Fishing in Toronto … Right Down the Street
When you think of Canadian fishing opportunities, you usually think of the many lakes and rivers in the back country. However, there are plenty of great places to catch fish right in the urban areas of Toronto proper. Thanks to the foresight of Canadian leadership, many of the major rivers are regularly stocked with brown and rainbow trout, chinook, coho, and even Atlantic salmon.
Just a short drive from home, water bodies such as Black Creek, Don River, and Etibicoke Creek are freely accessible via various public parks and buffers. These parks can be found on any one of the governmental or tourism web sites through a quick search. Find a place close to home, save gas, and gather up the family for a low cost fishing adventure sure to please.
Brown and rainbow trout are some of the favorite species to fish for. Choose fishing gear to enhance your experience with short rods being more workable under overhanging trees and ultra-light gear making for a more exciting fight. Since the urban rivers are mostly slow moving, you can safely try wet wading on warmer days. Children, of course, should be carefully monitored when wading.
Commercial flies that mimic local stoneflies, caddis, dragon flies, and damselflies are quite popular and affordably priced. With stocked trout, presentation of your fly is the most critical issue, not the need to match the hatch like in wilderness streams. However, urban trout can be very spooky so be careful not to disturb the water too much and always cast upstream. Thanks to stocking efforts, the trout are plentiful and offer hours of fun for the whole family at a reasonable cost.