Sunday Evening - Rideau River

[northernfly]

The Nicholson Locks area is close to home and one of my favorite parts of the Rideau for a quick bit of fishing but I haven't fished it much this year because of the high water. I decided to give it a try last night since it seemed like the Rideau water levels have dropped enough to make wading a possibility. I was on the water just after 5 and although the water is lower, it was still too high to wade between the old bridge pillars and the new bridge so I headed up above the ledge.

Fishing started quickly on a Misfit with lots of small bass hitting the fly on along the edges of the fast water. Some were larger than others approaching 10 inches. In the strong current they put up a good fight. It didn’t take long for the Misfit to lose its hackle and since I didn’t have any more I switched to a woolly bugger which seemed to work almost as well. Overall I managed to catch 30 fish in just under an hour and a half. At that point I moved below the ledge to try my luck along the shore. There wasn’t much action (one bluegill) but I did spot either a pike or musky hanging around the calm water around my feet. I tied on a more substantial offering to see if I could coax him into a hit but with no luck.

I then moved down below the bridge entering at the canoe portage. The water is pretty deep so I couldn’t get too far out. I managed one hit but lost it before I could see what it was. As I walked back to the car, I stopped to watch the hex hatch (around 7:15pm) which was in full force. It was fun to see the small bass rising to the surface. There were also a number of birds enjoying the hatch too – looked like cedar wax wings. I headed home around 7:30pm. A good bit of fun for a short evening.

[beachburger]

I have never been to the area you describe. When (if?) the water drops is it worth a trip from the 'burbs of Ottawa for an evening? Is there calmer water that is good for the float tube?

[Todd B.]

Glad to hear you had a better evening than myself. The cold front completely killed the bite here in town.

[northernfly]

Is there calmer water that is good for the float tube?

I am pretty confident there are areas for a float tube where the current isn't much more than where we fished for pike in the spring. I haven't tried but it is worth the effort.

[Jigs]

Glad to hear you had a better evening than myself. The cold front completely killed the bite here in town.

ditto, the Rideau near Smiths Falls............dead

......snapped the end off the rod, too.


(for now)