Fishing reg changes on Ganaraska River

New fishing regulations have been introduced on the lower Ganaraska River in Port Hope.

Starting this year, from Sept. 1 to Oct. 14, fishing will be prohibited from the CNR Bridge, which the first rail line north of Lake Ontario, to the Jocelyn Street Bridge further north.

The 44-day sanctuary will provide protection for about 90% of migrating Chinook salmon, based on MNR data from 2017 to 2023. This is critical because salmon migration is slowed down on the Ganaraska by the Corbett Dam fishway. This creates a bottleneck of concentrated fish from Lake Ontario to the dam and leaves them little room to spread out or find cover, making them vulnerable to angling pressure.

Fishing is already closed year-round from the 401, south to the Jocelyn Street bridge.

A new expanded fall fishing season for Atlantic salmon, brown trout, Pacific salmon and rainbow trout will also be opened in the lower Ganaraska in Port Hope, from the south side of the Jocelyn Street Bridge to the southerly limit of the CNR right-of-way. That season will be open from October 15 to December 31.

These changes would increase the number of days open to angling to 78 days and provide more opportunities for anglers targeting fall running rainbow trout. It would also increase the amount of fishable water available, making it more in line with other Lake Ontario tributaries such as Duffins, Oshawa, Bowmanville, and Wilmot creeks.