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Can some give a couple of shoe fishing spots during the fall (when water levels are low), and has anyone got any good luck in fishing from shore within Ottawa or Gatineau?

I have been having good luck with bass the past couple of weeks from shore. Specifically smallies. I had a nice 3-4 pounder on the line put could not get him up an embankment on my UL gear.

Been getting some walleye, mooneye and catfish as well.

What area are you fishing?

It might be tougher to find fish from shore this time of year but if you put the time and effort, there's a good chance you'll hook into bigger than average fish compared to the summer. From my experience fishing from shore near the city on the Ottawa River, over the years i found the fall can have its slow days, especially late fall, but the big pike and walleye move in to fairly shallow water, and this is one of the best times of the year to catch them. Some of my biggest pike and walleye caught in the fall were when i least expected it, i was just about to head back to the launch after a day of nothing and bam a big pike slammed my musky bait and fought like a log . If you fish near current look for a drop off that goes anywhere from 5-30 feet and you should find some smallies at the very least, lots of catfish are biting right now and aren't hard to catch if you find the right area. The Champlain bridge is a good start but you'll need waders.

Ok, thanks for the suggestions, ill try doing some shore fishing along the east ottawa river and see what I can find.

Regarding "lots of catfish are biting right now and aren't hard to catch if you find the right area" I have been trying to get my 11 Year old boy into a channel catfish for the past few weeks. He really is obsessed with them after catching a couple of bullheads this summer.

We have tried Lazy Bay (Daytime), Andrew Hayden (various sites evening... not too late!), Madawaska River below the weir (day).

Gobs of worms, hot dogs and corn.

We have caught smallmouth, Perch, Rock Bass but not one Channel or Bullhead. I used to have to avoid cats (even daytime) and now I cannot find them.

So is it my location or is it the time? Latest we have fished is 8:00pm last weekend.

Rod

Peron wrote:Regarding "lots of catfish are biting right now and aren't hard to catch if you find the right area" I have been trying to get my 11 Year old boy into a channel catfish for the past few weeks. He really is obsessed with them after catching a couple of bullheads this summer.

We have tried Lazy Bay (Daytime), Andrew Hayden (various sites evening... not too late!), Madawaska River below the weir (day).

Gobs of worms, hot dogs and corn.

We have caught smallmouth, Perch, Rock Bass but not one Channel or Bullhead. I used to have to avoid cats (even daytime) and now I cannot find them.

So is it my location or is it the time? Latest we have fished is 8:00pm last weekend.

Rod

I would hazard that its a combination of both... Some spots tend to be good day or night others only at night (after sundown). I will shoot a you a PM with a couple of suggestions.

Peron wrote:Regarding "lots of catfish are biting right now and aren't hard to catch if you find the right area" I have been trying to get my 11 Year old boy into a channel catfish for the past few weeks. He really is obsessed with them after catching a couple of bullheads this summer.

We have tried Lazy Bay (Daytime), Andrew Hayden (various sites evening... not too late!), Madawaska River below the weir (day).

Gobs of worms, hot dogs and corn.

We have caught smallmouth, Perch, Rock Bass but not one Channel or Bullhead. I used to have to avoid cats (even daytime) and now I cannot find them.

So is it my location or is it the time? Latest we have fished is 8:00pm last weekend.

Rod

If you have a worm or piece of cut bait near a big school of active catfish it shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes to get a bite (Depending on the spot and time of year), in fact most of my bites on a good day happen almost instantly and you don't even get time to use a rod holder. I've never tried using corn for channel cats but i know bullheads love them, if your in an area and know that the average size of the catfish is over 4-5 pounds i'd recommend using cut bait or even mussels over worms. If there's lots of 1-2 pound cats nothing beats a fresh night crawler. Shoot me a PM if you need more help!

If you want some walleye action from shore, right now is prime time and it should last until mid november. Night fishing for walleyes is best from shore and you should try out the stretch of the Ottawa behind parliament hill from Victoria Island right up to the locks.

Last night on the way home in the dark I saw some frogs crossing the road.
If that means the frogs are headed to water for the winter then there is a real good evening (just as it gets dark) bite for walleyes along shorelines.
When I say shorelines I mean right next to shore in 6 inches of water.
Cast from shore right along the shoreline and see what bites.
White twister tail jig is best. No need for a worm or minnow.
Good luck
David

Went out looking for walleye/Sauger/Ling and managed the relatively rare Yellow Bullhead:

zippyfx wrote:Went out looking for walleye/Sauger/Ling and managed the relatively rare Yellow Bullhead:

Nice bullhead there bud! Were they there in numbers? I've never caught a yellow bullhead but caught a few brown bullheads on the Rideau in the creeks during the spring and heard of guys filling up buckets the night before. I've been looking for a spot with brown bullheads on the Ottawa but so far i can only find channel cats, I've heard of a few spots east of Ottawa but i wouldn't fish the murky water for them.

The shore fishing has been great for eyes the last few outings i had, caught a beauty 23 incher the other day. The musky seemed to have slowed down in one of my spots the past 2 outings and after hours of fishing only had 2 follows.

LiplessCrank wrote:
Nice bullhead there bud! Were they there in numbers? I've never caught a yellow bullhead but caught a few brown bullheads on the Rideau in the creeks during the spring and heard of guys filling up buckets the night before. I've been looking for a spot with brown bullheads on the Ottawa but so far i can only find channel cats, I've heard of a few spots east of Ottawa but i wouldn't fish the murky water for them.

The shore fishing has been great for eyes the last few outings i had, caught a beauty 23 incher the other day. The musky seemed to have slowed down in one of my spots the past 2 outings and after hours of fishing only had 2 follows.

Nice size 'eye! I am hoping for one tomorrow

The bullhead were not there in numbers... Brown bullhead activity seems to have tapered off, I usually get them as by catch at one of my spots but they did not even nibble last week.

Baitshop bay is said to have them in numbers in the early spring. The nation has them in good numbers. I can catch them regularly on the southern part of the Rideau but I have not had much luck on the Ottawa for them either, some people have suggested an east end stream but I have never been there.