Salmon from Shore

[CoachLutz]

Hey everyone -
I was able to get my teeth cut salmon fishing from shore in Oshawa a couple years ago. Sight fishing at it's finest! Alas, I moved to Ottawa and I'm looking to take my wife to a similar style to have her hook into her first salmon. Any suggestions where I can float fish from shore (preferably where I can see the fish as well)? Willing to drive up to 90 mins from the West End of Ottaw. Thanks!

[FLOATFISHIN]

There has been talk over the years of a small run in the Cornwall area. I've never bothered, for I don't fish the salmon run anymore, I wait for cooler temps and chase the bows. I have seen a few fish in years past in Lyn Cr in Brockville, but never bothered. as per a 90 minute drive, your closest place in such a short drive time frame is NY State. There is The Sandy, and Salmon River about 2.5 hr drive time, plus crossing the border, and buyin a NY tag (You can buy day tags) I used to live in Bowmanville, and all the long time members here, know I know my creek fishing. Your looking a a minimum 2-2.5 hr drive from Ottawa to any real runs, and this late in the year, they are all either done, or dying off. I'm heading east on Friday, but not for salmon, I'll be chasing bows, and browns. Next year, early to Mid Sept is best for a salmon run off Lake O.

Good luck!

F.F

[CoachLutz]

Thanks so much for the suggestions F.F. - I haven't gotten into chasing bows and browns yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I do. I've gone across to the NY side a few times (at this point, I should have bought the annual pass it would have been cheaper, lol) this year. I've never heard of any of those places, I'll have to take a gander.

Have a great time on your search, tight lines!
ROB

[RJ]

There has been talk over the years of a small run in the Cornwall area. I've never bothered, for I don't fish the salmon run anymore, I wait for cooler temps and chase the bows. I have seen a few fish in years past in Lyn Cr in Brockville, but never bothered. as per a 90 minute drive, your closest place in such a short drive time frame is NY State. There is The Sandy, and Salmon River about 2.5 hr drive time, plus crossing the border, and buyin a NY tag (You can buy day tags) I used to live in Bowmanville, and all the long time members here, know I know my creek fishing. Your looking a a minimum 2-2.5 hr drive from Ottawa to any real runs, and this late in the year, they are all either done, or dying off. I'm heading east on Friday, but not for salmon, I'll be chasing bows, and browns. Next year, early to Mid Sept is best for a salmon run off Lake O.

Good luck!

F.F

I'm no creek walker but I know this info to be bang on. Float knows his stuff.

RJ

[FLOATFISHIN]

Thanks RJ. And Rob, if you were interested in making a longer drive, say a 3-4 hr down the 401, mind you if your in the west end you can shave 30-45 mins off that time frame. If you wanted help on trying the bows (A million times more fun and challenging than the salmon) feel free to drop me a pm, and I can give you some starting points, as well, as an idea of my set-up and certain sure fire baits to use. I don't get away as often as I used to, but I'm happy to help as for this forum has done the same for me a zillion times over.

Tight Lines:

F.F

[CoachLutz]

F.F. - Wow! Thanks for that great offer I'd love to learn more about fishing for bows - I'll definitely take you up on that offer. I've gone after them via fly fishing a couple of times with zero success (what spectacular days out on the river though!), I'd love to learn more about your set-up and baits. Thanks a ton, I'll PM you soon.
ROB

[DropShot’r]

It has been quite a long time since I fished NY state for salmon and trout, but my first stop in Pulaski was always Whitaker's Sport Store and Motel. https://whitakers.com/
One stop shopping from license to getting fully equipped if required. Great service and lots of up to date information.

We always made a trip down in the end of September for salmon. My sole purpose was to get a nice ripe hen salmon and bring the fish back to home to cure the eggs for the up coming trout season.

Learn to cure your own eggs and tie roe bags.

Brown trout eggs are GOLD when it comes to fishing steelies.

The Salmon River is slippery....very, very, very slippery. One word...Corkers.

There is a power dam up past Altmar and they release water to generate power. We fished there before smartphones and apps so we relied on Niagara Mohawk's 1-800 info line on release times.

Douglaston Salmon Run. http://www.douglastonsalmonrun.com/. This is a pay to fish area that only allows so many people in a day. We fished that area prior to privatization and it is mint. It's the lower reaches of the river with arguably the best water. Do you need to fish Douglaston to be successful? No. To me Douglaston shines in October when the trout start to run. We only fished trout a few weeks each year so to me the expense of Douglaston was just an expense I was willing to pay for the smaller crowds and the fact that the "meat" fisherman generally stayed away.


Do a search on NY state fishing licenses. I believe the license year is something like September to September so be careful about buying a season license.

Good luck,
Drop

[CoachLutz]

Thanks Drop! That's a ton of great info, much appreciated

ROB

[zippyfx]

DropShot’r, that sounds like a great place.... Definately going to look into it.

[Canmoore]

I grew up in a small town named Angus, its about 15 minutes west of Barrie just up the 400 from Toronto. The Nottawasaga runs through the town, and every year lots of people fish from shore for Salmon and Bows during there respective runs. A popular method is using roe, but Canadian Wrigglers and jointed Rapalas are also popular baits. The most popular spot is north of the Bridge that spans the Nottawasaga on highway 90 just east of Angus and West of Barrie. However, there are countless other spots along the river that you can hike to. Lots of farmland in the area, and some farmers may allow you access to the waterfront. There are some good spots in CFB Borden, but I am not familiar with them.

[loophole]

I'm equally amazed and delighted to see members offering other members specific information about catching fish. It seems to me that on the few occasions I've asked others for help that my request has been ignored. As a result I became a little jaded about this forum over time when it appeared that people who had had some luck were jealously guarding their secrets. One would have thought that the guys who had enjoyed some success were concerned that if they divulged anything useful, their favorite site would be overrun by hundreds, possibly thousands of avid anglers the following weekend.

All this to say bravo to guys like FF and others for their willingness to share with folks who, for whatever reason, need some help.

[FISHIN'LANARK]

I'm equally amazed and delighted to see members offering other members specific information about catching fish. It seems to me that on the few occasions I've asked others for help that my request has been ignored. As a result I became a little jaded about this forum over time when it appeared that people who had had some luck were jealously guarding their secrets. One would have thought that the guys who had enjoyed some success were concerned that if they divulged anything useful, their favorite site would be overrun by hundreds, possibly thousands of avid anglers the following weekend.

All this to say bravo to guys like FF and others for their willingness to share with folks who, for whatever reason, need some help.

very well said