Fishing reports
12 reportsSummary of all reports
Biting
Fish in 12 of 12 reports · Mostly Channel catfish
- 12 with fish
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Ottawa River (Ontario) — a spot well known among anglers. About 55 km long. Flows into Lake Erie, Lake Erie drainage basin. Nearest town — Ottawa. This page shows an hourly bite forecast for today and the week ahead; the algorithm factors in the weather, atmospheric pressure, and the moon phase.
Nearest towns and cities
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
Ottawa River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is rising — activity tends to be more subdued. Peak 08:00–09:00 and 18:00–20:00.
The computed water temperature is around 7 °C — inside the 4–14 °C comfort range for Atlantic salmon, so baseline activity is high.
Atlantic salmon works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.
Pressure is dropping 8 hPa over the day — fish are usually more active ahead of a weather change.
One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.
October is an active season for Atlantic salmon here.
These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works
Cloudy · feels like +4°
The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.
Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.
Geomagnetic fieldG1 geomagnetic storm, Kp 4.7
Kp index — NOAA forecast. Not part of the bite score: catches show no link between geomagnetic storms and the bite.
The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.
What are solunar periods?Blue check: this species appears as a catch in reports for this waterbody.
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
Ottawa River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is rising — activity tends to be more subdued. Peak 08:00–09:00 and 18:00–20:00.
Ontario: the months when each species peaks and when it goes quiet. The current month is outlined. The bottom row counts the catches logged on this water in each month.
| Fish | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | active | active | active | active |
| Steelhead | peak | peak | peak | fair | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | active | peak | peak |
| Lake trout | peak | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | slow | fair | active | active | peak |
| Whitefish | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | peak | peak | active | fair |
| Atlantic salmon | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | active | slow | slow |
| Pike | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | active | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active |
| Rainbow trout | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | active | slow | slow |
| Brook trout | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | active | active | peak | peak | fair | slow |
| Lake sturgeon | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Largemouth bass | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Muskellunge | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | fair | slow |
| Sauger | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | fair | slow |
| Walleye | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | fair | slow |
| Yellow perch | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Brown trout | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | peak | active | active | fair | slow | slow |
| Chinook salmon | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow |
| Rainbow smelt | peak | peak | peak | peak | fair | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active |
| Smallmouth bass | slow | slow | slow | fair | fair | active | active | active | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Burbot | active | fair | fair | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | active |
| Carp | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow |
| Channel catfish | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow |
| Coho salmon | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Catches here | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BiteGuideFrom anglers’ reports
This is a summary of anglers' reports, not a proven cause of the bite: conditions lining up does not mean they drove it.
vertical axis — number of catches
| Value | Catches | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Channel catfish | 5 | 42% |
| Bluegill | 2 | 17% |
| Carp | 1 | 8% |
| European eel | 1 | 8% |
| Pike | 1 | 8% |
| Smallmouth bass | 1 | 8% |
| Yellow perch | 1 | 8% |
The course runs nearly straight: there are few bend pools, and the structure to look for is riffles and scour holes.
Other nearby places to fish
Other nearby waters
Biting
Fish in 12 of 12 reports · Mostly Channel catfish
Anglers have logged 12 fishing reports here. Most commonly caught: Channel catfish, Bluegill, Yellow perch. Peak season: May–September.
Measured river conditions are available for Ottawa River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.
USGS gauge OTTAWA RIVER AT BRITANNIA, 19 km away · measured 2026-10-21 02:35 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision
