The Grand River, from the dam in Caledonia to the mouth at Lake Erie is home to a variety of fish. The spring, summer and fall host some of the best fishing around, with Trout, Salmon and Pickerel running from Lake Erie. In the river find plenty of Bass, Channel Catfish and resident Pickerel, making the Grand River a good spot throughout the year.
Riot Escape 12 Angler
We sell and rent kayaks outfitted for fishing, by Riot, Jackson, and Ocean Kayak. Our boats are equipped with rod holders, anchor kits, bait box holders, and some have live wells. We even carry the Jackson Kayaks “Big Tuna” tandem fishing kayak! Wide and stable, these kayaks will take you where other boats just can’t go! Anyone renting kayaks and gear can launch right from our property into the lower Grand River marshes below the dam. It is a quick 5-10 minute paddle around the Grand Island Bar-B-Q to the fishing spots below the dam.
Canoe rentals are available at Byng Island Conservation Area and Grand Island Bar-B-Q.
COMMON FISH SPECIES IN OUR AREA
Rainbow Trout, Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Pike, Crappie, Channel Catfish, Bullhead, Carp, Suckers, Freshwater Drum
Click Here to download the Haldimand County Fishing & Boating Map
FISHING SEASON
Refer to Division 3 in Provincial Fishing Regulations for Lower Grand River. Refer to Division 2 in Provincial Fishing Regulations for Lake Erie. Please see Provincial Fishing Regulations for species-specific seasons.
TIPS & TRICKS
Fish are attracted to currents created by dams located inside and outside of the Conservation Area. Live bait rigs or jigs tipped with live baits are effective for walleye, bass and panfish. Roe bags, spinners, spoons and small lures are attractive to Rainbow Trout sitting in current zones. A ten minute boat ride to Lake Erie offers opportunities to fish for Smallmouth Bass around shoals, humps and points. Downrigging with worm harnesses and minnow-imitating lures is effective for walleye, while spoons and deep diving crankbaits at the end of downriggers are effective in catching Rainbow Trout.
DUNNVILLE FISH LADDER
Construction of a Denil-type fishway inside the Byng Island Conservation Area was completed in 1994, and is one of the largest of its type in North America. It was designed to pass Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Pike and a variety of non-jumping warmwater species for which migration routes would otherwise be blocked by the Dunnville Dam. The fishway will also play a role in future efforts to restore Lake Sturgeon and Muskellunge to the Lower Grand River. Fishway monitoring is initiated at the onset of the spring Walleye and Rainbow Trout migration runs in late March, and continues until May. In anticipation of fall Rainbow Trout and Salmon migrations, monitoring resumes in the fall. To date, twenty-six species of fish have been captured in the monitoring basket at the fishway, including Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, three types of sucker, Mooneye, Gizzard Shad, White Perch, White Bass, Chinook and Pink Salmon, Channel Catfish, Brown Bullhead, Black Crappie, Freshwater Drum, Longnose Gar, Bluegill, Carp and Quillback.
Our boat launch is an easy 3 minute paddle from the downstream base of the fish ladder. The upriver side can be accessed easily from Wingfield Park.
ABOVE INFORMATION COURTESY OF GRAND RIVER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY
Kayaks are easy to paddle and can get anglers into new and otherwise inaccessible waters.
Kayak 
Fishing – The Ultimate Guide is the most comprehensive DVD on the sport.
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60 mins.
LEARN ABOUT
The necessary equipment
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Bait and lure fishing from a kayak
Fly fishing from a kayak
Fighting and landing fish from a kayak
Freshwater kayak fishing
Saltwater kayak fishing
Kayak fishing safety
$ 24.95
224 pages
LOCAL BAIT & TACKLE SHOPS
The Bait Shack/Grand Island Bar-B-Q
(905)774-6051
Fish Master Ultimate Bait & Tackle
(905)701-6874
Flatt’s Live Bait & Tackle
(905)774-4577
Mohawk Marina & Cottages
(905)774-1229
