Bunch of questions related to fishing near Ottawa

[auscanman]

I'm a student (in Toronto during the academic year), working in Ottawa this summer, and should be moving here permanently from mid 2008 on. A big part of the reason I chose to work in Ottawa is how close the city is to a lot of fishing options. This weekend I managed to fit in a bit of fishing, and also scouted out some spots in Ottawa that looked promising. On Friday night I got about an hour of fishing in fishing from shore at the boat launch at Kars on the Rideau River. My trip was cut short when a thunderstorm rolled in, with only one rock bass to show! Got about 2 hours of fishing in on the Rideau today in Ottawa before my trip was again cut short by a thunderstorm.

 

Now that I've done a bit of exploring and had a chance to wet a line I have a bunch of questions:

 

Where can you get live minnows in Ottawa? I called 3 fishing stores and none had any, and none knew of where I could find any...

 

Is there nowhere on the Ottawa River that rents out boats near Ottawa? I called the Port-of-Call Marina to ask about renting a boat and they said they don't rent them out, and when I asked if they knew anyone who rents boats near Ottawa on the Ottawa River they said that nobody does?!? I plan on renting a boat out to fish most of the time, and from what I hear the Ottawa River has great fishing (but you really need a boat), so it'll be a bummer if that's the case.

 

Where are some decent shore fishing spots within 1.5 hours of Ottawa? I don't expect you to reveal your honey-hole, but anything that points me somewhere decent would be useful. Also, is the shore fishing on the Ottawa River right in Ottawa good?

 

Are there walleye all along the Rideau River? From what I've seen a lot of the river looks very shallow, pretty clear and weedy, with the occasional rapids. I'm guessing that walleye are probably hard to catch in there during the day, and that you probably need to be in the right stretch of river to have much luck even at night.

 

For the best fishing for pike, walleye, (and bass once they open) am I better heading west to Centennial/Black Donald/Norcan Lake, or south to the Rideau Lake area? The lakes west of here look pretty isolated, and from what I've read on the web, the fishing there sounds good, although I've also heard about how great the fishing on the Rideau Lakes is.

 

Finally, if anyone in the Ottawa area is renting a boat on any weekend during the summer, looking for a fishing buddy, and someone to split the cost with I'd be happy to be that buddy, seeing as I don't yet know anyone who's into fishing in Ottawa. Whenever possible, I'll post a message when I know where I'm going fishing, and would welcome anyone who wants to join me.

 

Thanks

[JustinHoffman]

Hey There,

 

I'll try to answer some of your questions, as I reside in Ottawa and spend a ton of my time on the water. If you have access to the May issue of Ontario Out of Doors, I wrote a feature article on Urban Fishing in Ottawa. Offered a bunch of shore/boat fishing spots in around town, transit info, species and baits.

Live minnows can be purchased at Bits and Baits - 1368 Main Street, Stittsville (613-831-9799), Manotick Bait - 1019 River Road, Manotick (613-692-5463), Voyageur Depot - 379 MacArthur Road, (613-741-3161) and Oziles - 1009 Trim Road, Orlean Petrie Island (613-841-0778).

 

Oziles, right on Petrie Island and the Ottawa River, rents boat. It is about a 15 minute drive from downtown Ottawa. One or two places on the Mississippi might also rent boats.

 

Again, as far as shore fishing spots, my article from last months OOD covered many. Anywhere along the Rideau (Dows Lake, Echolands, Mooneys Bay, Edinburgh Park, Kars, Manotick, Burrits Rapids etc.) are excellent spots. Spots along the Ottawa include Victoria Island, Petrie Island, Champlain Bridge, right behind Parliament, Constance Bay, will also produce.

 

Walleye can be found all along the Rideau. Many of the parts of the Rideau are not that shallow (Kars stretch especially), so there are many holes, breaklines, points and humps to locate them on. Many of the fish will directly relate to weeds, so dunking bucktail jigs in the thick stuff can produce decent fish. Many folk do catch walleye shore fishing, but your odds go up during morning, evening and night time hours.

 

Bass can be good on the Rideau, however, pressure can be very high during weekend periods. The Kars stretch is a good one for bass, and is especially good for muskie. Many 20+ pound fish roam this area. I will usually only hit the Rideau during the week, when boat, skiers and pleasure crafts are significantly lower. The Ottawa River can produce huge bass, and many target the Rockland area. Other lakes worth a look are the Mississippi, Clayton/Taylor and Otter. I have a few honey hole lakes that I won't devulge, but they have produced 6lb largies, and are within 1.5 hours of Ottawa.

 

Try this website/message board for Ottawa fishing information - www.fish-hawk.net.

Also, this website lists all of the boat launches in the area - http://www.geocities.com/ottawaboatramps/

 

And here is some urban spots, courtesy of the Ministry - http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/fishing/ottawa/urbanfishhome.htm

 

I'd also recommend picking up the Backwoods Mapbooks "Fishing Ontario - Eastern Ontario" edition. It lists all of the lakes in this region, gives maps for each, lists species and contact info. Can be found at Chapters or Maps of the World.

 

Hope this helped..

 

Good Fishing,

Justin

[Roy]

That's a poopload of great info for you there, Auscanman. Justin knows his stuff. Thanks Justin.

[auscanman]

Thanks Justin!

 

Answers pretty much all of my questions

[Crazyhook]

PM me when you are in town