20 years experience

Fishing the
Credit River

One of Ontario’s best trout and steelhead rivers.

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Fishing The Credit River

Fishing the Credit river is my favorite of all Ontario rivers. The upper Credit River is my home river and my specialty. In fact, my very first cast with a fly rod over 35 years ago was made in this section of the Credit River seen in the picture.

Although there are good numbers of wild brook trout, brown trout and some resident rainbows, this is a very technical river with weary wild trout and therefore many anglers find it difficult catching big trout here.

Fly fishing the upper Credit River

Stocking and Dams

 The OMNR along with some local fishing clubs have also been stocking Atlantic salmon in large numbers with some Chinook salmon, steelhead and migratory brown trout in the lower stretches of the river. When Fishing the Credit river you could catch many species in one day.

There are a few dams on this river that make it impossible for the steelhead and salmon. This means there is very little natural reproduction of steelhead or salmon. There are NO steelhead or salmon up river of the Norval dam which is just north of Hwy 7.

There are a few tributary rivers on the credit where the steelhead are allowed access by the OMNR so the steelhead can reproduce naturally there but the numbers are limited. Because the OMNR will not allow the steelhead to have access to the upper river,  the numbers of steelhead that enter the river from the lake are lower in comparison to other rivers.

Credit River Brown Trout

Fishing the Credit river brown trout sections. The brown trout section starts in the headwaters below the Belfountain falls on the west fork, and the Cataract falls on the east fork. The angler in the picture above is fishing up the east fork close to the falls. The brown trout can reside all the way to Georgetown with less numbers the further down the river you go. Further up the river the colder the water stays and the further down you go the river widens and warms up to much for any trout to survive, especially during July to September.

With the proper techniques and knowing were to go it’s possible to hook a few brown trout over 20 inches in one day but it’s never easy. Most anglers are lucky to land a brown trout over 14 inches and rarely see brown trout over 20 inches.

A former client once told me that before he was taught the most effective ways to target the large brown trout on the Credit river  by me, he was catching 6 to 10 trout a day and if he was lucky he would only catch one big one over 20 inches a year. Now, after I guided him, and taught him how to fish for these big wild brown trout he is averaging about 30 trout a day with a big one on the line most days.

There are some sections where fishing is easier so read on.

Credit River Brook Trout

Fishing the Credit river for brook trout. Not only are there large brown trout over 20 inches, there are also brook trout over 3 pounds and some resident rainbows over 20 inches. I’ve seen pictures of brook trout over 5 pounds.

The bulk of the brook trout reside from the Forks Of the Credit and up. The east fork below the Belfountain falls seams to have a higher population of brook trout but is very rugged terrain and can be very difficult to fish and walk. The angler in the picture is fishing some of the easier water in this section. The west fork has less flow than the east fork but it stays colder and clearer.

Much of the land is conservation lands so access is good. THIS IS ALL CATCH AND RELEASE REGULATIONS, despite seeing guys keeping fish and using bait and multiple hooks ( see the regulations before you go)

Walk and wade trout trips in Ontario
Fishing the Credit River
Fishing the upper Credit river

Credit River Waterfalls Area

Once you get above the falls on the west fork there is no brown trout and is primarily a brook trout and rainbow trout fishery. The OMNR may stock small 3 to 6 inch Atlantic salmon in this stretch. Access may be difficult in some of this stretch but you could potentially fish all the way to the town of Erin for brook trout.

Above the falls on the east fork is just brook trout, no browns or rainbows.

The upper river from the town of Inglewood up river can have predictable hatches, great scenery and easy to read water which makes this a fun section for experienced trout anglers.

If you’re a less experienced angler and you want an easier section the brook trout sections above the two falls (one up each fork) can have decent numbers of hungry brook trout that are easier to catch than the bigger wiser brown trout.

Fishing brook trout on the credit river

Fishing The Credit River

If you want to see what the upper credit river fishing and scenary is like watch as Graham and Collin Mckeown of The New Fly Fisher Show fish the upper credit river together and land 1 of 3 big browns that were over 20 inches.

Earlier that morning before the film crew arrived Graham guided his client to a 25″ brown trout which is seen in this picture below. Watch The Full Show HERE

Upper and Lower Credit River

Thanks to catch and release only and special regulations in the upper sections there’s still some big fish in the upper sections and I can put you in front of some of the biggest fish in the river. Check the regulation in the exceptions to the rules section of zone 16 before you go fish the upper river.

From the mouth of the Credit river where the average width is around 50 feet wide to the headwaters, the Credit River has many different types of water from fast rapid sections with boulders and pocket water to meandering meadows.

The lower river gets huge runs of big chinook salmon and coho salmon and also has some large migratory brown trout. Despite stocking millions of Atlantic salmon into this river there are very few returning.

 

Ontario Coho Salmon

Credit River Steelhead

The lower sections of the Credit River offer good steelhead fishing from October to May. Most of my guiding in this section is done in November, December, March, and April.

The lower sections of the river run through the large city of Mississauga and can get pretty busy at times. There are extended fall fishing sections and year round open sections in the lower rivers.

All methods of fishing are suitable in the lower section and you will likely see lots of angler fishing with centerpin or fly rods.

If you want to see what the lower river is like on video watch as I guide Bil Spicer and the crew from The New Fly Fisher TV show by boat for spring Steelhead.

Credit River Fishing Guides

We are the top guide service on the Credit river and we guide this river more than any other guide service. We have also been fishing this river for 36 years.

Ontario river fishing lessons

RIVER FISHING TIPS AND ADVICE

Have you ever wanted to know what the guides know? Now you can!

Anglers ask me all the time about what rods and reels and other gear that I recommend, or they ask me about my best flies, or my best methods or even which rivers are good to fish. I build a website that cover’s all of that and more . . . . . You should checkout our sister site where I tell you exactly what gear you need and i give you free tips and tricks to help you catch more fish. Check out www.ontariotroutandsteelhead.com

Graham

Head Guide / Owner

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