My Grand River experince

[misfish]

It would seem I picked a day where rain fell hard over night in Fergus. Arrived to dirty water and green clumps of bottom growth floating down the river.  This river system is huge and fish could be anywhere. Looked up and down the river deciding on  a spot to try first. I see a nice spot where there a split. Start walking across and oops, man down. LOL Gather myself and get to my first rip. A beaded barbless nymph under an indicator, was my set up.  Third drift and fish on. Then off,just as quick. Little chunky brown jumped and spit. EXCITED I WAS.Most of been the only fish in the section,as I did not get another hit. Fished this section for 2 hours then moved down to the next access spot.  There were 3 guys fishing there already, so decided to move on and give Brad a call ( cuz I got lost ) and check out a spot he told me about. We met up for a coffee and off I was again. This spot I liked. Some slow deep water with rips up and down it. The scenery was AWESOME. I missed a real good hit at the end of a drift. Almost yanked the rod out of my hand. The water here was much clearer and less debris floating down. I noticed  small birds were flying very close to the water,but could not see any bug action. Not sure why they were doing this. I tried dry fly's, but nothing was taking them off the surface, so back to the nymph and indicator. A couple of chubb, then my first grand brown. Nothing big,but my first.

What a very cool river.

A selfie. 

 

This river system is on my radar from now on. I will be back in September before closer.

The fly shop was cool. Very friendly fella.

Was great to meet you today Brad, and a BIG thanks for the help today.  

[Hack_Fisherman]

Looks like a great intro to the Grand. I have been so busy trying to fish out of a boat that I completely forget to try my hand for those beautiful  Browns  

[Terry]

Looks like a great spot

[kickingfrog]

Thought you might tube it.

[spincast]

new waters,  tough conditions, not bad results . Great day to be out exploring the waters. The Grand is an awesome fishery but a lot of pressure in  the easy to access areas.. Think pontoon or tube, just sayin,,,,,,,, I've never done that end, but lots lower down with good results. 

Edited July 22, 2018 by spincast

[Old Ironmaker]

Fish downstream of York this fall for Trout 10X that size. Then come for lunch and pick up your U.S. Divers flippers.

[Rizzo]

Some great pictures. You were only a few kms from my house but I have never actually fished the grand

[Tom S]

The Grand is a very cool river. I love how it flows through some urban areas, yet once unless you're directly in the center of those urban areas you wouldn't know it, and there are some stretches that can be difficult to access. Imagine that - a large river running through a highly populated area there are large stretches that are essentially unchanged. Unheard of and under appreciated.

Edited July 22, 2018 by Tom S

[dave524]

Thanks for the report,  glad the nymph and indicator worked for you. I always found it my go to setup there. I actually ran nymphs there below a small float on my centrepin and 13 foot float rod on occasion , worked well even if you had to endure the disapproving stares of the fly fishing purists ? 

[misfish]

Thanks guys for the replies.  I have to say again, this system is so big and from what I seen, these fish could be anywhere. I am jacked to go back. If I had to live anywhere else but here on Simcoe, Fergus would be my choice. Start from the top and work my way way  down.  One thing for sure about the walking is, it,s not those nice round rocks like up here.  Hard walking. Time to get the walking stick again. Use to use one alot on the credit and humber.

Failed to mention I watched a osprey dive into river claws first ,but came up empty. That was cool to see.

5 hours ago, dave524 said:

Thanks for the report,  glad the nymph and indicator worked for you. I always found it my go to setup there. I actually ran nymphs there below a small float on my centrepin and 13 foot float rod on occasion , worked well even if you had to endure the disapproving stares of the fly fishing purists ? 

Funny,that is what Brad told me as well. LOL

The upper part I fished Rob was too skinny in many parts to ride the toon down. Plus I would probly be in Paris before I wanted to go back. LOL

[porkpie]

Better luck next time Brian.  It is a beautiful place and worth a return visit, especially when there's not so much construction going on!

[misfish]

8 minutes ago, porkpie said:

Better luck next time Brian.  It is a beautiful place and worth a return visit, especially when there's not so much construction going on!

My next trip I,ll need to remember to pick up a box of those crawdads for ya. Free delivery. ?

[AKRISONER]

glad you actually got some action. I swear when im fly fishing a river, it just seems so much different when you actually get a bite vs fishing in a lake. Its almost like i feel like I have to perfect everything to even have a chance at hooking up, but when you do the sense of accomplishment is on another level.

It sometimes feels crazy that fish could be living in such crazy fast running water.

you should give the salmon in the credit a shot in september...you can easily get away from the crowds...you just gotta use your head.

[porkpie]

3 hours ago, misfish said:

My next trip I,ll need to remember to pick up a box of those crawdads for ya. Free delivery. ?

 

That's an offer I'll take you up on!  One of my kids has me building crawfish traps in the basement for our fishing trip next week.  He's determined to catch enough to boil at the dock!  I told him not to hold his breath lol.

[Snidley]

I fished the Grand on Saturday and did well on smallmouth. Lots of places to toon on the Grand. It is a great fishery but you have to be aware of the flow from rain and that bottom weed can be a miserable pestilence when it's about. On Saturday I had no issues with green stringy weeds and at some points the wind was  so strong that it was blowing me upstream which makes for a less strenuous paddle back to the car

[misfish]

I was in the Fergus area. Tooning in the parts I fished would not of been that great,

[ROOK]

Not looking for hot spots but am wondering if someone can pass on easy access points for a kayak launch ...would love to tangle with some smallies in the river !!

thanks in advance... ROOK

[lureme]

On 7/21/2018 at 4:21 PM, misfish said:

It would seem I picked a day where rain fell hard over night in Fergus. Arrived to dirty water and green clumps of bottom growth floating down the river.  This river system is huge and fish could be anywhere. Looked up and down the river deciding on  a spot to try first. I see a nice spot where there a split. Start walking across and oops, man down. LOL Gather myself and get to my first rip. A beaded barbless nymph under an indicator, was my set up.  Third drift and fish on. Then off,just as quick. Little chunky brown jumped and spit. EXCITED I WAS.Most of been the only fish in the section,as I did not get another hit. Fished this section for 2 hours then moved down to the next access spot.  There were 3 guys fishing there already, so decided to move on and give Brad a call ( cuz I got lost ) and check out a spot he told me about. We met up for a coffee and off I was again. This spot I liked. Some slow deep water with rips up and down it. The scenery was AWESOME. I missed a real good hit at the end of a drift. Almost yanked the rod out of my hand. The water here was much clearer and less debris floating down. I noticed  small birds were flying very close to the water,but could not see any bug action. Not sure why they were doing this. I tried dry fly's, but nothing was taking them off the surface, so back to the nymph and indicator. A couple of chubb, then my first grand brown. Nothing big,but my first.

What a very cool river.

A selfie. 

 

This river system is on my radar from now on. I will be back in September before closer.

The fly shop was cool. Very friendly fella.

Was great to meet you today Brad, and a BIG thanks for the help today.  

To fish or not to fish is not the question, but  "where and when may get you there"

[Rattletrap2]

Mr. B, those pictures are mesmerizing! It is a beautiful place indeed. I think I know the access points you mentioned as I pass there often going to Kitchener. The Brown Trout has to be one of the most beautiful fish that swims around these parts!