Nottawasaga/Barrie newbie questions.

[Reider]

Hello all. I am happy to have discovered such an excellent resource of fishing knowledge and stories that this forum provides. I am moving to Barrie for school in a week, and seeing as I don't have a boat, I am curious about any good shore fishing spots in the area.

 

I have heard about the epic steelhead/rainbow fishing on the Nottawasaga and I have a few questions.. Are there any special permits/licenses that I will need? What kind of bait/tackle/rod will I need? When do they start running? and lastly, are there any spots that are superior?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I am new to river fishing. Thanks!

[Riparian]

Welcome Reider. I dont fish the notty much but heres what I know...

 

You will find heavy numbers of people fishing the mouth of the notty in october/november. Most of them are throwing spoons for salmon and trout. If you look at a map, you will see the notty in wasaga beach. Follow its course with your vehicle and you will find more spots to fish, but the mouth is a good start. This logic can be used with any river and creek in ontario. As for gear, spinning tackle works well, Id recomend a rod in the 10ft range, but you will see alot of float fishing center-pin gear also. Bait for floatfishing includes flies, pink worms and roe bags.

 

Good luck... and dont be discouraged by skunked outings.

[Fisherman]

If you have a a car, come west on highway #90. about 12km west of Barrie, upon entering the village of Angus(sometimes the "G" has tape over it), right at the first old steel bridge, you'll see the Salmon fest trailer on the right. About 100 meters further on the left side of the highway is the entrance to the old conservation office parking lot. Stop in there and watch. Essa township requires you obtain a Township permit, $20, but if you enter the Salmon fest for a bit more, it's included for the year. I believe the permits are available at the library in town or the Home Hardware.

[fatherof3]

welcome and good luck

[Reider]

Awesome! Thanks alot for the info.

[tonyb]

Nottawasaga River, located 40 minutes from Toronto. The southest part of this river is one of the best rivers to go for salmon run. This one it's "one-of-a-kind". Open all year round from the Boyne River to Georgian Bay there are lots of places you can fish on this one. The run is excellent because the level of water and the run starts early in here too (mid-August).

 

Where to go? It is difficult to say where to go on this one because there are too many places you can fish in here. One of my preferred places to go here is in Angus; almost all the time we go here for salmon run we have action, and we have to consider also that Angus is just about 40 minutes from Toronto. To get there is easy; take Hwy 400 north and exit on Hwy 90 and go west, before you cross the bridge of Nottawasaga River you will see a road at your right where you will find lots of parking. Some people camp here for the weekend. Other places to go on this one are near Wassaga Beach and in the conservation park.

 

Hope this helps...

Tony

[misfish]

(sometimes the "G" has tape over it

 

 

Now who would go and do that