Ganaraska River, Lake Ontario Stream
By Scott E. Smith
The Ganie', as she is affectionately referred to by those who love this
stream, is one of Ontario's greatest steelhead streams. In fact, I experienced
the best fly fishing for steelhead in my life on the Ganie'. Rivaled in number
of steelhead by only Wilmot Creek, the Ganaraska receives in excess of
10,000 steelhead during the spring run. One can come to grips with the
magnitude of this run by standing below the fishway on the Corbett Dam
in the town of Port Hope and watching the incredible numbers of steelhead
lining up below the dam and jumping into the fishway (understandably a fish
sanctuary). Below the sanctuary to the mouth of the river on Lake Ontario
is where the biggest steelhead in the province are caught each year. Numerous
steelhead in excess of twenty pounds spawn in this lower stretch of the river
rather than trek through the bedrock shallows and the upstream dam and fishway.
It goes without saying that this stretch of river also gets a tremendous run of anglers,
but if you're intent on a big silver steelhead, this is the place. The best bet to avoid
crowds here would be to fish during absolute tough weather - when only the
grittiest of die-hards fish this stretch.
Above the fishway is a substantial stretch of river that flows through rich farmland.
There are numerous places to access the Ganaraska along country roads but many
of these are posted, private property. Some research and planning, and polite
inquiries, can result in opportunities on private water. There are also a number
of stretches that are leased by private clubs, and if one is really serious about
fishing the Ganaraska without the crowds this would be the best avenue to pursue.
I was lucky enough to fish some private water on the Ganaraska with Sage rod
representative, Bob McKensie, of Oshawa. We fished two nice stretches of
river both during and after a heavy spring rain. In the morning, while the rain
poured down on our heads, we had a number of hook-ups with steelhead until
the river became so muddy that poor visibility made fly fishing fruitless. We
returned the next morning and fished the entire day as the river cleared
progressively as the day went on. Surprisingly, by evening the river was
very clear and the fish were once again quite skittish, but during the middle
phases of this clearing process, I hooked and landed more steelhead than
I could imagine. In fact I lost count. And as evening approached I purposefully
took apart my rod and stowed away my reel so I would have to stop fishing
and take a rest. I landed several typical Lake Ontario steelhead in the eight- to
twelve-pound class, a couple of fish in the low teens and a big, bad, dark
male that likely went in the neighborhood of fifteen.
This was an interesting experience. Early in the day, when the river was still quite
turbid with runoff, the flies that produced the best were bright egg/attractor patterns
like and Cactus Fly and the Nympho.[Shown above.] As the day progressed and the water cleared,
the fish began to disdain these patterns so I dug some natural-looking nymphs out of
my trout box and continued to dupe big steelhead. In the low-light conditions of
late evening I fished some more private water farther upstream and hooked both
drop-backs and fresh fish that were moving through some shallow runs just
downstream of prime spawning beds. I actually observed several steelhead
open their mouths and take my nymph in the clear, shallow water. This was
important for me to observe, as I have often heard steelhead anglers say that
these fish do not feed on nymphs during their spawning runs, and most hook-ups
by fly anglers occur in inadvertently "lining" fish: that is drifting the leader through
their mouths and then setting the hook into the side of their head. Clearly observing
these fish open their mouths and suck in my nymph pattern blew that myth out
of the water. In steelhead fishing there are a lot of opinions, and one thing is
for sure, opinions are like brains: everybody has one!
In additional to these memorable steelhead runs, the Ganaraska boasts big runs
of Lake Ontario Chinook salmon, some in excess of thirty pounds. Like many
other streams in this region, the Ganie' is also a good bet for migratory brown
trout. ~ Scott E. Smith
Credits: From Ontario, Blue-Ribbon Fly Fishing Guide
by Scott E. Smith. We thank
Frank Amato Publications, Inc. for use permission!
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