Welland River near Chippawa

[evster]

My brother-in-law and I are thinking of trying the Welland River starting down by Chippawa and working towards the Welland Canal. Has anyone ever been on this stretch of the river? Is it boatable? I am assuming it is because there is a marina down there.

 

Anyone know what the fishing is like? We just have a small boat so we don't want to venture out into the Niagara.

Edited August 18, 2008 by evster

[HTHM]

There is a free boat launch at the rear of the Wellandport Community Center, I have caught bass and catfish out of that section.

As well it is not so far to drive as Chippewa.

Check this post out for more info...

http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11290

Edited August 18, 2008 by hometownhandyman

[jwl]

that part of the Welland River all the way from the mouth of the Niagara to the aquaduct is some great fishing opportunities.

 

lots of bass, pike, panfish depending on where you are fishing. There is a free launch at the end of Sodom rd.

 

You do have to be aware that all the way from the mouth of the Niagara to past the first bridge/campground is a no wake zone, and is generally enforced as such....if you have a smaller boat there is also the option of taking a bit of a run into Lyon's Creek, at the boat club...you need to be aware that it's pretty shallow under that bridge but there is a channel to the left that runs down most of the creek, you can catch largies and pike in there, you can safely take the creek all the way to the first bridge then be careful of pilings when going under the bridge, then you can take it down all the way to the next bridge...be extra craeful there it is very shallow and lots of pilings under the bridge, but if you lift the motor and go under, you can still go a bit before it gets too choked up with weeds.

 

Now back to the Welland River....if you head down past the bridge area I mentioned after the No Wake zone is another bridge and railroad bridge..be sure to follow the channel marker there under the bridge...you will see all the pilings and why..but those pilings hold some nice largies, both sides of the river all the way down to the aquaduct are lined with a weed edge..great for topwaters..or pitching plastics for largies..there are smallies in the deeper water, channel cats, also pike in the weedy areas..chance of a musky, there is even the odd walleye in toward the aquaduct. Tonnes of water to fish, and great for smaller boats.

 

hope that helps, I grew up fishing that water.with over 30 years experience

Edited August 19, 2008 by jwl

[Guest Johnny Bass]

WOW! All you left out was GPS co-ordinates JWL. Can you catch channel cats on lures in that water? It looks a little murky. Can you catch them in the day and are the big ones in there all year?

 

If I go to my brother in laws trailer next year at Sherkston shores, I might give it a try.

[bpsbassman]

If you launch in Chippawa it is really strange because the river flows backwards. It is part of the feeder system for the power generators. The water there (from the Niagara) is deep and green with a strong current. When you get to the area where the feeder stream forks off (drum barrier), you can see a distinct mud line from the water coming down from the Welland River.

There are some good size bass under the bridges. I don't remember the fishing being as good as jwl says, but it sounds like he knows the water better.

If you follow the river all the way back to the Welland Canal, you will come to a huge wall at the end. I did a little research and the Welland River actuallly siphons under the Welland canal!!

Good luck and let us know how you do.

[evster]

Whoa! Awesome guys thanks for the info! I fished the part of the river hometownhandyman suggested and have done well, just want to see some more water.

 

We are targeting largies so thanks for the info jwl. We just have a 14 foot tinny with a bowmount so as long as there is about 5 inches of water we can get into it. Sounds like we should focus on the bridges.

 

What should we expect to contend with in terms of boat traffic this time of year?

[evster]

LOL. I just followed the link hometownhandyman posted and realized it was my thread from last year lol! I guess I should follow my own advice

[jwl]

WOW! All you left out was GPS co-ordinates JWL. Can you catch channel cats on lures in that water? It looks a little murky. Can you catch them in the day and are the big ones in there all year?

 

If I go to my brother in laws trailer next year at Sherkston shores, I might give it a try.

 

the water is clear all the way from the river , doesn't start to get murky until you get past the train bridge and toward the aquaduct, sometimes there is a mudline from where the canal meets the Welland and the mouth of Grassy brooks, but generally it doesn't start to get muddy until way down toward the aquaduct.

 

As for the channel cats you can catch them all year long in there, I generally use big chubs or a couple broken up worms on a slip sinker rig to get those. As for bass and pike and panfish...don't over look using a float with the current along the weed edges ..also be aware that if you are facing the train bridge , to left is the mouth of Grassy brooks...watch for a rocky ledge there, the water is clear you can see it...there is a tough current there but if you know how to drift the boat in the current you can see some nice largies come up onto that edge...in the slower waters toward the aquaduct try tossing some spinner baits for pike...yellow...black/yellow and whites are your best bet for that

[jwl]

Whoa! Awesome guys thanks for the info! I fished the part of the river hometownhandyman suggested and have done well, just want to see some more water.

 

We are targeting largies so thanks for the info jwl. We just have a 14 foot tinny with a bowmount so as long as there is about 5 inches of water we can get into it. Sounds like we should focus on the bridges.

 

What should we expect to contend with in terms of boat traffic this time of year?

 

boat traffic isn't too bad on week days as there is a huge no wake zone there anyways....the bridge that crosses stanley Ave, by the campground where the No Wake Zone ends is really deep in a couple spots but the current is quick under the bridge...great spot for smallies..once you get past the train bridge there is really not too much boat traffic..even most from the boat club there head out to the Niagara....try the heavy weed edges by the ES Fox plant for big largies and pike , once you see the area I am sure you will notice a couple key areas you would try out

[Sugarpacket]

No there's no fish there don't go!

 

If you REALLY want to get skunked, toss big flippin' jigs to emergent wood cover in the shallows.

 

oops wrong person logged in that post was by RICH! haha

Edited August 19, 2008 by Sugarpacket

[Hellfish]

lol @ jack. Theres no fish in that system it is all a myth. Cruise the shorelines from the aquaduct all the way to the launch prolly take 3-4hrs to do so but you will get into bass musky and pike without a doubt. I heard a rumour there was a 8lber pulled out from a tree 2yrs back so there is def good fish there.

[evster]

Well....don't have much of a report, but there is good potential there for sure.

 

Thanks to everyone who provided me with soooo much info!!

 

We only managed to boat a bunch of sub-pound bass, which was weird because we caught them all on big flipping jigs and usually the smaller ones shy away from them. The biggest bass of the day was a smallie that probably went 1.5 pounds. We caught him while just drifting a few feet off the drop off with tubes.

 

Now, we only put the small ones in the boat, that doesn't mean we didn't have any action with bigger ones. The big ones just seemed to come unpinned really easily. I was using a rod I don't usually use for jigs and I think it was contributing to that, I just wasn't getting the hookset I needed. I lost about 3 bass in the 3-4 pound range judging by what I saw. I also lost a huge bowfin. And I saw a little musky just sitting in the middle of the river.

 

All the fish we caught, and also the ones we lost were in the weedbeds. We were just dunking pockets because most of the lumber was choked in weeds anyway. There were lots of bass around the train bridge but after loosing one on my first cast they wouldn't be tricked again in that clear water.

 

I will definitely try it again some time, maybe later in the year when the other boats decide to stay home. Lots of wake boarders and jetskis running full tilt through some narrow spots.

[bucketmouthjohnny]

Thanks for the report!! Those bass at the train bridge are tough to get!!

[bigugli]

Thanks for the report!! Those bass at the train bridge are tough to get!!

YOu just weren't giving them what they want

[rockfish]

boat traffic isn't too bad on week days as there is a huge no wake zone there anyways....the bridge that crosses stanley Ave, by the campground where the No Wake Zone ends is really deep in a couple spots but the current is quick under the bridge...great spot for smallies..once you get past the train bridge there is really not too much boat traffic..even most from the boat club there head out to the Niagara....try the heavy weed edges by the ES Fox plant for big largies and pike , once you see the area I am sure you will notice a couple key areas you would try out

 

 

I see a bunch of NFNers have migrated over here, when we going on that Muskie Mission Jack ? Me and the bigugli haven't found much on the river except snags around the 406 towards the shipping canal.

 

Edited August 27, 2008 by rockfish

[bigugli]

I see a bunch of NFNers have migrated over here, when we going on that Muskie Mission Jack ? Me and the bigugli haven't found much on the river except snags around the 406 towards the shipping canal.

 

 

They speak this wonderful lost language here that has been lost elsewhere. It's called "FISHING"