Anyone from the Ottawa area?

[NMG]

Hi folks,

Looks like I'll be moving to Ottawa in the near future and I'm wondering a couple of things:

1) What are the fishing opportunities like?

It looks like there are loads of lakes on the Rideau Canal system, lakes up in Quebec, Lake Ontario near Kingston a couple hours away, etc. Currently my "home" big water is about a two hour drive one way so a bit of a drive does not bother me at all . . .

2) What the heck do people do with their boats?

All the houses we're looking at appear to have really small driveways and small garages. How exactly do people store their boats out there? Do most people put them into storage facilities and/or marinas instead of storing at their house? I have an 18 foot aluminum with windshield.

I know that I'll be able to find Bass, Pike and Walleye, but it would be really nice if I could also get into some Lake Trout, Salmon and other species of trout. It would be nice to have some fishing that reminds me of home

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!

[FISH HUNTER]

I live on the Bay of Quinte but there are tons of opportunities in the Ottawa area. Seems to be quite a few lakes that hold trout around there. Most seem to be on the Quebec side but still quite close to Ottawa.
Check out this site, it is centred around the Ottawa area.
www.fish-hawk.net

FISH HUNTER

[retire55]

Hi NMG:

I moved to Ottawa in the mid 60s from south western Ontario (western basin of Lake Erie area). Consequently my fishing experience was walleye and perch. The Ottawa fishermen I teamed with were all trout fishermen (speckled trout and lake trout). As a result, I learned new skills and methods targeting these two new species. Both trout species are readily available within a 2 hour drive of Ottawa (in Ontario and in Quebec). Indeed, I just returned from spending the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend at a cottage on a beautiful lake in Quebec 2 hours north of Ottawa. Two bass fishermen stopped and talked with me as they passed by our dock. They had just caught a 12 pound lake trout while casting the shallows for small mouth. Other game fish readily available are walleye, northern pike, muskie, bass, perch, crappie, etc.

Those boat owners with large enough multi car garages can store there prize possession in their own garage. Others not so fortunate store their boats at one of the plethora of storage businesses in and around Ottawa. Inside storage over the winter months will run approximately $200 per month. Outside storage will run approximately $50 per month.

The size of laneways and garages simply depends on the neighbourhood in which you choose to live – as does the price of your prospective house.

If interested in more detailed fishing information, contact me via PM after you’ve made the move to the Ottawa area.

[NMG]

Awesome, thanks for the info folks! It looks like I'll likely have to store the boat away from my home, but that's no big deal in the grand scheme of things. I'm just happy to have some diverse fishing opportunities once I arrive