Freshwater Fishing.
The Grand River through Brantford is in Fisheries Management Zone 16 and runs as a warmwater fishery downstream of the Paris dam — smallmouth bass, walleye, and channel catfish for shore and float anglers. Whiteman's Creek, the cold-water tributary west of the city near Apps' Mill, holds a brown trout fishery on a separate seasonal calendar from the main-stem warmwater stretch.
The brief.
The Brantford stretch of the Grand is different in character from the celebrated brown trout tailwater fishery upstream in Fergus and West Montrose — that is a cold-water tailwater run by Shand Dam releases, in different municipalities and out of Brantford's strict scope. Through Brantford the Grand is a wider, slower warmwater river: smallmouth bass and walleye are the main targets, with channel catfish through the heat of summer.
An Ontario Outdoors Card and licence are required, and Whiteman's Creek brown trout has a winter closure protecting spawning. Best season is late June through October for the warmwater Grand; check the FMZ 16 summary for Whiteman's Creek's open-season dates each year.
Today's read.
Cool but comfortable for layered effort · light winds.
