Urban Fly Fishing – City Of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario is considered one of the top Canadian cities to live in with its low crime rate and standard of living for its residents. Named for the UK’s royal family, it is often referred to as The Royal City and has some beautiful architecture in the downtown core. Although it is a City, there is also a strong link to the surrounding agricultural area with a university that focuses on agricultural studies.
For the fly angler, Guelph is a wonderful city with many opportunities for fishing several rivers and a large lake. Situated above the confluence of the Speed and Eramosa rivers, most residents of Guelph are only minutes away from some fly fishing for smallmouth bass. There are areas where the rivers may be accessed for wading, or the opportunity to launch a canoe and cast to resident fish while drifting.
The smallmouth bass season in the area runs from late June to the end of November, providing fishing opportunities long after the trout season closes. Bass on a fly rod can be a lot of fun and some anglers believe that bass fly fishing is even better than casting for brown trout.
As well as the above mentioned rivers, Guelph is home to Guelph Lake, a man-made reservoir formed by a damn on the Speed River. Guelph Lake is within the Guelph Lake Conservation area managed by the Grand River Conservation Authority and covers an area of over 3,900 acres. It is a popular destination for swimmers, campers and boaters (electric motors) including canoes and kayaks.
For fly anglers that enjoy stillwater fishing, Guelph Lake offers tremendous opportunities for a variety of fish including northern pike, both largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, perch and carp. The fishing can be quite good from some areas directly from the bank, or from a boat. Perch and crappie will readily take a fly, and this is a great area to teach youngsters how to fly fish where there is a very good chance of them hooking into fish.
If your preference is trout, then the fly angler only has to drive 20 minutes north to the town of Fergus to fish the world renowned Grand River tailwaters. At various times of the trout season, the fly fishing in this river can be terrific and there are many areas where public access is easily gained.If fishing the Grand River is on your to-do list, be sure to think Caddis.
If you’re visiting the Guelph area, be sure to bring your fly fishing gear along. You’ll have ample opportunity to use it. Why not find out more about basic fly fishing techniques if you’re thinking about taking up the sport?
If you’re interested in urban fly fishing experiences, also be sure to check out the Urban Fly Fisher from Glasgow, Scotland.