Sport fish await under the eyes of Parliament
URBAN FISHING TIPS FOR THE NATION ’ S CAPITAL
It may be the case that Ottawa has under-developed and inaccessible shorelines , but that should not deter people from fishing . In spite of this barrier , anglers still manage to partake in their sport within view of MPs and public service mandarins . Long before construction of the five bridges connecting Ottawa to Gatineau , First Nations peoples gathered on
LAWRENCE GUNTHER
the Ottawa River to exchange news and harvest fish . As much as 80 per cent of their fish diet consisted of the American eel that once swarmed the river , but whose numbers have since been reduced to less than one per cent of their former abundance . These amazing creatures live most of their lives in the Ottawa and connected rivers , before the females migrate down the Ottawa and St . Lawrence to the Sargasso Sea to spawn .
The fact that the Ottawa is one of Canada ’ s most constrained rivers , with more than 50 major dams and hydro-electric generating stations , may have something to do with the eel ’ s near disappearance . It ’ s not all bad news though .
Last June , Blue Fish Canada , a charity dedicated to the future of fish and fishing , organized in partnership with the Ottawa River Keeper a 24-hour fishathon . The goal was to catch as many of the 85 different species of fish living in the river ’ s waters inside Ottawa-Gatineau city limits as possible . I took part with support from Orleans Boat World and Oziles Marina , and a number of expert anglers who took turns joining my guide dog Moby and me . We managed to hook and release 12 species ranging from walleye to longnose gar .
Our success was a reflection of the Ottawa as an impressive fishery – just ask guides like John Anderson , owner of the Ottawa River Musky Factory or Yannick Loranger of Ottawa River Fishing , who make a living just downstream from the capital .
If a guided fishing adventure isn ’ t in the cards , you can cast a line into Dows Lake . Each spring my club , the Ottawa Valley South Bassmasters , hosts upwards of 50 Ottawa Girl guides for an evening of shore fishing alongside the Dows Lake Pavilion . Within two hours each girl is guaranteed to catch and release at least one and as many as five scrappy little panfish .
Or , you can go big and cast giant lures into the Rideau Canal . Try your hand at capturing one of the estimated metre-long muskies Steven Cook ’ s Carleton University Fish Lab discovered living between Dows Lake and the Chateau Laurier . These are Ottawa ’ s fresh-water version of sharks capable of gobbling down baby ducks or other critters that unwittingly find themselves in the canal .
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