Credit River rainbow trout, today
Rainbow trout run the Credit in spring, typically March through May, and resident rainbows hold in the upper reaches year-round in smaller numbers. Worth knowing how they get there: migratory fish stop at the Streetsville dam, and the water above it is stocked by hand — Credit River Anglers Association volunteers lift fish through the fishway and truck them 30 km north past the Norval dam. The ladder runs daily from ice-out to late April, which is exactly the spring run.
How to fish it
Drift roe, beads or large nymphs through the deep pools during peak flows — but note that the artificial-only reaches above Old Baseline allow no bait at all. As levels drop through April, switch to lighter nymphing rigs with smaller flies. Before 9am is consistently the most productive window. Below Streetsville you are fishing fish that arrived under their own power; above it, fish that were carried.
The Forks reach is artificial lures only, single barbless hook, and catch-and-release for trout. Streetsville Road Allowances is deliberately not listed here: part of that reach sits below the Britannia Road bridge, inside the Hwy 403–Britannia sanctuary that closes August 15 to December 31. Confirm the current rules in the Ontario fishing regulations for Zone 16 before you fish.
Access points
- McNab Park — Norval, ON (below the Norval dam)
- Forks of the Credit Provincial Park — Cataract, ON
Read next
For the river as a whole — the three sections, the two dams, and why which stretch you pick matters more here than anywhere — see fishing the Credit River. Timing for every Ontario river is in the river-by-river salmon run guide, and for the drift itself, three float fishing tips.