Walleye (pickerel)
Good
Through the ice where it is safe: jigging spoons and a dead-stick minnow near the bottom at first and last light. Open rivers: slow jigs in the deep holes.
Ottawa River at Ottawa Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Ottawa River at Britannia, on Lac Deschênes: a live Water Survey of Canada level and flow for the city’s stretch of river, with walleye, bass, pike and muskellunge fished under the Zone 12 rules.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
57.81 m579 m³/s
Air / High
7 °C / 9 °C
Wind
NW 14 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 02KF005, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Ottawa River at Ottawa is a cold-water proposition today: small baits, slow presentations and a long soak. The gauge reads 57.81 m, holding steady. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NW around 14 km/h, rising pressure near 1005 hPa and a high of 9 °C. Water sits around 6 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:28 PM-1:28 AM and 11:04 AM-1:04 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Yellow perch
Good
The ice season where the ice is safe: small spoons and tungsten jigs tipped with minnow heads, moving hole to hole to find the school.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Good
Under the ice where it is safe: tip-ups with dead bait in the shallow bays.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 11:28 PM-1:28 AM, 11:04 AM-1:04 PM, 7:10 AM-8:10 AM. Similar at 8 °C with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Ontario requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$12.21. Ontario fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with Ontario MNR before you keep anything; the Smallmouth bass page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Ottawa River at Ottawa today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:53), sunset (16:40), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:28 PM-1:28 AM and 11:04 AM-1:04 PM; minor 7:10 AM-8:10 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Ottawa River Water Level today, and the weather
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 02KF005 (OTTAWA RIVER AT BRITANNIA).
River level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 02KF005. Latest reading 2026-11-09 06:35.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp7 °C
High / Low9 °C / 4 °C
WindNW 14 km/h, gusts 26 km/h
Pressure100.53 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain33% cloud, 16%
Sunrise / Sunset06:53 / 16:40
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~6 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Ottawa River at Ottawa
The best day on Ottawa River at Ottawa this week looks like Friday Nov 13, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Friday, Nov 13 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Nov 9 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:28 PM-1:28 AM and 11:04 AM-1:04 PM
- Minor period
- 7:10 AM-8:10 AM
- Sun
- 06:53 to 16:40
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 16%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Ottawa River at Ottawa: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Smallmouth bass
Opens late June in most of Ontario; best July to October
Open now Closes Dec 1, 2026. Largemouth and smallmouth bass combined are open from the Friday before the fourth Saturday in June to 30 November. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The rock-and-current bass of the Great Lakes shores, the Bay of Quinte, the St. Lawrence and Lake St. Clair. The Ontario bass season opens in late June in most zones, after the nesting period. Closed or out of season in most waters.
Largemouth bass
Late June to October in Ontario
Open now Closes Dec 1, 2026. Largemouth and smallmouth bass combined are open from the Friday before the fourth Saturday in June to 30 November. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The weed and dock bass of southern Ontario, Rice Lake and the Bay of Quinte. Same season as smallmouth in most zones. Out of season.
Walleye (pickerel)
Spring opener to fall, and the ice
Open now Closes Apr 1, 2027. Walleye and sauger combined, and northern pike, are open 1 January to 31 March and from the Friday before the third Saturday in May to 31 December. Walleye kept from 1 March to 15 June must be under 40 cm. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
Called pickerel in much of Ontario and Manitoba. The fish of Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, Lake Diefenbaker, Tobin Lake, Lake Erie and the Bay of Quinte. Most zones close in spring for the spawn. Through the ice where it is safe: jigging spoons and a dead-stick minnow near the bottom at first and last light. Open rivers: slow jigs in the deep holes.
Muskellunge
Opens in June in Ontario; best in fall
Open now Closes Dec 16, 2026. Muskellunge are open from the Friday before the third Saturday in June to 15 December; one fish on a sport licence, which must be over 137 cm, and none on a conservation licence. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The trophy fish of Lake St. Clair, the St. Lawrence, the Detroit River and Lake of the Woods. Catch-and-release is the culture; minimum sizes are large where retention is allowed. Out of season.
Yellow perch
Year-round; the ice season at Lake Simcoe and Long Point
Open all year Yellow perch are open all year in Zone 12. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The ice-fishing fish of Lake Simcoe, Long Point Bay and Lake St. Clair, and a summer staple on every Great Lakes shore. Schools move constantly. The ice season where the ice is safe: small spoons and tungsten jigs tipped with minnow heads, moving hole to hole to find the school.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Spring, fall and the ice
Open now Closes Apr 1, 2027. Walleye and sauger combined, and northern pike, are open 1 January to 31 March and from the Friday before the third Saturday in May to 31 December. Walleye kept from 1 March to 15 June must be under 40 cm. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
Called jackfish on the prairies. Found in almost every lake and slow river from Ontario to Alberta; big fish in the cold, deep lakes. Under the ice where it is safe: tip-ups with dead bait in the shallow bays.
When to come: the Ottawa River at Ottawa calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Walleye (pickerel)
Muskellunge
Yellow perch
Northern pike (jackfish)
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 6 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Ottawa River at Ottawa today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at good. High of 11 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at good. High of 11 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Outdoors Card and Ontario fishing licence, from C$12.21 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy → Except on a one-day licence you also need the Outdoors Card.
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by Ontario MNR and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Ontario licence page before you keep anything. The zone-by-zone seasons and limits are on Ontario fishing seasons.
Access
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About this water
Ottawa River at Ottawa is a river in Ontario, Canada, covered from the Ontario reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Ottawa River at Ottawa: the full guide
The Ottawa River at Ottawa
At Britannia, in Ottawa’s west end, the Ottawa River opens into Lac Deschênes, one of the ten reaches into which dams and rapids divide the river, according to Ontario’s fisheries management plan for it. The river is the border between Ontario and Quebec, and the whole Ontario side of it makes up Fisheries Management Zone 12. The plan gives Lac Deschênes a length of 52.8 km and an area of 109 square kilometres, with an average depth of 5 m and a deepest point of 49 m, and classes it as a run-of-the-river reach. Level and flow on this page come from the live gauge at Britannia.
The water level at Britannia
The gauge is Water Survey of Canada station 02KF005, OTTAWA RIVER AT BRITANNIA; the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board lists the same site as Lake Deschenes at Britannia. It records both the water level and the discharge, the volume of water passing in cubic metres per second, and its station record gives the level in metres on the Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum 1928. The daily record at Britannia starts in 1915. In the station’s annual peak series, the highest level was 60.70 m on 30 April 2019, with a flow of 6,030 cubic metres per second, followed by the peaks of 2017 and 2023. The three lowest annual minima, between 57.43 and 57.52 m, all fell in September, so a flood year can put the river more than 3 m above its late-summer level.
Who manages the river
No single dam sets the level in Ottawa. The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board, formed in 1983 with members for the governments of Canada, Ontario and Québec and for the agencies that run the large reservoirs, coordinates the thirteen principal reservoirs of the basin to reduce flood and drought impacts as far down as the Montréal region. Those reservoirs lie mostly in the north, and the Board points out that runoff from the central and southern parts of the basin, about 60% of its area, is not regulated at all. The spring freshet, the seasonal surge of snowmelt and rain, brought each of the five highest peaks at Britannia, in late April or May. In the fall the headwater reservoirs are already full, so heavy rain passes straight through them. During the freshet the Board posts daily river conditions and a four-day forecast; afterwards its River Conditions Forecast is updated every Tuesday. The Board does not map floodplains or oversee dam safety; those tasks sit with the provincial agencies.
Species and seasons
Ontario’s plan names walleye and sauger, smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike, muskellunge, channel catfish and panfish as the river’s key fisheries, and sets the goal of keeping the Ottawa River muskellunge fishery’s world-class status. The Zone 12 summary writes the seasons this way: walleye and sauger combined, January 1 to March 31 and Friday before third Saturday in May to December 31; northern pike, the same dates; largemouth and smallmouth bass combined, Friday before fourth Saturday in June to November 30; muskellunge, Friday before third Saturday in June to December 15, with one fish on a sport licence, which must be greater than 137 centimetres, and none on a conservation licence. Yellow perch, crappie, sunfish, channel catfish and lake whitefish are open all year, lake sturgeon are closed all year, and American eel may not be caught or kept. Ontario’s stocking record lists no releases in the Ottawa River from 2016 on.
Where to fish near Britannia
The City of Ottawa lists a paved boat launch and a dock at Dick Bell Park, 3259 Carling Avenue, a short distance from the Britannia gauge. Ontario’s netting found black crappie and pumpkinseed more abundant in Lac Deschênes than in most other reaches, and northern pike more common here than anywhere else on the lower river, so the weedy bays are worth fishing in spring and fall. Walleye and bass anglers work the points, drop-offs and current edges of the main channel. With an average depth of about 5 m, much of the lake is shallow, and in late September 2026 the Board reported levels below navigational chart datums at some locations on the river, so shoals can sit closer to the surface than a chart suggests.
Rules on a border river
The Zone 12 summary reminds anglers that Ontario and Quebec regulations differ and that each angler must follow the rules of the water being fished. Ontario accepts either an Ontario or a Quebec resident fishing licence on the Ottawa River south of the dam at Temiscaming, and fish brought into Ontario from a water shared with another province count toward the Ontario limits. Ice huts in Zone 12 below the Timiskaming Dam must be registered online and taken off before 16 March. The Zone 12 sanctuaries closest to the city are on Lac des Chats upstream and below the Carillon dam downstream; the summary lists none on Lac Deschênes.
Licence and fees
Ontario and Canadian residents from 18 to 64 need an Outdoors Card and an Ontario sport or conservation fishing licence, and most non-Canadian residents need both at any age; a one-day licence is sold without the card. A conservation licence carries the lower limits marked C in the Zone 12 summary. Our Ontario fishing licence page sets out the current fees and where to buy.
Common questions
Who controls the Ottawa River water level?
No single body sets it. The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board coordinates thirteen principal reservoirs to reduce floods and droughts, but runoff from about 60% of the basin is unregulated, so a big spring melt can still flood the river at Ottawa.
When is walleye season on the Ottawa River in Ontario?
In Zone 12, walleye and sauger combined are open January 1 to March 31 and Friday before third Saturday in May to December 31.
Can I fish the Quebec side with an Ontario licence?
Ontario’s summary accepts either an Ontario or a Quebec resident licence on the Ottawa River south of the Temiscaming dam, but the two provinces’ rules differ, so check Quebec’s regulations before fishing its waters.
Is fishing good at Ottawa River at Ottawa right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Water level and flow readings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 02KF005 — OTTAWA RIVER AT BRITANNIA
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Fish stocking
- Ontario fish stocking report
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- ontario.ca/document/ontario-fishing-regulations-summary/fisheries-mana
- ontario.ca/document/ontario-fishing-regulations-summary/general-fishin
- files.ontario.ca/mnrf-fisheries-management-plan-for-ottawa-river-april
- ottawariver.ca/about-us/faq
- ottawariver.ca/conditions
- api.weather.gc.ca/collections/hydrometric-annual-peaks/items?STATION_N
- maps.ottawa.ca/arcgis/rest/services/Parks_Inventory/MapServer/4
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.