The Grand River

[dcrisci]

Hey guys im heading over to my brothers this weekend which happens to be right near the grand. Ive never fished this river but i am definitely going to hit it up while I'm there.
I understand that no one wants to give away their spots (and im definitely not here to ask) but im just wondering if anyone has any reports to how its been doing lately.
I was thinking that with all this rain it will definitely bring up some nice amounts of steel but ill have to see.

Also my brother told me he lives like five minutes from the dam, but I'm definitely going to try going to a stretch further up, just wondering if anyone could give a pointer or two about how far to go.

 

[pop-vlado]

I was in the York region today - water was still super muddy. I figure it needs 2 days to calm down. The dam in Caledonia was better. The water was clearer and there was some fish being caught. If you're going there over the weekend, be prepared to fish shoulder to shoulder. If you want something quieter, just wade down the river.

 

[dcrisci]

I was in the York region today - water was still super muddy. I figure it needs 2 days to calm down. The dam in Caledonia was better. The water was clearer and there was some fish being caught. If you're going there over the weekend, be prepared to fish shoulder to shoulder. If you want something quieter, just wade down the river.

Yeah I'll have to probably end up in a quieter area, my brother has never really been fishing for trout before so im hoping to show him how to handle himself and then i can get to my fly fishing

Thanks for the info dude!

 

[muskyman]

Was in the brantford area of the gran going for steelhead a couple days ago....Seems like things are still a little slow, but may pick up with the recent rain. Not sure what the forecast has been over there, but hopefully things pick up. Fished for about 4 hours on the fly, not a hit or a sighting. Good luck

 

[dcrisci]

Was in the brantford area of the gran going for steelhead a couple days ago....Seems like things are still a little slow, but may pick up with the recent rain. Not sure what the forecast has been over there, but hopefully things pick up. Fished for about 4 hours on the fly, not a hit or a sighting. Good luck

Thanks for the info! My brother lives closer to cambridge so Im going to have to convince him to end up fishing somewhere way further down the river. IM thinking its way too early for the steel to be around cambridge area but also wondering if the recent rain could cause them to be brought up quicker. Anyone elses thoughts on this? Or maybe ill just have to come back with my own report!

 

[Ridx]

Just got back from fishing the grand in Brantford, down at the cemetary hole, water is alot higher since i was last down due to the rain. no fish or signs of any. Was the only one down there fishing this morning.

 

[NADO]

Grand has a record low run of steelhead this year, most of the regulars are going home with nothing on a regular basis. I would stick to other rivers this year if I were you. :neutral:

 

[FishBones]

All the Erie tribs are suffering from VERY LOW water conditions and in a nut shell the fishing has been crappy so far to say the least! Man I wish I was as lucky as the guys in the east showing off monster bows and browns already......It could be a very slow fall/winter for the popular Erie tribs.... :sad:

 

[dcrisci]

darn eh, thats pretty upsetting!
I dont know if my bro will want to end up in the east side just because hes not as ambitious as I when it comes to trout lol
Might just have to end up fishing for something else, or else it will be an empty handed morning.

Thanks for the info Addicted, NADO, and Ridx! Much appreciated

 

[chromaticaberrations]

As others have said the water has been low, just like every where else in the province, blah blah blah. I live right by the grand and fish it regularly. There are some fish making it over the "high" dams, but not many at all. The grand is a large river, so it takes some time to find alternate spots. As long as you take into consideration the height of the larger dams, coupled with the low water, you'll understand where your efforts have to be concentrated (downstream). As always, pay attention to the regulations and exceptions on the grand. Good fish can be found, but you gotta put in the work. Here's one from last week that I hit on one of my new "phenom" jigs.

 

[dcrisci]

As others have said the water has been low, just like every where else in the province, blah blah blah. I live right by the grand and fish it regularly. There are some fish making it over the "high" dams, but not many at all. The grand is a large river, so it takes some time to find alternate spots. As long as you take into consideration the height of the larger dams, coupled with the low water, you'll understand where your efforts have to be concentrated (downstream). As always, pay attention to the regulations and exceptions on the grand. Good fish can be found, but you gotta put in the work. Here's one from last week that I hit on one of my new "phenom" jigs.

Havent been on the forum for a few days now but I went out to the grand on sunday and went home with no fish hooked. My brother and I didn't get too far out of cambridge though so we were definitely way too far upstream Im thinking.

 

[chris f]

As others have said the water has been low, just like every where else in the province, blah blah blah. I live right by the grand and fish it regularly. There are some fish making it over the "high" dams, but not many at all. The grand is a large river, so it takes some time to find alternate spots. As long as you take into consideration the height of the larger dams, coupled with the low water, you'll understand where your efforts have to be concentrated (downstream). As always, pay attention to the regulations and exceptions on the grand. Good fish can be found, but you gotta put in the work. Here's one from last week that I hit on one of my new "phenom" jigs.

nice job, nice looking fish thanks for posting and sharing the photo and some tips as well

 

[chromaticaberrations]

Havent been on the forum for a few days now but I went out to the grand on sunday and went home with no fish hooked. My brother and I didn't get too far out of cambridge though so we were definitely way too far upstream Im thinking.

Been working out of town all week so sorry for the late reply. I think Cambridge is way too far up stream for a lake run steelhead at this point. Yes, there will be resident trout from the grand up that way, but it'll take a lot for a lake run fish to be up that far considering the height of all the dams in the way. Got out last Sunday for an hour and a half at a "mid-way" point on the grand that's still open, and caught nothing as the height of the river doubled in a week and visibility was at about 12". That's the fun I have in all this though. I can't stand fishing popular spots shoulder to shoulder. I can't even stand being within 20 feet of another angler. I'm an off the grid kinda dude that would rather catch one a day and explore than catch half a dozen in a well known spot. I like capturing video, good photos and trying new prototype colours of the marabou jigs I tie. All of that is hard to do when you're standing around a pool with 25 other dudes. The high water takes away spots and creates new runs and riffles. It's a challenge in the grand admittedly due to the sheer size of the river. My earlier posts were sort of aimed at helping people that prefer to catch in numbers.