The Rideau River is empty

[Anton88]

So it is not where you fish!! It must be how you fish

Anton I keep reading your posts and you are always asking questions and when we reply with suggestions, you shoot us down. So why do you keep asking us questions????

You could go fish at Petrie and you would probably catch a lot of fish there. Most of us do catch and release so we pretty well fish anywhere. But the Rideau and the Ottawa the fish are edible as long as you follow the Fish eating guideline book.

No, its not how I fish. I'm not a toddler, and I don't use a plastic spincast rod in case you're wondering.

In all the places I've been there were other people fishing too, and they were not catching much..

I'm not the guy that likes to take a bucket-full of Sunfish home to cook..
I'd like to catch a decent size walley from shore, and maybe half an hour later... another one...
But I guess "with all that fishing pressure on the Rideau" there are not that many big fish left"..

So unless you have a boat and specialized equipment, it's not worth going to the Rideau - all you catch is little fish and snags.
Not even Carp or Catfish.. nothing bites - I'ts like a ghost town

[Mitch24]

The Rideau is huge, and yes i agree there has been heavy fishing pressure, but C & R is getting better. And to be honest I dont even know a lot of places with good walleye fishing from shore. Hell, I know 1 or 2 good walleye shore fishing spots, in eastern Ontario total! IF your looking to catch walleye by the half hour, you need a boat, a fish finder, some rods, maybe a downrigger, and luck.

Burritts rapids can be a let down but you probably just had an off day fishing. I suggest exploring some lakes, forget rivers.

[Bruin]

Maybe the picture wasn't clear enough but the walleye in this picture was caught from the shore of the rideau river (hence the trees in the background....and was set free (so there is at least one big one in there)
so everything you are asking for is there for you
maybe you need to change your tactics or lure
Its called fishing for a reason!!!!
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[Anton88]

Ohh, so you must come at night to fish for walleye on the rideau..
At 7am, I found out not a single fish bites..

Ohh, and here just so you see this is no BS ..

The places I've fished during the past 2 days..

Burrits Rapids..(great view, nice picknic tables, nice deep water.. no fish)


Beckets Landings, under the bridge east side ..
Nice rocky water... Smallmouth Bass paradise.... (if there were any)


Manotick Bridge Road, above and below locks. (more ducks on the water, then fish under the water) nobody there was cathing anything either
and there were lots of people fishing..

[digitalchef]

my friend...you are so wrong!!

wading at 6am this morning got me a 33 in pike!!
on the rideau, right downtown.

mabey you should look a little farther than all three locations you tried.

[matcole]

here is manotick mill

Burrits Rapids-



Mississippi Lake

but there's no fish to be caught from shore :hs

[Bruin]

I'm not saying that you didn't fish the areas, but from what you are telling me, you may want to heed the advice of myself and others and consider changing up your tactics.....There are many HT's who fish exclusively from shore for the same reasons as you, who are successfully closing the deal on healthy scrappers of all kinds. People here are always, ALWAYS willing to help out a willing participant, but advice is only good if you are willing to listen.... Maybe I'll head down to the river to see if I can't catch me a salmon.....Less talk, more listening

[Lunker Larry]

Anton88. You seem to be looking for a fishing experience that rarely happens. I've fished from the Queen Charlottes to the NWT to Southern California......and with all fishing...some days are good and others bad. I've had experiences like you're looking for: a fish on every second cast, but, going back the next day would not produce a single fish.
My suggestion is to listen to what the guys who have experience fishing locally are telling you and read up on the characteristics of the species you're targeting. Fish don't always bite. I've bounced lures off the heads of salmon who acted like they didn't exist. There are just too many things that influence where fish are, what they're mood is and how they're going to react. The only thing that all species have in common is water. Where they can be found in it, at what temperature, current, conditions, etc are a different thing all together. There is a ton of information out there once you get past the infomercials. You just have to adapt it to where you are fishing. That, and having the right equipment (e.g. longer stiffer rod for shore fishing, heavier line to pull through weeds) will make your fishing a more pleasurable experience. Good luck and persevere. Fishing humbles all of us.

[Jimmy_1]

Ummmmmmm........

In the gallery section there is a pic of me holding a high 30`s muskie that I caught in the Echolands area. I have also caught numerous 30``+ pike in that area......

However I didn`t cast 3 times and catch them.....It took 3 1/2 hours of casting to get that Ski! Not to mention the drive and determintation to fish in +30 degree weather for it for that long!

I fish Dalhousie Lake alot with a buddy who is a resident of the lake. Everytime we go we can be using the same equipment etc. He outfishes me everytime!! and I mean everytime! He caught a 6lb smallie from shore on his first cast!! I caught one that size this year OOS fishing gor walleye at night.

They are there. If you want fish on every cast I suggest going to Thistle Springs Trout Farm in Ashton. The water is clean, the fish are edible and they bite the corn off the bamboo poles all day long.

But if you want to fish, then get used to getting skunked. It happens to all of us. This year has not been stellar for me either for the record. I have had 2 decent bass, 1 decent walleye and 2 muskies. Last year I was catching slabs and nickels almost everytime I went out. Not to mention a muskie or 2 every time I went out for them.

I know where your coming from and the frustration. But we all go through it....

Time on the water is what produces fish.....
Not gear, or lures, or scents etc...they help but time on the water dominates over all that.

How long did you fish for? Did you change lures during that time? Did you change the retrieve? What was the weather like?

J

[digitalchef]

you could try thistlesprings fish farm.
you'll have clean water, less than 100km and a fish on every cast.

OR you could quit your whining and do what everyone else here does...get your butt out on the water and stay there for as long and as often as you can.

but you are probably right. you should stay away from the rideau. there's no fish to be cought. You'll find me in the water waiting for nothing

[JRSuprstar]

Draven and I pulled 5 fish out of the Rideau (Catch & Release) last night just down from Taylor Park - 4 Bass (biggest was 3 1/2 lbs.) and a small Pike (2 1/2 lbs.) in 2 hours....it's probably not WHERE you're fishing, but HOW....listen to the experienced anglers on this site...

[curls]

I consider myself a fairly experienced angler, but even I have been skunked 3 of the past 3 days I've gone fishing. Twice at Rice Lake (Friday and Saturday, on a lake that supposedly has the most fish per acre in all of Ontario!), and then this past Tuesday on the Rideau @ Reeve Craig. Did I complain? Sure, at the time I did, especially since my fishing buddy caught fish each time (albeit only one each time, and none over 1lb, but it's not a skunk!). Am I frustrated? Sure I am. But I look forward to tournament fishing in August (we did well at the SEBO opener, so my take on it is "I love to float around and practice casting, but when the pressure is on, I can turn it on and catch 'em".

If you caught a fish on every cast or even every outing, they wouldn't have called it "fishing" -- they'd have called it "catching".

[Jimmy_1]

Yes and if you got drunk every time you drank they`d call it drunking vice drinking.

[curls]

Yes and if you got drunk every time you drank they`d call it drunking vice drinking.

Hahaha exactly!

[CNs]

Wow what patience you all have.

I removed my comments,

This thread should still end.