Urban Fly Fishing – You Don’t Have To Travel Far
Although the prospects of traveling to a distant river or lake where there is solitude in the remoteness of the area can be exciting, many fly anglers really don’t have to travel far in order to enjoy their sport. Many have a perception of fly fishing as being on rivers that are far from the center of cities and towns in order to have good success. Indeed, many anglers do travel far from home. But did you know you don’t have to do that?
Many urban centers are built on or around rivers, lakes and ports. Good sources of water have always been of major importance to the development of communities that grow. While it is true that as these communities have grown, water quality of the rivers that flow through them and lakes that may be in close proximity have decreased, many efforts in recent years especially in North America have seen some excellent water quality improvements.
This has resulted in waters that fish can not only live in, but can also reproduce naturally.
The City of Toronto is one of the largest cities in North America and has several major rivers that flow through or near it. Some of these rivers include the Don, the Credit, and the Rouge. For many years, the Don River was considered a waste drain and carried polluted waters to Lake Ontario. Today, fly anglers can fish the salmon and trout runs it gets right in the middle of the city – something that was almost unthinkable a decade ago.
Guelph, Ontario is located above the confluence of the Speed and Eramosa Rivers. Both rivers contain fish such as smallmouth bass that can be easily caught on a fly rod and are within easy distance of the majority of residents of the city.
The Capital city of Canada, Ottawa, is situated on the Ottawa River which creates the border between the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As the river runs through Ottawa, it creates a beautiful backdrop to the city while holding many species of gamefish that can be caught on the fly rod. A resident of Ottawa does not have to travel far at all before putting on waders and wetting some flies with the potential of some excellent fly fishing.
If you’re interested in learning how to fly fish but think you need to get out of the city in order to do so, why not take a look at some of the waters that might be practically in your own backyard? You will likely find that you really don’t have to travel far at all to enjoy this wonderful sport.
While you are checking out the waters in your own city, be they rivers or lakes, why not learn more about a variety of fly fishing techniques here? In most cases, you won’t need expensive gear to get going, and you might even discover that fly tying will become one of your major hobbies in the off season.
If you want to learn more about urban fly fishing opportunities, be sure to check out the adventures of The Urban Flyfisher, located on the Kelvin River, Glasgow Scotland.