Ontario river fishing, river by river
Eleven rivers, live flow and water temperature for each, and an honest note on what each one is actually like. If you only want to know where to go today, the conditions tool will pick for you.
Which river, and when
The single most useful thing to know about Ontario rivers is that they do not run on one schedule. Salmon timing shifts by roughly a month from the earliest eastern creeks to the latest western ones, and resident trout water is a separate calendar again.
| If you want | Go here | When |
|---|---|---|
| The earliest salmon | Ganaraska, Bowmanville, Wilmot | Mid-Aug – mid-Oct |
| Salmon close to Toronto | Credit, Humber, Rouge | Sept – mid-Oct |
| The last salmon of the year | Bronte Creek | Oct – Nov |
| Spring steelhead | Saugeen, Nottawasaga | April – May |
| Trout in summer | Grand tailwater, Upper Credit | Opener – Sept 30 |
Timing in full is in the river-by-river salmon run guide.
Ganaraska River
Port Hope · 60 min east of TorontoThe biggest and best-known salmon run east of Toronto, and one of the earliest in the province. Fish stage off Port Hope harbour from July and push into the river from mid-August. It also takes days rather than hours to drop after rain — a legacy of the 1940s reforestation of its headwaters — which makes it far easier to plan around than most creeks.
Chinook
Coho
Steelhead
BrownNote: the reach from Jocelyn Street to the CNR right-of-way is closed 1 September to 14 October, reopening 15 October to 31 December.
Bowmanville Creek
Clarington · 50 min east of TorontoA small creek with a run out of proportion to its size, and the friendliest place on this list to spend a morning — the valley trail is paved, and you will share it with walkers and birdwatchers as much as anglers. It rises and drops in one to two days, so the fishable window after rain is short.
ChinookCohoSteelheadBrownNote: no fishing within 120 metres upstream or downstream of the fish ladder at the Goodyear Dam.
Duffins Creek
Ajax · PickeringA prolific steelhead and salmon creek that runs two to three weeks ahead of the western rivers, with noticeably less pressure than the Credit. Brook trout hold in the upper reaches through summer.
SteelheadChinookCoho
BrookWilmot Creek
Newcastle · ClaringtonSmall water, large Chinook, and one of the earliest eastern runs. Fish crowd the lower pools through September and October, which makes it productive and tight in equal measure.
ChinookCohoSteelheadSaugeen River
Southampton · Paisley · Lake HuronThe steelhead river people drive three hours for. Big, powerful fish in big water, with the lower main stem below Paisley peaking April into May. A different scale from the Lake Ontario tributaries.
SteelheadChinookCohoNottawasaga River
Wasaga Beach · Alliston · Georgian BayThe main Georgian Bay system, running from escarpment headwaters down to the Wasaga Beach mouth. A large, varied river where the lower section fishes very differently from the middle.
SteelheadChinookCohoNote: Rainbow Trout are catch-and-release from the Boyne downstream to the Pine River.
Rouge River
Markham · ScarboroughAn urban wilderness run inside Rouge National Urban Park. Chinook and steelhead within the city limits, with surprisingly low pressure for how accessible it is.
ChinookSteelheadBrown
Credit River
Caledon · Mississauga · 20–40 min from TorontoSouthern Ontario’s best-known trout river, and the one most people learn on. Cold water through the Niagara Escarpment above Norval holds wild browns and brookies; below the dam it becomes a migratory fishery, with steelhead and salmon from late August. Three very different rivers in one system — which reach you pick matters more here than anywhere else in the province.
Brown
RainbowBrookSteelheadChinookNote: the Forks of the Credit is artificial lures only, single barbless hook, and catch-and-release for trout. The reach from Hwy 403 to Britannia closes 15 August to 31 December.
Grand River
Elora · Fergus · CambridgeThe longest river in Southern Ontario, and the tailwater below Shand Dam is one of the few genuinely year-round trout fisheries in the province — the dam keeps water temperatures workable through summer. Big browns, technical water, and a strong hatch calendar.
BrownRainbowSteelheadNote: the Fergus and Elora reaches are artificial lures only with a single barbless hook, catch-and-release for trout, and closed 1 October to 31 December.
Bronte Creek
Oakville · MiltonAn intimate Halton stream with resident browns and brookies in the upper headwaters, and a migratory run that arrives later than anywhere else on this list — Bronte is the last river of the season, running into late October and November when everything else is finishing.
BrownBrookSteelheadHumber River
Toronto · WoodbridgeA genuinely urban river with better fishing than it has any right to have. Steelhead and Chinook run up from Lake Ontario in the lower reaches, and the headwaters above the 407 hold resident browns. Reachable by TTC, which almost nothing else here is.
BrownSteelheadChinook
Not sure which one? The conditions tool ranks them for today’s flow, water temperature and run timing, and tells you which access point to head for.
Find my spot today →Common questions
Which Ontario river should I fish today?
It depends on the season and the water. Eastern Lake Ontario rivers — the Ganaraska, Bowmanville and Wilmot — run salmon earliest, from mid-to-late August. Central rivers like the Credit, Humber and Rouge follow two to three weeks later, and Bronte runs last, into November. For resident trout, the Grand tailwater fishes year-round and the upper Credit is best from the April opener to 30 September.
When is the best time to fish for salmon in Ontario?
Chinook stage off the river mouths from July, enter from mid-to-late August, and peak mid-September to mid-October. Coho follow into late October. The best single condition is falling water 24 to 48 hours after rain.
Which Ontario rivers have steelhead?
Most Lake Ontario tributaries hold them. The Saugeen on Lake Huron and the Nottawasaga on Georgian Bay are the largest systems, peaking in April and May.