Ontario Trout Fishing Trips
Guided fly, spin and centerpin fishing for brown, brook and rainbow trout on the Grand River at Fergus and Elora, the small clear water of the Upper Credit, and the Eramosa River near Rockwood and Eden Mills.
Wild and resident trout, close to the city
From the fourth Saturday in April to October 1, trout trips move to the rivers that belong to resident trout. It is a completely different kind of fishing: lighter tackle, smaller flies, more watercraft, and a lot more of what most people mean when they say fly fishing.
Three very different fisheries are within easy reach. The Grand River below the Shand Dam is a big limestone tailwater that stays cold through summer and holds a strong head of brown trout. The upper Credit is a small, clear, technical stream with brown, brook and rainbow trout. And the Eramosa, near Rockwood and Eden Mills, is small, intimate brown trout water close to Guelph.
Both are walk and wade. Both reward a careful approach far more than a long cast.
The two trout fisheries
Grand River — Fergus & Elora
Brown trout. A tailwater that runs cold below the reservoir, with long runs, limestone ledges and real hatches. Big enough to fish a dry fly properly, broken enough to Euro nymph, and deep enough for streamers.
Portions of the Fergus and Elora water carry special regulations — artificial lures only, a single barbless hook, and no harvest of trout in specified stretches. In practice that means wild, pressured, well-educated fish.
Upper Credit River
Brown, brook and rainbow trout. Small water under a tree canopy, clear enough that the fish see you first if you are careless. Short accurate casts, dry flies, tight-line nymphing through pocket water, and small streamers.
Sections of the upper river also carry artificial-lure, single-barbless-hook and mandatory trout-release rules. It is the most technical water we guide, and the most satisfying when it works.
Eramosa River — Rockwood & Eden Mills
Brown trout, with brook trout in the cooler reaches. A small river running through Rockwood and Eden Mills on its way to the Speed River at Guelph. Riffles, undercut banks and pools under the trees — intimate water where a quiet approach and a short, accurate cast count for more than distance.
It is the closest of our trout rivers to Guelph, and small enough that fly, spin and a light float all have their place.
How we fish for trout
Fly, spin or centerpin — say which you prefer, or let the water decide.
Dry fly
When fish are looking up. June in particular can give genuinely good dry fly fishing on the Grand, and the upper Credit rewards a well-placed dry all season.
Euro / tight-line nymphing
Sasha's specialty. Direct contact with weighted nymphs, no slack, no indicator. The most effective way to fish pocket water and broken runs, and the technique most clients ask to learn.
Indicator nymphing
For longer, deeper, more uniform runs where a suspended presentation covers water better than a tight line.
Streamers
For the bigger brown trout, particularly in higher or coloured water and later in the season. Fewer fish, larger average size.
Spin fishing
Light spinning gear with small spinners and lures. Easy to learn, quick to cover water, and a good way into trout for newer and younger anglers. Where a stretch calls for artificial lures and a single barbless hook, that is what we fish.
Centerpin for trout
A centerpin and a light float drifting naturally through the deeper runs. Best known for steelhead, but deadly on trout in the right water — and in lure-restricted stretches the rig follows the rules.
When to book a trout trip
May and June are the strongest general trout months — steady water, active fish and the best of the insect activity. June is the month to ask about dry fly fishing.
July and August become temperature-dependent. We fish mornings and evenings, favour the coldest water, and shorten or move a trip rather than fish trout in water that is too warm to release them safely.
September brings cooling water and good fishing again, often with very little company on the river. Trout trips run until October 1.
Trout trips run from the fourth Saturday in April, when the general Southern Ontario trout season opens, to October 1. Open seasons, sanctuary stretches and special rules vary by river and by section, and they change. Always check the current Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary for the water you are fishing. On a guided day, Sasha picks water that is legally open and in shape for the conditions.
Trout trip rates
Full Day
7–8 Hours
- 1 Angler$600
- 2 Anglers$675
Add a 3rd angler for $100. The most water, and the most teaching time.
Request this tripPrivate Lesson
3 Hours
- 1 Angler$375
- 2 Anglers$450
Centerpin or fly. Built around one thing you want to fix.
Request this tripTrout questions
Do I need to be able to fly cast already?
No. Beginners are welcome and the day adapts. If you have never held a fly rod, you will spend more of it casting and less of it covering water — which is the right trade on your first day. And if fly fishing is not for you, spin and centerpin trout trips are just as welcome.
What is Euro nymphing and should I try it?
Euro or tight-line nymphing means fishing weighted nymphs on a long leader in direct contact with the flies, with little or no line on the water. It is deadly in the kind of pocket water both the Grand and the upper Credit are full of, and it is Sasha's specialty.
Grand River, upper Credit or Eramosa?
The Grand is bigger water with more room to cast and a strong brown trout population. The upper Credit is small, clear and technical, with brown, brook and rainbow trout and a real premium on a careful approach. The Eramosa is the smallest and most intimate of the three, and the closest to Guelph. They are different days — say which appeals and we will match it.
Are trout trips catch and release?
We fish catch and release. Some stretches of both rivers also carry mandatory-release rules and gear restrictions by regulation. Either way, trout on a guided day go back in the water.
Book a trout trip
Say whether the Grand, the upper Credit or the Eramosa appeals and roughly when you want to fish.
Recent fish
