Fishing The Humber River
The Upper Humber River
The upper Humber river has wild brook trout populations and some nice brown trout mixed in. You may also catch the odd rainbow trout and some small Atlantic salmon that are being stocked in the upper reaches.
The river is 10 minutes east of Orangeville which is where the headwaters of this river start and it will flow east and empty into lake Ontario only minutes from downtown Toronto.
This is a great river for fly fishing so get tips HERE . . . .
There are plenty of access point in the upper sections above the town of Bolton and below the town of Palgrave.
Caution: Tread lightly on this river because there are sink holes all over the river that can put you in a sticky situation. I know anglers that refuse to fish this river after bad experiences with these sink holes. These holes are soft clay spots often hidden below the gravel on the river bed so you wont see them until you are in them. When I guide this river I try and locate and step in them on purpose to teach my clients what to look for.
Many days it’s not hard to find a dozen spots in a few hours. As I tell my clients if you’re walking in the river and you step down and it feels softer than normal, quickly look down at your feet and if there is light grey, almost white cloud coming off your feet you’re in, or close to, a sink hole, so simply back up and find another route. If you stand there long enough it’s like quick sand, and it some cased you can be crotch deep with a leg or two stuck in a matter of seconds.
Wild and stocked brown trout can be caught between highway 9 and the town of Bolton along with the occasional brook trout and stocked Atlantic salmon.
At one time this river was being stocked with brown trout and was a good river to fish but due to changes put in place by the OMNR there stocking of brown trout was replaced by Atlantic salmon and this river has become very tough fishing for brown trout.
A combination of anglers keeping fish in this river and the lack of stocking means this river is so tough that I do not offer guide trips on it unless specifically asked to.
Because trout may be kept in this river and the big brown trout are very hard to come by now, I strongly urge all anglers to release your trout to help grow this fishery to it’s full potential. I also urge anglers to contact the local OMNR or the Toronto conservation authority and ask them to put a catch and release section into this river, one similar to that of the upper Credit River and the Grand river. If done this could be a fantastic trout river within 40 minutes of downtown Toronto.
The lower Humber river gets good runs of steelhead and salmon and can also have good number of lake-run brown trout that can be over 10 pounds. The lower river runs through a lots of industrial and residential areas but still has good access and an extended season, so check the fishing regulations before you go and fish.
The Humber river enters Lake Ontario only a few kilometers from down town Toronto so it’s far from a scenic and clean looking river down there. If you don’t mind fishing with the sounds of traffic and the sights of houses and apartment buildings there is good access and some great fishing.
The mouth of the river also offers anglers limited bass, pike, and carp fishing.
The Humber river also has a few smaller tributaries that have trout in them. The tributary known as the East Humber River has been getting stocked with steelhead and is worth a try once the season opens.
RIVER FISHING TIPS AND ADVICE
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Graham
Head Guide / Owner
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