Hello everyone,
I just moved to Ottawa from Europe and I'm starting fishing here, I prefer the rideau river as its closer to where I live. I am trying to fish wacky senko in the river because I was told its one of the best techniques to start with, but I just caught one very small smallmouth today, close to brewer park. However, the current is pretty strong there and I am not even sure that the rig is appropriate for that part of the river
which I heards holds tons of fish. Other than that, no bites and I have traveled a bit both side of the river from Mooneys Bay to Hundsman. Any recommendations on how I should fish in the river, what kind of tackles I should have inmy box etc etc..thank you!
Fishing the rideau river
Re: Fishing the rideau river
I have fished the Rideau from the Hogsback falls all the way downtown for years.
Whacky senkos are pretty good in some spots, tight weed edges where the current is slow and in backwaters,and patience to wait until they sink. In faster current, not good as they just don't sink down.
For faster current (hogs back to bronson/brewer) in the pools I used a jig and twister tail ... toss and crank it back ad it will bounce on bottom (and can snag so need to pay attention). Using a jig is great in this case as you may lose some and they are inexpensive. You get reaction strikes as the fish does't have time to think, they just whack it. You can also target seams, holes and pools for quick checks for fish. The sections below hogsback to the bridge has lots of these. These fish are aggressive in current so they smack it or lose it..
Inline spinners also work, . Toss upstream and crank back in the current., and you can get walleye -- I've caught many under the train bridge --- the issue there is sometimes its a complete bust.
You kind of need to be confident to wade in some spots too... Just be careful not to go too deep esp with the recent rain.
In slower current (sections downtown, upstream from Strathcona, etc --- you can use topwater... The smallies will smash hard --- toss it out, pop it back in water 4-12 ft deep ... the water will be moving the fish see something escaping and whack. Again, its a summer patter when the water is lower.
I also wade around Cumming island downstream from Strathcona this time of year when the water is normally low. The issue this year is I suspect the water is too high. At dusk, the smallies come shallow and hit everything. The night creaters in that area can be scary, but it you leave them to their riverside drinking, they normally leave you alone
If you want to try the Ottawa as well. You wade wet in 2-3 ft of water at the edge of rapids (Champlain, upstream from bridge or on the Island) Toss a jig and crank it back in current - water is only 2-3ft deep in the rapids but there are holes and when the lure passes over, you get hard smashes. Be careful wading in rapids, a life jacket is not a bad idea as there are holes too you can fall into. You can catch 50-100 fish in a few hours on good days. Many 12 inchers and you odd 18+ which fight like crazy in the current.
Good luck,
Whacky senkos are pretty good in some spots, tight weed edges where the current is slow and in backwaters,and patience to wait until they sink. In faster current, not good as they just don't sink down.
For faster current (hogs back to bronson/brewer) in the pools I used a jig and twister tail ... toss and crank it back ad it will bounce on bottom (and can snag so need to pay attention). Using a jig is great in this case as you may lose some and they are inexpensive. You get reaction strikes as the fish does't have time to think, they just whack it. You can also target seams, holes and pools for quick checks for fish. The sections below hogsback to the bridge has lots of these. These fish are aggressive in current so they smack it or lose it..
Inline spinners also work, . Toss upstream and crank back in the current., and you can get walleye -- I've caught many under the train bridge --- the issue there is sometimes its a complete bust.
You kind of need to be confident to wade in some spots too... Just be careful not to go too deep esp with the recent rain.
In slower current (sections downtown, upstream from Strathcona, etc --- you can use topwater... The smallies will smash hard --- toss it out, pop it back in water 4-12 ft deep ... the water will be moving the fish see something escaping and whack. Again, its a summer patter when the water is lower.
I also wade around Cumming island downstream from Strathcona this time of year when the water is normally low. The issue this year is I suspect the water is too high. At dusk, the smallies come shallow and hit everything. The night creaters in that area can be scary, but it you leave them to their riverside drinking, they normally leave you alone
If you want to try the Ottawa as well. You wade wet in 2-3 ft of water at the edge of rapids (Champlain, upstream from bridge or on the Island) Toss a jig and crank it back in current - water is only 2-3ft deep in the rapids but there are holes and when the lure passes over, you get hard smashes. Be careful wading in rapids, a life jacket is not a bad idea as there are holes too you can fall into. You can catch 50-100 fish in a few hours on good days. Many 12 inchers and you odd 18+ which fight like crazy in the current.
Good luck,