams are no more than 10' wide, many are 20' to 40' wide and in the case of the Black River and West Canada up to 100' wide.

You won't get much help anywhere in Watertown other than the DEC. Again go online and download info for trout fishing in the Watertown district. They have a really good downloadable booklet. When you get to Watertown buy a NY State Atlas and Gazeteer (it is invaluable) and match your info to it.

BTW...Oneida lake = no Lakers but great walleye. The East Branch of Fish Creek runs into the east end of Oneida Lake which in turn flows to Lake Ontario via the Oswego River. The have stocked Fish Creek with Atlantic Salmon but so far not much to show for it. On bigger rivers you will catch mostly browns and a few rainbows. Smaller Creeks you will catch brookies and browns. The browns average about 12" but 14"- 18" fish are common. None of these trout migrate to Lake Ontario.

[abrigger]

Have you tried the Clyde yet? There are supposed to be brownsin although I have yet to catch one! I am a little too far for an evening fish, (Pembroke) or I would continue to fish it. Just remember that browns are probably the finickiest trout and really have to be in the mood. Hope this helps.

[Jimmy_1]

The Clyde is a big stretch. I fished it near Macdonalds Corners area and it was just bass.

Thanks Ganman and Todd I'll have to check out those sites you provided.

I'd imagine not much action "up in dem hills" right now.

[ganman]

Have you tried the Clyde yet? There are supposed to be brownsin although I have yet to catch one! I am a little too far for an evening fish, (Pembroke) or I would continue to fish it. Just remember that browns are probably the finickiest trout and really have to be in the mood. Hope this helps.

Do not waste your time!! BROWNS are not hard to catch!! Damn it if I hear that again....I might explode

WHY THERE ARE NO TROUT IN EASTERN ONTARIO STREAMS OR RIVERS....this should be posted somewhere where no one should ever need ask again.

A stream trout fishery needs to be cool (70F or less...more so for brookies) and well oxygenated and therefore requires at least ONE of the following:

GRADIENT (fast flowing water is cool and well oxygenated)....not here in central and eastern Ontario. The height of watersheds in the Madawaska Highlands and Algonquin Park are @ 1,000-1,200 ft. above sea level. Where they flow to...80 or so miles away at the Ottawa River @ 400 ft. above sea level. So 600 - 800 ft. over 80 miles is not enough. By comparison the Ausable and Saranac River in Northern NY drop from 3,500 ft. above sea level to 75ft. above sea level at Lake Champlain in roughly 50 miles. Adirondack Rivers would have most in common with Madawaska Highland streams....same bedrock (impervious granite). Gradient is the difference between the ADK's and Madawska. Some perimeter ADK rivers and Tughill Plateau streams are combinations stream...see further.

GROUNDWATER (SPRINGFED) So not enough gradient? Then a stream can sustain trout if it has GROUNDWATER flow...spring fed. Trout fishermen call these SPRING CREEKS and in fly fishing circles some are legendary. Pick up a book on fly fishing for trout and you will see names like the Letort, Big Spring, Falling Spring, Nelsons Spring....these are all famous spring creeks where the trout sip tiny flies all day and grow huge.

Well we do have some spring fed creeks in Eastern Ontario. But the springs and watersheds are tiny compared to springs that squirt up to the surface in other areas with soft limestone. The pre Cambrian bedrock in the Madawaska Highlands is so hard and not water soluble that it does not allow the high volume seepage of springwater. The springs that make up Papineau Creek, Eastons Creek, Pauls Creek, Hydes Creek etc....your typical Madawaska Highland brookie trickle are but ..... a trickle compared to famous spring creeks elsewhere.

TAILWATERS....OK...we struck out so far.....next up are tailwaters. What is a tailwater? First, it is a man made environment...where a river has been dammed for hydro power, flood control, big city drinking water and a deep cold lake(reservoir) forms behind it. If the water is pulled from the base of the dam it is cold....very cold and is capable of sustaining trout....lots of trout. Remember cold water has more oxygen and more than cold water trout need oxygen.

Because of bottom releases of coldwater below in the dam there is fabulous fishing in places and rivers they had no trout. Arkansas Oklahoma and Texas have good trout fishing now. Nearby the best example is Ontario's Grand River. Prior to bottom releases from Belwood Dam there were few trout in the Grand, mostly carp, suckers, smallmouth bass. After water was taken from the bottom of the dam the cold water did away with the carp and bass and stocked brown trout did very well.

Lastly there is what I call combination waters. Most trout streams fit this bill. They have some gradient, some spring or groundwater flow, maybe a dam with coldwater releases. Some have lots of overhead foliage, gravel for spawning and because of latitude, elevation, yearly average rainfall they can sustain trout year round and under the best conditions trout thrive. Streams throughout most of Ontario from the Oak Ridge Moraine (Cold Creek, Ganaraska etc.) thru to the headwaters of the Credit River to the Saugeen fit this category. Many of these streams are in agricultural or urban areas and are highly subject human influences.

The closest stream in Ontario to Ottawa that would be called a "trout stream of note" is COLD CREEK. It flows into the Trent River at Frankford. its headwaters are northeast of Cobourg. Cold Creek rises from springs popping up in the easkers and drumlims of the Oak Ridge Moraine. Eskers and drumlins are fancy words for sand hills and moraine is a fancy word for a huge sand ridge...in this case 30 miles wide x 100 or more miles long (between #7 and the 401) as it more or less blends into a similar geologic region north of Toronto until it runs into the Niagara Escarpment near the headwaters of the Credit River.

The groundwater seeps thru porous sedimentary bedrock (well more porous than granite) and glacial till soils (gravel) are more conducive to upwelling springs and trout spawing habitat than Eastern Ontario Blue Clay. From its headwaters to the Trent, Cold Creek drops from 1,000 ft. above sea level to about 100 ft. above sea level on 25 miles. So...Cold Creek has decent gradient and groundwater flow, spawning substrate and fortunate enough that in its mid to upper reaches has a conservation area and enough overhead vegetation to provide cool, well oxygenated water to sustain trout throughout the year. Not something you find in the Ottawa Valley or Madawaska Highlands.

[smitty55]

Wow, you do know your stuff ganman. Great post. Well written and very informative. Thanks for that

Cheers

[campnfish]

I second that - thank you for the very informative post!