An angler fly casting for steelhead.

Fly fishing for Ontario Steelhead is about as good as it gets around the Great Lakes and in Ontario.

Ontario is surrounded by the Great Lakes, and nearly every river that flows into Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and Southern Georgian Bay will get some type of steelhead run.

Some runs may be as big as 40,000 steelhead on some rivers in some years, and others might be under 100 steelhead, most Southern Ontario rivers that are 20 feet wide or more would get 1000 to 4000 with some like the Wilmot and Duffins getting more.

Spring run steelhead from the Credit River

FLY FISHING METHODS FOR STEELHEAD

Fly fishing for Ontario steelhead includes fly fishing methods such as Nymphing, streamer fishing, and Spey fishing.

In fact, myself and other guides are also Euro nymphing for steelhead which is proving to be extremely effective in certain types of water. Go to this website to see my latest article Euro Nymphing For Steelhead: Guide Tactics That Work

For most anglers, and for my clients, the most productive method to catch steelhead with a fly rod would be Nymphing with indicators, which is very effective on both large and small rivers.

Ontario Steelhead Rivers

Ontario Steelhead rivers

There are hundreds of steelhead rivers and streams that anglers can try. We list some of the best ones on our rivers page

BIG NUMBERS OF STEELHEAD

A nice fall steelhead

Some years I’ll put over 300 steelhead in my net just in the fall with my clients.

It can be that good, but it’s not uncommon for me to hear guys tell me they will go 10 days or all season only catching one or two steelhead.

If that’s the case you are missing out on key information, doing something wrong, or using the wrong setup, method, or flies.

As a guide, I get to see all the mistakes anglers are making that prevent them from catching steelhead.

That’s why I decided to do this page, to hopefully provide you with enough information to get you catching a few more fish whether you are a beginner or an advanced fly angler.

Let’s start with the basic gear:

  • Rod – 7 or 8-weight rod – Preferably 10 feet long (9 feet will do) My go-to rod on most Ontario rivers is a 10-foot 7-weight.
  • Fly Reel – A matching fly reel with an inclosed disc drag – Large Arbor reel is best.
  • Fly Line – Weight forward floating fly line. One designed for steelhead or a standard line suitable for cold water.
  • Leader – Tapered 0x or 1x leader – Fluorocarbon or nylon works.
  • Tippet – For most small to medium-sized rivers, 3X is idea. on larger faster rivers or dirtier water a 2x or 1x works. On small gin-clear rivers, a will use a 4x tippet.
  • Flies – I catch 90% of steelhead on 4 flies. But, and this is a big but… If you’re setup is crap and/or your presentation is crap, you won’t catch fish even on my top four flies. My favorite flies are Egg patterns, Pink or red worm, black or dark brown stone fly, and Woolly Buggers. You can see more great flies, the best colors, and the sizes I use on my page best flies.

OOOPS . . . . Unfortunately, as I write this, I’ve just started my busy guide season so I won’t be able to complete it now.

But I will be updating this page with more pictures, leader set-ups, Spey fishing advice, best methods, and more tips and advice on how to catch more steelhead in Ontario.

UPDATE: He guys.. Instead of updating this page. I just did a full article on my other website. For more detailed information on the fly fishing methods I use and teach my clients, including the Euro nymphing methods, setups, and euro flies, check out my latest article called fly fishing for steelhead.

FLY FISHING FOR ONTARIO STEELHEAD

See you next season!!

Cheers

Graham